Food For Thought Archives - New West Symphony https://newwestsymphony.org/category/food-for-thought/ Celebrating the transformative power of live symphonic music in Ventura and Los Angeles counties Wed, 26 Aug 2020 17:14:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://newwestsymphony.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/cropped-icon-32x32.jpg Food For Thought Archives - New West Symphony https://newwestsymphony.org/category/food-for-thought/ 32 32 Eroica Symphony and Beethoven: Youthful Fire or Brooding Anguish? https://newwestsymphony.org/eroica-fire-anguish/ Mon, 18 May 2020 20:34:19 +0000 https://newwestsymphony.org/?p=9582 The post Eroica Symphony and Beethoven: Youthful Fire or Brooding Anguish? appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> [youtube]PmU6FH6eDSQ[/youtube]

 

On May 18, 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte was declared Emperor of France. The legendary story of Beethoven hearing the news and tearing up the title page of his Third Symphony is something we often remember when we think of the Symphony, which we now know as the “Eroica.” As Music Director Michael Christie explains, the story may not be that simple.

It’s often these types of stories about the life and character of composers that influence the way musicians and conductors perform their music. While we have an image of the youthful and vigorous Beethoven, we also think of him as the moody and sullen man suffering over his hearing loss later in life. When contrasting portraits of Beethoven inform the same piece of music, we get very different results, which may even feel like completely different pieces of music! Notice how choices in tempo, articulation, and dynamics totally transform Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony.

I. Allegro con brio

Let’s listen to a “youthful fire” performance and compare it to a “brooding anguish” performance, movement by movement. Be sure to leave your comments about these wildly different interpretations below!

For the first, here is the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen conducted by Paavo Jarvi:

 

[youtube start=4]cziRynzmWaA[/youtube]

 

And here’s our “brooding anguish” performance, if you will. The Lucerne Festival Orchestra led by Claudio Abbado:

 

[youtube]OVaJH0WLMgE[/youtube]

 

II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai

 

[youtube start=960]cziRynzmWaA[/youtube]

 

[youtube start=1110]OVaJH0WLMgE[/youtube]

 

III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace

 

[youtube start=1732]cziRynzmWaA[/youtube]

 

[youtube start=2190]OVaJH0WLMgE[/youtube]

 

IV. Finale: molto allegro – Poco andande – Presto

 

[youtube start=2126]cziRynzmWaA[/youtube]

 

[youtube start=2575]OVaJH0WLMgE[/youtube]

 

 

 

The post Eroica Symphony and Beethoven: Youthful Fire or Brooding Anguish? appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> The Shared Experience of Live Performance https://newwestsymphony.org/the-shared-experience-of-live-performance/ Fri, 17 Apr 2020 13:30:00 +0000 https://newwestsymphony.org/?p=9168 The post The Shared Experience of Live Performance appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> by Stephanie Wilson, Deputy Director, New West Symphony

There’s a moment, just before the curtain goes up, when the performers are posed onstage holding their breath and knowing that just on the other side of that curtain, the audience is doing the very same thing.  It’s a magical moment. From a dark theatre, beauty is suddenly born.

It happens with live orchestra also. While the musicians are tuning their instruments, making that fabulous noise, we all know that something miraculous is about to begin: The Maestro is going to wave a wand and cacophony will turn into melody.  

At these moments, as we all hold our collective breaths, the anticipation is shared.  And then we all exhale at once, and art is born . . . and shared . . .  and experienced by each and every one of us. 

This doesn’t happen when we watch TV.  It happens to a point when we go to the movies, especially if it’s the latest installment of a Star Wars movie and we’re all cheering the heroes and booing the villains. That’s a legitimate shared arts experience. But it doesn’t happen in your living room, even if you’re all watching Andrea Bocelli live on Easter Sunday. It’s not physically possible.

Humans need “belonging”. They crave interaction. They require each other. There’s a multitude of studies about this subject, and some beautiful songs. The Beatles wrote Eleanor Rigby about this very thing.

For now, we’re going to adjust, because that’s also what humans do. That’s why our nation’s new catch phrase is “We’re all in this together!” We Zoom, we Facebook, we listen to beautiful music on YouTube. We know in our hearts that no man is an island. And we will be fine.

But oh, will we be ready to share an experience! To sit by the ancient campfire, under the moon, sharing a bottle of wine while listening to stories; not because we don’t have our own campfire, or moon or wine but because that shared story is so much better when we can hear each other laugh, cry, and even just exhale.  

When it’s time, we will all be able to come back to the theatre that is our campfire. And the Symphony will be here. In the words of Diana Ross, “Someday, we’ll be together.”

 

The post The Shared Experience of Live Performance appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> Classical music stars who weren’t star students https://newwestsymphony.org/classical-music-stars-who-werent-star-students/ Wed, 15 Aug 2018 16:47:23 +0000 https://newwestsymphony.org/?p=2554 The musical greats weren’t always so great in an academic setting. We’ll bet you didn’t know these classical musicians were less than star students. George Gershwin, the great American songwriter and pianist, often played hooky as a hyperactive child. Richard Wagner was expelled after six months as Thomasschule in Leipzig as a student given to many vices. More at WQXR >>  

The post Classical music stars who weren’t star students appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> The musical greats weren’t always so great in an academic setting. We’ll bet you didn’t know these classical musicians were less than star students.

George Gershwin, the great American songwriter and pianist, often played hooky as a hyperactive child. Richard Wagner was expelled after six months as Thomasschule in Leipzig as a student given to many vices.

More at WQXR >>

 

The post Classical music stars who weren’t star students appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> Is Jacob Collier our century’s Beethoven? https://newwestsymphony.org/is-jacob-collier-our-centurys-beethoven/ Wed, 01 Aug 2018 17:40:25 +0000 https://newwestsymphony.org/?p=3424 Jacob Collier, 23-year-old vocalist and multi-instrumentalist from London, has taken music by storm in recent years with his radical jazz reharmonizations and other-worldly music theorization. Known for his “Super-Ultra-Hyper-Mega-Meta-Lydian” scale and extensive use of negative harmony, Collier is at the forefront of music theory, and is applying it in his compositions. For example, listen to how he creatively uses just intonation and manipulates note tuning in his a cappella rendition of “In The Bleak Midwinter.”     And just get a taste of his style, with his adventurous and colorful recreation of the classic theme to “The Flintstones.”     And marvel at his virtuosic live performances, a one-of-a-kind one-man-show, rife with on-the-spot improvisation.     If you do consider yourself a music theory nerd, feel free to geek out to this fascinating interview with Collier, augmented with diagrams and sound examples by master transcriber June Lee.     It begs the question – like the legendary 19th-century composer who revolutionized music before him – is Collier the 21st century’s Beethoven?

The post Is Jacob Collier our century’s Beethoven? appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> Jacob Collier, 23-year-old vocalist and multi-instrumentalist from London, has taken music by storm in recent years with his radical jazz reharmonizations and other-worldly music theorization.

Known for his “Super-Ultra-Hyper-Mega-Meta-Lydian” scale and extensive use of negative harmony, Collier is at the forefront of music theory, and is applying it in his compositions.

For example, listen to how he creatively uses just intonation and manipulates note tuning in his a cappella rendition of “In The Bleak Midwinter.”

 

 

And just get a taste of his style, with his adventurous and colorful recreation of the classic theme to “The Flintstones.”

 

 

And marvel at his virtuosic live performances, a one-of-a-kind one-man-show, rife with on-the-spot improvisation.

 

 

If you do consider yourself a music theory nerd, feel free to geek out to this fascinating interview with Collier, augmented with diagrams and sound examples by master transcriber June Lee.

 

 

It begs the question – like the legendary 19th-century composer who revolutionized music before him – is Collier the 21st century’s Beethoven?

The post Is Jacob Collier our century’s Beethoven? appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> Chamber music returns to the living room https://newwestsymphony.org/chamber-music-returns-to-the-living-room/ Wed, 18 Jul 2018 14:30:17 +0000 https://newwestsymphony.org/?p=3054 Classical music still has a fighting change among the younger generation, thanks in large part to Groupmuse! Groupmuse is an innovative project that connects classical musicians with people’s living rooms, to put on chamber music performances! Intimate and casual affairs, Groupmuses are modern-day Schubertiades, where music lovers can discover the beauty and fun of classical music up close. Musicians get paid, and everyone has a good time.     Learn more about Groupmuse, and find one happening in your area at www.groupmuse.com.  

The post Chamber music returns to the living room appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> Classical music still has a fighting change among the younger generation, thanks in large part to Groupmuse! Groupmuse is an innovative project that connects classical musicians with people’s living rooms, to put on chamber music performances!

Intimate and casual affairs, Groupmuses are modern-day Schubertiades, where music lovers can discover the beauty and fun of classical music up close. Musicians get paid, and everyone has a good time.

 

 

Learn more about Groupmuse, and find one happening in your area at www.groupmuse.com.

 

The post Chamber music returns to the living room appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> Is video game music “serious” music? https://newwestsymphony.org/is-video-game-music-serious-music/ Fri, 13 Jul 2018 14:34:35 +0000 https://newwestsymphony.org/?p=2575 Some would say video games are saving orchestral music. At the very least, concerts of video game music have become a popular among younger audiences. Listen to the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra perform music from the classic video game, “The Legend of Zelda,” and decide for yourself whether video game music is “serious” music.    

The post Is video game music “serious” music? appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> Some would say video games are saving orchestral music. At the very least, concerts of video game music have become a popular among younger audiences.

Listen to the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra perform music from the classic video game, “The Legend of Zelda,” and decide for yourself whether video game music is “serious” music.

 

 

The post Is video game music “serious” music? appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> A young virtuoso on the reason why classical music is dying https://newwestsymphony.org/2579-2/ Mon, 09 Jul 2018 14:15:08 +0000 https://newwestsymphony.org/?p=2579 Charlie Albright, a gifted young pianist and recipient of the prestigious 2014 Avery Fisher Career Grant, is known as a youthful voice in classical music. His article published on CNN asks the common question, “why aren’t more young people showing an interest in classical music?” Albright’s thoughts? Etiquette. “Coughing? Forbidden,” he writes. “Performers speaking from the stage? Discouraged. Improvisation in a concert? Rarely done and almost never taught.” With a stuffy concert culture, he says, “it is no wonder that people (especially youth) are apprehensive and often uninterested in the whole idea of classical music.” “Thankfully,” Albright says, “this ‘classical’ classical music of the 20th century is dying.” Read more at CNN >> What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you feel a “stifling” atmosphere at the classical performances you attend? Is this the answer to drawing in younger listeners? Here’s a fascinating news story from Seattle’s KIRO about Charlie Albright from 1993:

The post A young virtuoso on the reason why classical music is dying appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> Charlie Albright, a gifted young pianist and recipient of the prestigious 2014 Avery Fisher Career Grant, is known as a youthful voice in classical music. His article published on CNN asks the common question, “why aren’t more young people showing an interest in classical music?”

Albright’s thoughts? Etiquette.

“Coughing? Forbidden,” he writes. “Performers speaking from the stage? Discouraged. Improvisation in a concert? Rarely done and almost never taught.”

With a stuffy concert culture, he says, “it is no wonder that people (especially youth) are apprehensive and often uninterested in the whole idea of classical music.”

“Thankfully,” Albright says, “this ‘classical’ classical music of the 20th century is dying.”

Read more at CNN >>

What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you feel a “stifling” atmosphere at the classical performances you attend? Is this the answer to drawing in younger listeners?

Here’s a fascinating news story from Seattle’s KIRO about Charlie Albright from 1993:

The post A young virtuoso on the reason why classical music is dying appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> Harps are for girls and tubas are for boys https://newwestsymphony.org/mlm042318/ Mon, 23 Apr 2018 17:15:49 +0000 https://newwestsymphony.org/?p=1222 Even in music there are gender stereotypes, oddly enough. For some reason, instruments like the flute were at times considered “feminine,” while brass instruments were “unbecoming” for ladies. We might like to think we’ve moved on, but when was the last time you saw a female tubist? If instruments aren’t gendered themselves, why have they historically belonged to one gender or another? Read more at WQXR…  

The post Harps are for girls and tubas are for boys appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> Even in music there are gender stereotypes, oddly enough. For some reason, instruments like the flute were at times considered “feminine,” while brass instruments were “unbecoming” for ladies. We might like to think we’ve moved on, but when was the last time you saw a female tubist? If instruments aren’t gendered themselves, why have they historically belonged to one gender or another?

Read more at WQXR…

 

The post Harps are for girls and tubas are for boys appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> Why did we learn to play recorder in school? https://newwestsymphony.org/031918-1/ Mon, 26 Mar 2018 17:10:46 +0000 https://newwestsymphony.org/?p=1054 To many parents and music teachers, the recorder is a dreaded, ear-shattering instrument. Why did so many of us learn it in school? It turns out this shrill wind instrument — all the rage in the royal courts of the Renaissance — is a particularly useful pedagogical tool. More at WQXR >>

The post Why did we learn to play recorder in school? appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]> To many parents and music teachers, the recorder is a dreaded, ear-shattering instrument. Why did so many of us learn it in school? It turns out this shrill wind instrument — all the rage in the royal courts of the Renaissance — is a particularly useful pedagogical tool.

More at WQXR >>

The post Why did we learn to play recorder in school? appeared first on New West Symphony.

]]>