{"id":5297,"date":"2010-09-10T15:44:36","date_gmt":"2010-09-10T22:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/?p=5297"},"modified":"2013-02-07T20:30:07","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T04:30:07","slug":"bending-genres-or-just-producing-good-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/09\/10\/bending-genres-or-just-producing-good-art\/","title":{"rendered":"bending genres or just producing good art?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Last night the Oregon Symphony performed a concert with Rufus Wainwright as the opening salvo of the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art’s (PICA) 2010 Festival of Time-Based Art.\u00a0 When our first rehearsal with Rufus was approaching, I really had no idea what to expect.\u00a0 Would this be one of those uncomfortable collaborations where the orchestra is just elaborate window dressing that lends the headliner some upscale cred?\u00a0 Gratefully, the answer was an emphatic NO!<\/p>\n

\"09092010tba008\"<\/a>
\nPhoto: Leah Nash\/PICA Press Corps.<\/em><\/p>\n

This three-way collaboration between PICA, the OSO, and Wainwright was the brainchild of Pink Martini frontman (and OSA board member) Thomas Lauderdale, who heard excerpts of Wainwright’s opera Prima Donna<\/em> from a recording of the premiere in Manchester in the summer of 2009.\u00a0 And so the first half of the evening was dedicated to excerpts from the opera, featuring two overtures and two major arias featuring two of the female characters (out of four in total), The Maid, sung by Portland’s Megan Hart, and The Prima Donna, sung by the Scottish soprano Janis Kelly.\u00a0 This put the Oregon Symphony front and center, and really was a gracious move on the part of Wainwright.\u00a0 He could have just cranked out a bunch of standards from his catalog, but instead we got to hear a serious and major operatic work, and one which I very much hope will be presented in its entirety in Portland (the sections performed last night were the US premieres of music from the opera).<\/p>\n

The second half of the evening was more conventional in scope, showcasing Wainwright’s singing with the orchestra, and involving several collaborative numbers with Portland’s own Storm Large and Thomas Lauderdale, and rejoined by soprano Janis Kelly, most movingly in Leonard Cohen’s anthem Hallelujah<\/em>, where each singer took a verse, building to a very satisfying conclusion.<\/p>\n

I very much liked how everything was presented.\u00a0 It wasn’t a “symphony” concert, and it wasn’t a “pops” concert, and it certainly wasn’t your typical concert of “pop” music.\u00a0 Instead, it was a melange of everything – the best of everything, really, and it was an evening where the audience wasn’t talked down to, or pandered to, or even warned against the fact that there would be some 21st century opera performed.\u00a0 Instead, it was simply an evening of great music, brilliantly performed, and warmly accepted by the near-capacity audience.\u00a0 To me this is the future of music – all music, not just classical.\u00a0 And it’s a future that I look forward to very much.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last night the Oregon Symphony performed a concert with Rufus Wainwright as the opening salvo of the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art’s (PICA) 2010 Festival of Time-Based Art.\u00a0 When our first rehearsal with Rufus was approaching, I really had no idea what to expect.\u00a0 Would this be one of those uncomfortable collaborations where the orchestra […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[283,137,135,2],"tags":[2369,3668,2295,961],"class_list":["post-5297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opera-music","category-popular-music-music","category-soloists-recitals","category-the-orchestra-world","tag-2369","tag-oregon-symphony","tag-rufus-wainwright","tag-tba-festival"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-1nr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4704,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/05\/26\/symphonic-rufus\/","url_meta":{"origin":5297,"position":0},"title":"symphonic rufus","author":"Charles Noble","date":"May 26, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes, Rufus Wainwright will be joining the Oregon Symphony as a part of PICA's TBA festival with his show Classical Rufus!\u00a0 You won't want to miss this - the last collaboration with PICA was the incredible Antony Hegarty concert which received rave reviews from critics, audience, and orchestra members alike.\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "soloists & recitals"","block_context":{"text":"soloists & recitals","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/soloists-recitals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5272,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/09\/04\/coming-soon-rufus\/","url_meta":{"origin":5297,"position":1},"title":"coming soon: rufus!","author":"Charles Noble","date":"September 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes, in partnership with PICA's Festival of Time-Based Art (T:BA:10), the Oregon Symphony is presenting Rufus Wainwright on Thursday, September 9th. I know next to nothing about Wainwright (neither he nor his father), but everyone I know has been wildly excited about this collaboration, so it should be a singular\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "new music"","block_context":{"text":"new music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/new-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/4440298927_cef3350489.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5295,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/09\/09\/going-to-symphonic-rufus-tonight\/","url_meta":{"origin":5297,"position":2},"title":"going to symphonic rufus tonight?","author":"Charles Noble","date":"September 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Then this might encourage you to get there a bit early: The Oregon Symphony\u2019s Ticket Office tells us that they are expecting long lines at Will Call for tonight\u2019s Rufus Wainwright concert. If you\u2019re picking up tickets at the concert hall, they advise you to get there early to avoid\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5292,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/09\/08\/rufus-thomas-and-charles-oh-my\/","url_meta":{"origin":5297,"position":3},"title":"rufus, thomas, and charles – oh my!","author":"Charles Noble","date":"September 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Did you catch Rufus Wainwright along with Thomas Lauderdale and OSO Artistic Administrator Charles Calmer on KOPB's Think Out Loud show this morning?\u00a0 I caught some of it on the way to a rehearsal this morning - click the show link to listen to a very entertaining and informative interview\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5206,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/08\/24\/on-the-cusp-of-a-new-season\/","url_meta":{"origin":5297,"position":4},"title":"on the cusp of a new season","author":"Charles Noble","date":"August 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"A week from tomorrow my fifteenth season with the Oregon Symphony begins.\u00a0 I wrote a post last winter about the concerts that I was most looking forward to in this coming year, and since then there have been some noteworthy additions to the concert calendar.\u00a0 Here they are Classical Rufus\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/4440298927_cef3350489-250x204.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14890,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2018\/08\/21\/oregon-symphony-musician-wins-la-phil-position\/","url_meta":{"origin":5297,"position":5},"title":"oregon symphony musician wins LA Phil position","author":"Charles Noble","date":"August 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Evan Kuhlmann, OSO Assistant principal bassoonist\/contrabassoonist has won a highly coveted position with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which I was able to confirm with him today. No word on when Evan will begin work in LA. Most position start dates are set at the mutual availability and convenience of both\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "auditions"","block_context":{"text":"auditions","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/auditions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/54P-20180039-copy-300x450.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5297\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}