My wife and I had the good fortune to attend two very good, very different concerts this past weekend. The first, on Friday night, was the debut of the Seattle Symphony's new [untitled] series. The second, on Saturday night, was the season opener of the Tacoma Symphony. In one sense, the concerts couldn't have been more different; in another, they had some very promising similarities.
The [untitled] series is designed to bring in new audiences for contemporary music. This series, along with Symphony Untuxed, features the musicians in casual clothes, shorter-length programs, pre-concert happy hour, and other things designed to take away the highbrow ritual typically associated with classical concerts. This past Friday, the two were paired: Untuxed ran from 7:00-8:00 or so; [untitled] began at 10:00. Between the two concerts, the lobby was open and patrons--anyone with a ticket for the Untuxed or [untitled] were invited to mingle with the musicians. The bars were open, and they were playing songs from the Billboard top 20 in 1962 (the theme of the [untitled] concert). At 9:00pm, members of the orchestra along with DJ Madhatter performed Gabriel Prokofiev's concerto for turntables and orchestra. The piece was well performed and well crafted: I was a bit worried that it would be a bit gimmicky, but it was quite engaging. At one point, we saw Mr. Prokofiev refilling his drink at the bar ("How often do you get to say that?" my wife asked).
[untitled] started at 10:00pm. Did I mention tickets were $12? Maestro Morlot welcomed the 400 or so patrons that did attend, mentioning at one point that he was afraid that only twenty people would show up. He encouraged us to come and go as we pleased, get a drink in the lobby, sit on the floor (on carpet squares provided by the Symphony), and explore different vantage points. The concert had a Twitter hashtag (#ssountitled) for real-time program notes and silent interaction among patrons during the performance.
The theme of the concert was 1962, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the World's Fair in Seattle. The first piece on the program was John Cage's Variations III. Morlot explained how the piece worked, invited the audience to join in, and projected the score, "composing" it in real time. Here's a view from behind the projector:
After a brief program note, Morlot introduced Scelsi's Khoom for string quartet, soprano, horn, and percussion. The piece was in seven movements, and it was amazing to me the range of color and variety that Scelsi was able to get out of what amounts to one pitch. I somehow missed the Earle Brown piece--I think I was hob-nobbing in the lobby. The Xenakis was very well performed; I like his music a lot. The Feldman, For Franz Klein, was exceptionally beautiful and well performed. I'll admit right here that I know far less about Feldman and his music than I should, but this inspired me to investigate it more. Here's where we sat for that:
Last, Ligeti's Poeme symphonique for 100 metronomes. Here they are:
And this, via the SSO Twitter feed:
All in all, a great concert. The audience received it very enthusiastically--I suspect there were people there who wouldn't have paid to hear this music in a concert hall, but were happy to have the opportunity to enjoy it on their own terms.
The Tacoma Symphony presented a concert that featured Gershwin, Roger Zare, and Debussy. The program opened with Gershwin's Cuban overture, a piece that I love. This was followed by the piano concerto featuring Leon Bates. Both orchestra and soloist played very well. After thanking the audience and the orchestra, Bates played a virtuosic rendition of "I've got rhythm" as an encore. After intermission, the orchestra played Roger Zare's tone poem Green Flash. This is one of many new works receiving a "second listen" by the TSO this season. This is a brilliant idea: how many composers can relate to having a work performed once, then shelved for posterity? Maestro Felder (who is very good at communicating with audiences--I've worked with him on a children's concert before) explained a bit about the piece, mentioning that he heard it while serving as a judge on a composition competition, and he felt it deserved a wider audience. I believe that there is one such "second listen" piece on each concert this season, and I hope to participate in some of these second-premieres (I sub with the TSO on occasion). The program closed with a spirited performance of Debussy's La Mer.
I also brought a group of about eight friends who had never seen/heard a live orchestral concert before. I organized the outing, and most of them were very enthusiastic. What's interesting to me is that I get the impression that none of them would have gone on their own, but having someone invite them--someone who knows the "rules"--might have made them more comfortable about trying it out. And I bumped into my veterinarian, who was attending for the first time. So far, everyone I've brought to the symphony over the years--first-time concertgoers, all--have gone back. My guests (and veterinarian) all had a wonderful time and said they'll make a point of going back.
So the common threads, in short: great efforts to bring out new audiences to the concert hall, both conventional and unconventional. And (in case you missed it) the oldest piece on both programs was composed in 1905--not a Beethoven or Mozart or Verdi to be found... If you want to "save" classical (and/or "contemporary") music, this, I think, is how to do it.
The [untitled] series is designed to bring in new audiences for contemporary music. This series, along with Symphony Untuxed, features the musicians in casual clothes, shorter-length programs, pre-concert happy hour, and other things designed to take away the highbrow ritual typically associated with classical concerts. This past Friday, the two were paired: Untuxed ran from 7:00-8:00 or so; [untitled] began at 10:00. Between the two concerts, the lobby was open and patrons--anyone with a ticket for the Untuxed or [untitled] were invited to mingle with the musicians. The bars were open, and they were playing songs from the Billboard top 20 in 1962 (the theme of the [untitled] concert). At 9:00pm, members of the orchestra along with DJ Madhatter performed Gabriel Prokofiev's concerto for turntables and orchestra. The piece was well performed and well crafted: I was a bit worried that it would be a bit gimmicky, but it was quite engaging. At one point, we saw Mr. Prokofiev refilling his drink at the bar ("How often do you get to say that?" my wife asked).
[untitled] started at 10:00pm. Did I mention tickets were $12? Maestro Morlot welcomed the 400 or so patrons that did attend, mentioning at one point that he was afraid that only twenty people would show up. He encouraged us to come and go as we pleased, get a drink in the lobby, sit on the floor (on carpet squares provided by the Symphony), and explore different vantage points. The concert had a Twitter hashtag (#ssountitled) for real-time program notes and silent interaction among patrons during the performance.
The theme of the concert was 1962, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the World's Fair in Seattle. The first piece on the program was John Cage's Variations III. Morlot explained how the piece worked, invited the audience to join in, and projected the score, "composing" it in real time. Here's a view from behind the projector:
Last, Ligeti's Poeme symphonique for 100 metronomes. Here they are:
The Tacoma Symphony presented a concert that featured Gershwin, Roger Zare, and Debussy. The program opened with Gershwin's Cuban overture, a piece that I love. This was followed by the piano concerto featuring Leon Bates. Both orchestra and soloist played very well. After thanking the audience and the orchestra, Bates played a virtuosic rendition of "I've got rhythm" as an encore. After intermission, the orchestra played Roger Zare's tone poem Green Flash. This is one of many new works receiving a "second listen" by the TSO this season. This is a brilliant idea: how many composers can relate to having a work performed once, then shelved for posterity? Maestro Felder (who is very good at communicating with audiences--I've worked with him on a children's concert before) explained a bit about the piece, mentioning that he heard it while serving as a judge on a composition competition, and he felt it deserved a wider audience. I believe that there is one such "second listen" piece on each concert this season, and I hope to participate in some of these second-premieres (I sub with the TSO on occasion). The program closed with a spirited performance of Debussy's La Mer.
I also brought a group of about eight friends who had never seen/heard a live orchestral concert before. I organized the outing, and most of them were very enthusiastic. What's interesting to me is that I get the impression that none of them would have gone on their own, but having someone invite them--someone who knows the "rules"--might have made them more comfortable about trying it out. And I bumped into my veterinarian, who was attending for the first time. So far, everyone I've brought to the symphony over the years--first-time concertgoers, all--have gone back. My guests (and veterinarian) all had a wonderful time and said they'll make a point of going back.
So the common threads, in short: great efforts to bring out new audiences to the concert hall, both conventional and unconventional. And (in case you missed it) the oldest piece on both programs was composed in 1905--not a Beethoven or Mozart or Verdi to be found... If you want to "save" classical (and/or "contemporary") music, this, I think, is how to do it.