ecarroll

It seems that new music sells tickets afterall. Imagine.

Please read and comment?
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/15/ar...ic/15kozi.html

a_legaspi

Thats a great article, bravo to Mr. Salonen and the L.A. Phil, they deserve the credit they are receiving. And to be honest its about time because those guys and gals are all wonderful hard working musicians.
Ariel

Tootsall

I love the last line.... and believe it to be 100% true.

"All it needs is a charismatic conductor with fresh ideas and an openness to new musical currents; a concert hall that people want to go to and that musicians like to play in; programs that treat music not as a museum culture but as a lively continuum; and a management and board willing to support experimental urges."


"Beengo!"

Great article, thanks for pointing it out.

ecarroll

Toots,

Continuum is key. The music of the past is wonderful, but if our cultures refuse to evolve they die.

Let's use this to open a discussion about where we are and where we're heading...

Gazing into my crystal ball,
EC

Tootsall

Well, I'll offer up that (at least to my very limited knowledge) there ARE a very few orchestras where adherence to tradition (even the extent of only hiring on the basis "who studied under who" and "are they able to emulate the precise playing styles and sounds") that are able to sustain themselves without ever delving into "anything newer than 1800" (or 1900 or.....).

Even our little local, semi-volunteer symphony recently ran into problems when the conductor was NOT charismatic, did NOT seem to care one whit about the audience NOR the musicians, and were on the verge of bankruptcy. Suddenly a change in weather course, the hiring of a new, fresh and energetic conductor who related to both the audience AND the musicians, who brought in new music and.... VOILA! Out of the red and into "SRO" signs at every concert. The Board of Directors went along with it (as if they had any choice at that point) and now everybody is happy.... although we certain COULD use a decent concert hall. I imagine there are still a couple of muscians who quietly gripe about "that new stuff" but they're smart enough to realize that if it weren't for "that new stuff" they wouldn't have a symphony to play in at all.

My point being that it isn't only the large, professional orchestras who really need to consider audience tastes and/or the "ensemble" of management, musicians, audience, and music in order to maintain the "marketplace" interest that "pays the bills".

mikeblutman

"It's an iPod landscape."

The above quote, from the NY Times Salonen article, combined with Jens' review of Mark Gould / Pink Baby Monster really helps define what is going on in today's - and what will hopefully will continue into tomorrow's - musical scene.

Single entity arts organizations targeting only a small segment of the public will ultimately not serve this country's diverse musical landscape. We are an iPod culture now and that says a lot about what the musical values of the culture are. Those who don't adapt will be tossed aside in Darwinian fashion I believe.

Thanks for drawing our attention to this article, Ed.

Sincerely,
Mike Blutman

camelbrass

I fully intended to add to this topic but I have just read what both Toots and Mike Blutman have written and I totally agree. There's room for the classics but music has to move onwards and upwards to survive, even in the symphonic world.

I have a son who is keen on going to the RAM as a jazz guitarist and who is already a skilled and enthusiastic electronic musician. It's an exciting thought that his future experience may include the sort of projects that Mark Gould has undertaken and that his 'network' will include all musicians, regardless of training.

Just my take on it.

Regards,


Trevor

MrClean

Aw, schucks...

a_legaspi

Awwwwwww, Mr. Clean's blushing, I will be making contact with you sometime in the next few months Mr. Clean to set up a lesson, cool. Hope everything is well.
Ariel

ecarroll

I'm glad that Mark's work is being mentioned alongside Salonen and the LAPhil and believe that it's important that we see this shift as one that crosses all disciplines (solo, chamber music, jazz, others) as well as orchestral music.

For example, Dave Douglas burst onto the scene a few years ago and people started gobbling up his music because, in my opinion, it's moving ahead both compositionally and instrumentally (instruments like tabla and turntable replacing a "traditional" rhythm section, etc.) If Dave were simply playing Stella By Starlight with a straight ahead quartet, I don't believe he would have caused a ripple (not that it wouldn't be good -- simply because that's a field well plowed by many).

The orchestras are simply the most visible organizations in this discussion because there are so many of them, they employ so many musicians, and their problems have been so well documented.

How many of you have played Erickson's Kryl? It was written in 1977 (hardly "new") and drives audiences wild. It asks for a few extended techniques (vocal & microtonal) but these can be worked out by a diligent performer. Ditto Berio's Sequenza X (1984), Gruber's Exposed Throat (2000), and Max Davies' Litany (1999). These pieces really work, my friends, and it's time to start rebuilding audiences on all fronts.

Please (please?) think about this when you're programming your next concert?

Soapbox dismounted and anxiously awaiting further discussion. I'm sure that we're up to it!
EC