Tackling a Dangerous Premise

Recently, I was asked the question below in a discussion about early music performance. I've decided to write up my (polished) answer. 

"What do you think about attracting audiences in this century of digital music downloads?"

First, I'd like to tackle the premise of your question. It assumes that a recording is effectively a replacement to a live performance. In fact the two media are fundamentally different works. A recording today is, essentially, a patchwork of hundreds (or even thousands!) of segments that are weaved together to present a musical composition performed to technical perfection and, possibly, with a specific artistic vision. 

A live performance, on the other hand, is a communal activity where an artist or artists engage with a work and the audience around them. A performance is a transfer of energy through a specific medium (whether it be a musical work, theatre piece, etc.), connecting people on an intellectual and/or spiritual level. It's a human activity - it's not a social construction. 

I'm sure you've been to a performance in your life where you felt you were on the "outside" - maybe it was a concert of 15th century Burgundian music, or maybe it was contemporary dance - but even so, there was still a moment during the show where you couldn't help but think "wow, I don't know what I'm watching, but it's incredible!"

The danger with tacitly accepting that a recording is a replacement to a live performance is that it will ultimately lead to the latter's disappearance. Already it's getting harder and harder for artists to find paying audiences, and I worry that we are unconsciously trying to replicate a recording in performances to the detriment of the activity. At every level of artistic training, at least in the classical music world, we are not teaching performance. We might encourage it, but we don't emphasise and train the skills which set performance apart from recordings. We don't even have a vocabulary to discuss and analyse the act of performing. 

So, to answer your question, all I can say is that I will continue to advocate live performance as its own medium; to strive to perform as much as I can, to the best of my ability.

264 Year Old Advice Rings True Today

With the stress level lower since securing a place within Switzerland for the next few years, I've committed myself to doing more regular reading on the topic of early music. The first first batch of books arriving in my mailbox this week contains J.J. Quantz's classic, On Playing the Flute (a translated version by Edward R. Reilly). While I have read numerous selections from the book before, I thought it would be a good time to go through it from the beginning to get a better overall view of the work. Funnily enough, it begins with an striking introduction: Of the Qualities Required of Those who Would Dedicate Themselves to Music.

Youth, Part 1

For months I've been brooding over a term which I see appearing more and more. An article in The Strad published a few months ago, while written about an organization with the best of intentions, included the words 'young' or 'youngster' several times. The Jumpstart Jr. program offers a much needed springboard for a select few string instrumentalists. The competition is tough, and the winners are "usually at the start of their career, freshly out of college, but have already established a reputation for excellence in their field," says Kati Debretzeni, OAE leader and artistic advisor to the York Early Music Festival.

Lukas Henning: Rome 1623

A few days ago I had the chance to interview Lukas Henning, whose groundbreaking masterrezital was recently published on YouTube. After months of research, planning, and practicing, the performance was well received by all. Being in the audience myself, it was interesting to imagine the possibilities for such a "scenic production". 

A List Like This

Last month the CBC published the "30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30, 2015 edition", a post which makes me shiver.

30 hot Canadian #classical musicians under 30: http://t.co/PZr6Xt3nSw The future of classical is in good hands! pic.twitter.com/JmTqe0wUND

— CBC Music (@CBCMusic) August 5, 2015

Though I have no doubt that the performers mentioned in the click-through gallery are dedicated servants of their art, CBC Music's investment in celebritization ultimately does the art more harm than good.

The 'industry' in North America, as it were, is in a truly pitiful state (take a look at Norman Lebrecht's When The Music Stops, an outing of the business of classical music, finds its conclusion at the turn of the 21st century where the trend of corporate mergers and the swallowing up leftover independent firms was just beginning): a small handful of multi-national corporations manage the bulk of touring artists, conductors, and ensembles, as well as own and operate seemingly independent media. Private interests control the incredible salaries paid to stars by publicly-funded institutions and the argument which, surprisingly, has held this system in place has been the necessity of celebrity to secure institutional longevity. 

In fact, if a performing artist is not directly or indirectly (through an ensemble) in contact with this celebrity system, they can very easily find themselves in a second tier: falling victim to labeling (referred to as 'local', or similar terminology), or making their income from other, non-performance based sources. It's the reality of the system in place, but should a national broadcaster be paying homage to it? (This isn't the first time I've tackled CBC Music's online coverage, and, as you can tell, my overall position hasn't changed.)

The media coverage at present surrounding a typical performance is almost entirely PR-driven. Newspapers 'sponsor' arts organizations, meaning that they guarantee coverage of that organization's activities (usually with an interview or promo piece) and, due to the thinning out of newspaper arts sections across Canada, it is getting harder and harder to get any coverage of non-institutionalized music-making at all.

So what's the alternative? Nurturing a culture of participation, encouraging the idea that live performance is categorically different from, and cannot be substituted by recorded media; cultivating the notion that the reward a live performance can grant you is worth taking the risk of attending. The most difficult pill to swallow for institutions in this scenario is the requirement to attack dwindling attendance culturally, not simply on a case by case basis (as is the norm). Performance art organizations would have to join together in encouraging a wholesale reinvestment in the culture of attendance - even if that means encouraging patrons to go elsewhere in the case of a conflict.

In order for any meaningful change to be made leadership from among the establishment is needed. It's about time, CBC, will you step up?

Radicals

Yesterday I read an article by Richard Todd on Wolfgang's Tonic summing up in his words the effect Lisitsa/TSO calamity had on Stewart Goodyear. I wasn't particularly interested on commenting directly on the feed since that usually grabs the attention of the wrong kind of people. I decided then that I would put it up here.

Obviously subjective judgments on pianists aside, I was a little unnerved by the term "free-speech radicals" used to describe an apparent subgroup who pushed Stewart Goodyear to dropping the gig. I don't condone the mob's actions, especially as they dealt with their frustrations by shooting the messenger, so to speak, but that term unfairly diminishes them and sets a dangerous precedent.

This is not the first time those words have been used to describe opponents to perceived 'censorship' issues in the arts - take the 2001 Death of Klinghoffer affair in Boston for instance. However, in the context of the online hysteria arising from the TSO blunder pidgeon-holing a cross section of misguided thugs as 'free-speech radicals' only opens the door for the people who really executed Lisitsa's dropping - those unnamed big time 'donors' - to gain standing. If donors have the power to affect the TSO's hiring policy so visibly, who's to say they won't try it again when it suits them while labeling opposition as 'radical'.

If the mob really wishes for this case never to be repeated then institutional change must be made across the board - a radical suggestion, perhaps? But that won't happen if personal attacks remain the norm on the one side, while the other has the establishment by the balls.

Claiming Authority

As an Early Musician, I have come across numerous philosophies (or pseudo-philosophies) relating to performance. I'm not saying there should be a consensus, but I am troubled that many tacitly assume their reasoning is generally-accepted since there is no real medium for collective discussion on the broader HIP movement. Of those who do make their thoughts known, the most visible opinions on early music performance usually make a bold claim. 'Authenticity', 'correctness', or whatever they call it, is often touted by performers and their agents.

Elements

A few weeks ago in MOMO class we had an exercise where every student had to speak for a minute or two on a given subject. Mine was 'age'. "If a conservatory were to hire a talented 21 year old in 1960, the hiring committee would, and did, see the candidate as an investment in the future of the institution. If that same candidate were to be hired today the decision would be looked upon as 'risky' and no doubt there would be a call for the committee to reexamine their options. So," I asked, "when do I lose my youth?" At that moment a discussion started. Discussions rarely happen in MOMO, but when they do there is plenty to think about.

Apples and Oranges

After witnessing some coverage of the annual Apple Inc. launch I couldn't help but be stunned. A company who sells gadgets and gizmos has been held up so high by North American society that even news corporations shamelessly cover their event with previews, speculations, summary articles, as well as even 'live blogs'. Apple's branding has become so successful that many people my age see themselves as part of a tribe. Whether or not they are up to date with the equipment, I'm sure many of us have had that jokey conversation when, at a table loaded with smart-phone users, someone pulls out the apple product to cat-calls.

Marketing these days is becoming so pervasive that it is hard not think to define ourselves by what we buy, rather than who we are. Just yesterday I was on the train to Liestal and saw a billboard ask "who are you?" asserting that we would 'find ourselves' by what we bought at their store. Marketing is everywhere and it's getting sneakier the more we learn to ignore it, and branding has the potential to have a powerful grip over the way we act. Just look at the Apple announcement as an example.

Are you a dog person, or a cat person? An Apple user, or a PC user?

Apple makes the front page of many news services today

Rituals can be powerful and those who might have wanted their fix could certainly have gotten theirs at the launch yesterday in Cupertino, California. Hardcore techies, reporters, and other choir members were made witness to quite the spectacle. U2 performed and CEO Tim Cook, holding the traditional role of the 'priest', displayed the miracles of his new technology to the onlookers. Curiously, the late Steve Jobs, whom we've all seen on the face plastered on books and other news articles since his death, has taken on the role of a quasi-deity. Just read this headline. This ritual, however fantastic it may seem, has a rather insidious goal. Where traditional religions encourage charity, spirituality, the rejection of materialism; Apple's paradigm sees these inverted with materialism and self-gratification taking top positions. Different here from tradition is that Apple's devices not only position themselves as to make you happy, they continue to build themselves into how you manage your life. It has replaced your phone, calendar, it's now reaching into your wallet, and let's not speak about how devices like these have changed social behaviour. It's all worrying to me as a performer.

It isn't so much the power of the brand which worries me the most, it's the fact that the catalyst for Apple's success came with a device purported to make music easier to carry, as well as to access (as long as you had the money to pay for it, of course): the ipod. Since its introduction in 2001, digital music downloads through services like itunes, have continued to take larger portions of the market and it's inconceivable today for a musician not to release their albums digitally. More importantly, itunes' popular business model - setting most songs at $0.99 a track - helped quantify the value of a performance to the average listener.

Music is something everyone likes, and no matter what your favorite genre is the musicians who make a career to entertain, to challenge, to move you must do so by performing for a live audience. A recording may be an excellent business card, a good way of telling whether you a certain musician or the music they perform, but don't let the current market culture tell you that you are what you own. The very nature of performance stands antithetical to Apple's branding, as a performance only exists in the moment. Once that moment has ended, it's gone never to return. Unlike a digital download. Troubling here that a corporation has managed to have so much impact on a culture all the while creating the perception of being a champion of music.

What I mean to say here today is, essentially, don't let the glamour of technology let you substitute it for experiences which might, in fact, help you discover who you are. Don't be fooled by those billboards telling you that you are what you buy; it's your collective experiences, your values, your deeds which define you. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

A Mystery Solved?

Last week TheStrad.com published an opinion piece which turned a few heads. Early music should be left to period players said Julian Haylock, but for all the wrong reasons. Though his hypothesis is polarizing, the evidence he chooses to support his argument is spotty at best.

Worth a Read

Last week Sara Sitzer wrote an article on Newmusicbox on defining success. Many musicians coming out of conservatories today need to assess what success means to them. Last week I was lucky enough to run a round-table at the Schola focusing on the rationale of a career in music. My reason for the subject was that if we could define why we aspire for a professional music life, apart from the usual 'I like it' or 'I can't see myself doing anything else', then even in our darkest hours we could take what we had learned to find the motivation to continue. In many ways Sitzer's article parallels this activity.

I Challenge You to do Better, CBC Music, Please.

Post by CBC Music.

A few days ago I read a post on the CBC Music blog. The facebook post which I've embedded above advertised an interview with Yannick Nézet-Séguin on how classical music needs to change. In actuality it was a gallery with a few bullet-points. Frankly, it felt a bit cheap. The more I look at the website, the more I see CBC Music's classical section catering to a mythical online community that is content with little substance and celebrity.

New Angle

About a month ago I read an article on the Ottawa Citizen blog about an upcoming concert series spearheaded by Ottawa New Music Creators board member Curtis Perry. Curtis and I both went to the same high school and were classmates in university as well so I was eager to read. 

The series hopes to present new music at a local coffee shop during store hours. In the discussion with Interviewer .... Curtis very eloquently lined out the broader dilemma facing new music, and indeed classical music. When posed the question regarding the abundance of recordings and what made a live concert relevant anymore, though Curtis' answer was fine, I felt that he missed a crucial argument. This got me thinking. 

Absolutely Ridiculous Approach by Management

The article quoted below, which I highly recommend you read, has to do with the continuing dispute following a lockout of the musicians at the Minnesota Orchestra. Though I've never seen this before in Arts-related disputes, I do remember seeing this technique used when Vancouver was bidding for the 2010 Olympic games. At that time, the city purchased hundreds of domain names which might otherwise be used for those protesting the bid. I can't seem to find an article online about it, but while I look for it take a look at Emily Hogstad's post.

"So. While you were attending the last show in the old Orchestra Hall – earnestly cutting checks for the Building for the Future campaign – flipping through your shiny brochures for the 2012-13 season – the Minnesota Orchestra was spending money (presumably, your money) in a concerted attempt to buy a domain name relating to “saving the orchestra.” (Implication: they knew a big persuasive chunk of people in the future would view their actions as destructive, and they knew they had to guard against those people.)
Oh, but wait, you say. Yes, this sounds awful, initially, but maybe the MOA wanted to keep the name on hand for a fundraising effort!
Nope. Wasn’t done for a fundraising effort. Want to know why I know?" Read More

Emily's most important accusation, in my mind, is that the management's move to purchase possible pro-labour web domains might have come from discussions with the Detroit Symphony management in the spring of 2012. Although impossible to prove, even the possibility of a cabal of executives within arts organizations willing to conspire to get the upper hand in labour disputes is shocking to me.

EUBO Auditions

Next weekend I'll be off to audition with 9 other bassoonists for a place in the European Union Baroque Orchestra 2013. Over the past few months I've been very busy in preparation for this event and I hope that my hard work pays off.

Opera da Camera on Rockethub

Some of you may remember I wrote a bit on Opera da Camera last year. The quartet is busy preparing for their most ambitious project yet: Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, which will be performed at the Théatre Rialto on February 22, 23, and 24. All those details can be found here.

Part of their preparations have included a fundraising drive through Rockethub, a crowd-funding website similar to Kickstarter. In two weeks OdC has managed to raise $760 and they still have 61 days to go (as of today) to reach their goal of $3000. If you're looking for a great Christmas gift, why not donate to this great project? If you give enough, they'll even come perform a private concert for you!

Can you imagine doing anything else?

A video or two for you before Trick or Treating this evening: A brief discussion between musicians and the Kronos Quartet and Wu Man at a Workshop at Carnegie Hall.



Speaking on the difficulty of reaching a measure of success, violinist John Sherba says, "It boils down to you enjoy this so much that you just have to do it...you can't imagine not doing [it]." What an important point.

In the second video, violinist David Harrington gives a brief history of the Kronos Quartet. Pay attention to  his work as 'the manager of the group', and how often they performed in Seattle in the early days.



So,now that you've heard a little about the work involved. Can you imagine doing anything other than music?

Happy Halloween!

Make it Mean Something

A recent lecture given by Anthony Rooley (Consort of Musicke) had an important effect on me. Though the lecture centered around Monteverdi's Lamento d'Arianna (1608), as well as other works based on the same subject, an incredibly important point was raised. Artists should be engaging with their audiences on more levels than purely musical. "Give them a story," he said.

Interestingly enough, by the end of the lecture we had heard enough music to encapsulate a concert and walked away with a much deeper understanding of the circumstances surrounding the centrepiece work, as well as discovered numerous other works directly referencing Monteverdi's setting. We covered the entire myth of Arianna at Naxos as well as another, that of Leander and Hero, and covered settings of those works which were isolated from the Italian settings.

Though, of course, it was presented in a manner befitting a classroom, it wouldn't be difficult to convert it for a concert-going public. Indeed, I assume this lecture came about from the Lamento D'Arianna project by the Consort of Musicke c.1990.

Crucial is it for us at this moment to make a concert 'relevant', what better way than this? Create a narrative, appealing to both the intellectual and the emotional, providing an event with an inherent cultural value beyond just another broadly-themed concert.

Oooh'ing and Aaah'ing over The OAE

Just one example of the many techniques to create a 'buzz' with potential audiences, The Orchestra of The Age of Enlightenment is always open to new ideas. One of the plethora of classical institutions in London, and relatively small in comparison with the modern orchestras in the city, the OAE has done much to "cut through the noise," as Communications Director William Norris puts it.

"We're one of many orchestras who live in the center of London," says William, "and we've had to be innovative in order to attract as much attention as the others with a large budget. We've always been a little bit rebellious in our strategies." The OAE's emphasis in their media strategy has always been on the orchestra members, as they have no principal conductor.

Encompassing the largest staff for a period orchestra in the country, the organization is never short of new initiatives and projects. In January, a video was put out asking people who don't look like the average classical music concert-goer to enter to become a poster-boy (or girl) for the upcoming season. Next Friday, we'll see the results of that contest. A unique approach which has generated quite a bit of buzz, the campaign displays the importance the orchestra puts on developing new audiences. Take a look at the teaser video:



Their website, also a unique design, puts its blog, vigorously updated, with material on a vast array of subjects, front and center. From composer biographies, tour updates, to videos such as the ones above, there is more material there than most in-house orchestra blogs put together. "We're in the process of updating our blogging system," says William, "right now it's a little complicated for orchestra members to blog. They write it, then send it to a staff member who then puts it up." An interesting concern for the communications office, I wonder if giving performers easy access to blogging software is on the top of other orchestras' to-do lists?

Apart from its regular concert series, the orchestra runs three others: The Night Shift, The Works, and OAE TOTS (for toddlers). Focusing on younger audiences (17 to mid 30s), The Night Shift has been very successful, both filling their concerts and receiving a lot of media attention. This past January, The Night Shift took a pub-tour which saw great success. Interestingly, in a post explaining that the pub-tour was in development, the author openly asked for suggestions. That's the first time I've ever seen that in an official communication from an orchestra.

The Works, OAE's most recent series, is targeted towards adults new to, or skeptical of, classical music. An excellent explanation can be found on the initial blog post about the series:

The concept is not rocket science. The heart of it is a concert at 8pm that lasts around 80 minutes, with no interval. In the first part of the concert the presenter and conductor or soloist will give the audience a ‘guided tour’ of the featured piece of music, movement by movement. Then there’s time for a Q+A and then a full performance of it. Drinks will be allowed in and we hope some of the informal atmosphere of the Night Shift will ensue. Before the concert, from 7pm we have some jazz in the bar as a way to start people’s evening off and then after the concert our Education Director, Cherry, will lead a ‘speed-date-the-OAE’ session, which is basically a flash way of enabling the audience to meet the Orchestra (all will be explained on the night)! 

Into its 26th year, the orchestra seems to be putting more emphasis on projects related to audience development than on its regular performances. Their consistent use of high-quality video and photography also compliment their blog-heavy website design.

Take a look at their website, then take a look at the website of your local orchestra. Are there many similarities?

The Tempest in a Teapot Turns 10

Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Philadelphia, second largest city on the eastern sea board and home to a busy music scene.

Though most of the attention has recently been drawn towards the Philadelphia Orchestra, the local baroque orchestra has some news of its own.  Celebrating its tenth birthday this season, Tempesta di Mare will be offering four concerts over two weekends in March as part of its "opus 10" celebrations. The concerts will feature works which have been catalogued by the number 10, such as Vivaldi's op. 10, Bach's BWV 1010, Leclair's op. 10, and so on.

One of the youngest period orchestras in North America today, the little tempest in a tea pot has developed a strong following in the city, seeing a budget increase of 1000% since its conception. The two directors, flutist Gwyn Robinson and Lutenist Richard Stone, have worked hard to see their project successful. "For a number of years," says Gwyn, "Robert and I volunteered our time to get all of the work done behind the scenes." Today, the orchestra has a full-time staff member and four other part-timers (of which two are the directors) who do all of the administrative work. "It's nice to have people we can trust [with this work]!" notes Gwyn. It must also be nice being paid for it, too.