While concertgoers today might resent those who unknowingly applaud or whisper between movements of a piece, it seems such gaffes have only recently begun to draw frowns. The familiar silent audience who applauds in appropriate places is of relatively new invention. Relative, of course, to the age of music in the classical repertoire. As it turns out, classical concerts used to be noisy, social gatherings where aristocrats could mingle and the public could turn bourgeois into a verb.
The September 8th issue of The New Yorker featured the article “Why So Serious?” In it, writer Alex Ross chronicles the history of classical concert tradition.
Ross cites examples from performances at the Paris Opera and recitals by the pianist credited with creating modern piano performance tradition, Franz Liszt. Ross compares Liszt’s recitals to “The Ed Sullivan Show,” claiming that Liszt would solicit suggestions from the audience for subjects to improvise at the piano. Furthermore, Liszt is said to have modulated not only between tonal centers, but entire pieces. As Ross explains it:
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Archive for October, 2009
The New Yorker: Why So Serious?
Let’s Put a Smile on that Face
Conservative NR Writer Dislikes Change
Grass is still green and the sky is blue
A recent article published by Jay Nordlinger of the National Review describes his personal account of several days at the Salzburg Summer Festival. Each year, the festival plays host to some of the most highly regarded musicians in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is perhaps the star attraction for patrons, as they are both the symphony in residence, as well as the opera orchestra for the event. These weeks present the absolute crème de la crème of the music world, and to say the least, ticket prices are exorbitant.
But it was not his glowing review of the Vienna Phil’s performance of Bruckner No. 6, nor his brief history lesson on the life and works of Luigi Nono, that kept me thinking long past the final sentence. It was his canning of a voice recital, given by Patricia Petibon in the House for Mozart, which has this kid writing into the early hours of the morning.
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Guest Article: Just Press “Enter”: Technology and the Percussionist
Written by Daniel Cathey
I walk into my office to a large stack of music on my desk, and my stomach turns over as I anticipate a collection of outlandish instrument requests by the composer. I can’t help but chuckle as I read down the list: propeller engine, guillotine sound, the bay of a Central American burro (alright, I made the last one up). Composers’ demands are getting stranger and stranger.
It comes with the job. Finding these instruments—or at the very least, a way to imitate the required sound—should be a challenge. These days, with all the wonderful technology available, it can be as simple as finding the correct sound effect or synthesized instrument on the Internet and playing it through a computer hooked up to an amp (this strategy proves useful when playing Harry Partch’s music). It’s a quick fix, but does it too often take some of the artistry out of what we do?
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El Sistema USA is GO!
Along with the fame, wealth, and respect that came with winning the TED Prize (Technology, Entertainment, Design), Jose Antonio Abreu was granted a wish.
I wish you would help create and document a special training program for at least 50 gifted young musicians, passionate for their art and for social justice, and dedicated to developing El Sistema in the US and in other countries. -Abreu
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El Sistema Founder To Receive Glenn Gould Prize, Dudamel To Receive Mention
The Glenn Gould Prize, given every three years in honor of (you guessed it) Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, will be given to El Sistema founder Jose Antonio Abreu. The award, to be given on October 27, 2009 (award date is 2008) is for an individual who has displayed altruistic dedication to the spread of music. Previous Laureates include Yehudi Menuhin, Yo-Yo Ma, Pierre Boulez, and Andre Previn.
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LSO Paving The Way For New Classical Labels
Death of autotune, moment of silence
We’ve all heard this one before, the death of the recording label is imminent. But, certain orchestras refuse to go down without a fight. They are proving the point that it is not dying, rather simply changing to meet the needs of a world reliant on consumer electronics to listen to a mere 30 minutes of quality music a day, and tired of recordings where you can hear the electronic clipping of tone filters and amplitude balancing. The 9-5 workday is dead, we have less time than ever, and thus demand only the best quality if we are to spend our morning commute listening to classical music. We are a community of listeners who yearn for the subtleties and energy found in a live performance. To quote HOVA, “this is the death of autotune.. a moment of silence.”
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Another Writer’s Reaction To Criticism Of Conductors
Some still angry
Do you like apples? If you caught my rather sassy rant about Philippa Ibbotson’s recent article “The Myth of the Maestro”, you might enjoy this one. Another Guardian writer has outright disagreed with Ibbotson’s aforementioned piece. Wait, did I say disagree? More like, called her out on it. How about them apples?
In his opening remark of the article “Conductors – the cash and the confusion,” author of the Guardian’s blog On Classical Tom Service agrees with Ibbotson that conductors are overpaid. Immediately after this short-lived agreement, he openly points out the underlying theme of her piece which we all sensed:
I can’t agree with her premise that conductors make no difference to the performances you hear all over the world
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More Bad News From The Met
Bring out Flemming already!
Seems like most news coming from the Met these days is dismal. Yesterday, the New York Post pointed the finger not at Swiss director Luc Bondy and his production team, who were given the sustained booing after the premier of Puccini’s Tosca, but directly at the Peter Gelb, general manager of the Manhattan based organization.
Before anything else, let it be known that this season, all nonunion workers of the Met took a 10% pay cut. So money isn’t exactly flying out the windows this year…
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