Sounds Like Now
A blog by saxophonist Brian Sacawa
Archive for Classical Music
April 22, 2005 at 3:55 pm · Filed under Blog: Spring 05, Classical Music, Orchestra
Talk about an expose. Ilka Talvi writes about the bitter truth surrounding auditions. The illusion that some young musicians labor under is that the best player will win the job. Unfortunately, as Mr. Talvi notes, that’s not always the case–perhaps it’s not the case more times than some would like to believe. It’s inevitable that politics–both external (who knows who) and internal (so-and-so doesn’t like so-and-so)–will come into play during the selection process. And even when there seems to be a sure winner, when some committees get together, nothing can be sure.
I’ve witnessed this phenomenon first hand. A few years ago while a member of a professional ensemble based in Washington, D.C., I served on a number of audition committees. In one instance, immediately after a candidate’s audition, the entire committee was completely hot on this player. However, after thirty grueling minutes of deliberation, the committee had gone from considering this musician the one to absolutely hating their playing. And the poor musician didn’t do anything to provoke this. Rather, some members of the committee used the audition as a vehicle to voice their personal differences and frustrations with each other. I was stunned as I watched this unfold in front of me–I was a junior member of the ensemble, so I wasn’t really in a position to chime in.
I received a big education that day. I felt like Holden Caulfield. (I should note that not all the audition committees I sat on were as corrupt as the one described above. Usually they were quite enjoyable. But it does serve to illustrate an unfortunate fact that Mr. Talvi discloses so bravely.) It’s certainly nice if it works in your favor though!
April 13, 2005 at 12:54 am · Filed under Blog: Spring 05, Classical Music, Recordings
As part of restructuring their classical music division, Sony BMG announced yesterday the creation of a new classical label, Sony BMG Masterworks. With Gilbert Hetherwick at the helm, the label intends to “put the focus on classical music,” which means putting a damper on the crossover projects that were once deemed the only way to sustain a classical line. Mr. Hetherwick reports directly to Sony BMG Music Entertainment’s chief operating officer, Michael Smeille, who although professing to knowing nothing about classical music, registered some pretty insightful comments about crossover projects:
I don’t buy the reports that the classical record market is collapsing. It’s just a question of recording the right repertory, marketing it convincingly and applying the right discipline. And in my view, getting rid of crossover allows people to be focused. Crossover distorts people’s values. You have a record that sells a million copies, and the universe shifts towards finding the next one. That’s not what we want to do.
Well, his comments about crossover are pretty insightful, but one wonders who he’s trying to kid with that first sentence. (And maybe what he means by “marketing it convincingly” is to use “babeness” as a strategy. What do you think, Jerry?) At any rate, although the label intends to support classical music and not crossover artists, classical music means the core classical repertory. So expect new releases of the same old stuff, only this time mined from the back catalog of the combined label, in the form of reissues. In fact, over 100 releases a year would most likely be reissues, compared to the 20 to 25 new recordings.
And where’s new music in this equation? Not completely absent, although it would be nice to see contemporary composers get a bigger slice of the major record label pie. Contemporary music will have to be happy being marginalized, for the most part, to the internet ghetto:
[The internet] would be ideal for some of the contemporary-music recordings that Sony has: avant-garde productions from the 1960s that are important but that we couldn’t afford to remaster, put into a plastic box and sell in stores.
Huh? If they’re important, why not remaster them, put them into a plastic box and sell them in stores? Or how about just putting them into a plastic box and selling them in stores? It’s important to note here that any sort of attention to new music that the label will pay, is attention to “old” new music, rather than “new” new music. Mr. Hetherwick says some things that make me jump for joy, but he also says some things that leave me scratching my head.
April 7, 2005 at 1:20 am · Filed under Blog: Spring 05, Classical Music, Performers
For some, being dubbed a crossover artist might carry just as much baggage as being branded a sellout. And whether she likes it or not, British harpist Catrin Finch bears that burden. How could she not be considered a crossover artist after performing on television with Bryn Terfel and recording arrangements of pop tunes for Sony? But unlike other artists who’ve done similar things, Ms. Finch can still win praise from critics and other harpists (at least that’s what I gather after reading Anne Midgette’s review of her YCA debut concert at Weill Recital Hall).
Crossing over isn’t that uncommon–Yo-Yo Ma has several such albums; the double-bassist Edgar Meyer has a new CD with Bela Fleck; the flutist James Galway plays the penny-whistle; the pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet has an Ellington album as well as a CD of tunes by jazz pianist Bill Evans; and the soprano Dawn Upshaw routinely sings songs that aren’t in German or French or Italian.
So why do I bring this up? Reading Helen Radice’s comments about Ms. Finch–she acknowledges both the respect and jealousy that harpists feel towards her–got me thinking about the issue on my own instrument. The saxophone is a versatile instrument and is comfortable in many different musical settings. It’s not uncommon to find a saxophonist who plays concert music (yes, there are people that do that sort of thing) as well as jazz or experimental improvisation or salsa, and so on. Well, there is a kind of crossover that happens sometimes in the saxophone world that really ruffles some feathers–the jazz artist who gets a big gig playing a standard saxophone concerto with a world famous orchestra. If you haven’t guessed yet, I’m talking about the saxophonist that saxophonists love to hate (no, not Kenny G): Branford Marsalis.
Last December Branford played Glazounov’s saxophone concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrey Boreyko. Branford’s no stranger to the concert saxophone world, having cut two CDs of classical music–Romances, a potpourri of short works; and most recently Creation, which includes Milhaud’s Scaramouche and La Creation du monde, as well as Jacques Ibert’s Concertino da Camera, all recorded with the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble as his back-up band. To some, this was an outrage–”Hey! That’s our music!”–while others embraced him as a player who was helping the concert saxophone’s cause by bringing repertoire to a wider audience, even if he is a jazz artist. The discussion over at the North American Saxophone Alliance (yes, go ahead and make your jokes, it’s NASA), got pretty passionate over the issue.
So what’s the big deal? Contrary to popular belief not all saxophonists play jazz. There’s a sizeable portion of the saxophone community that plays concert music–and only concert music. As a result, some folks get a bit territorial when an “outsider” plays on their turf. It’s understandable. A jazz saxophonist would probably snicker if a concert saxophonist (not one who also plays jazz) booked a gig at the Blue Note and attempted to play changes. But concert saxophonists–some of them–weren’t snickering at Branford on stage with the CSO, they were fuming.
Where do I come down w/r/t this issue? Well, I see it from both angles. The CSO wants to sell tickets and Branford is a big-name saxophonist. (The question would be, why would they program the Glazounov concerto anyway?) Yet Branford brings a different set of values to saxophone tone, technique, and interpretation than most concert saxophonists. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, at this point in the instrument’s history, I believe that concert saxophone playing stands as a viable–albeit, less lucrative or recognized–mode of music making vis-a-vis jazz.
Catrin Finch can cross over because she’s able to cross back over and not lose any of her musical intergrity in the process. And her crossover stuff displays the same stunning playing that she brings to the concert hall. Ok, so what do I think? Here it is: Not all classical saxophonists can play jazz. And not all jazz saxophonists can play classical.
April 2, 2005 at 11:32 am · Filed under Blog: Spring 05, Classical Music
Last Sunday’s New York Times is still providing grist for the mill. While everyone was busy salivating over the Wuorinen-Harbison-Levine summit, they might have missed another important piece. Anne Midgette’s article about how classical musicians’ plots to educate their audiences usually fall short makes some good points:
Too often, all those notes and lectures and, yes, even the concert hall itself effectively create an additional barrier, making the concert experience feel more like a college class than an evening of enjoyment.
The idea being that the more an audience knows about the music they’re listening to, the more they will appreciate it. Well, that’s usually not the case. And Ms. Midgette sites as evidence the fact that she routinely sees people looking at the wrong program in the playbill during a concert.
The fact that some musicians and musical organizations feel the need to lecture their audiences and extoll the virtues of some work or another, although extremely well-intentioned, only serves to reinforce the idea in some of the public’s mind that classical music is an elitist institution. I imagine that some audience members would be put off by a pre-concert lecture–as if they were being talked down to. Ms. Midgette’s right: who wants to be lectured to when you’ve come to enjoy some live music?
Like Ms. Midgette, I’ve often thought of the concert hall as something of a barrier. The performer has a role to fulfill as does the audience. Maybe lecturing to the audience isn’t the best way to try and break down that barrier. Some artists have enjoyed great success taking classical music out of the concert hall and into some pretty seedy places. The cellist Matt Haimovitz has perhaps done this the best of anyone recently. He’s toured around the country with all six of Bach’s cello suites and a more contemporary program called Anthem, which includes some newly commissioned works, in venues that might seem less than accommodating to his instrument–coffeehouses and rock clubs.
Classical musicians are trying to reach out to new audiences. Who can blame them? It’s something that I’m certainly actively involved in. If we’re going to succeed, I think Mr. Haimovitz provides the best model. And he does it without sacrificing any of his artistic integrity. So keep the lectures to five sentences or less and fill up the time with imaginative programming and compelling performances. People will respond.
March 26, 2005 at 12:02 am · Filed under Blog: Spring 05, Classical Music, Performers
I heard two concerts last week–one by the clarinetist Karl Leister and another by Sir James Galway, the consumate entertainer. Two legendary player and two very different concerts. Mr. Leister, the former principal clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic, played an exquisite recital that included Brahms’ F minor Sonata, op. 120, no. 1. His tone is pure and stays consistent throughout the entire range of the clarinet. And his intonation was immaculate. These two factors helped me overlook his somewhat conservative music making.
In stark contrast, Sir James was sheer flamboyance. He played a concert of French music to a sold-out Hill Auditorium. Some of my flute friends write off Sir James for one thing or another about his playing, but I went into the concert with an open mind, wanting simply to be moved by a consumate artist. Unfortunately, there was nothing special about the concert, including the music–two Paris Conservatory concours pieces on the same program? In addition, Sir James played severely sharp through the entire concert despite tuning before each work. He sures knows how to work a crowd though.
March 23, 2005 at 1:54 pm · Filed under Blog: Spring 05, Classical Music
One of the best classical music concert-finding and news resources on the web is Opus 1 Classical. One neat feature of their site is that the picture on their page banner changes each time you visit. On any given trip you might see a piano, a trumpet, a flute, or a violin. My favorite though is a strange clarinet that I’m not sure anyone could play–the mouthpiece is on upside down.
March 12, 2005 at 2:07 pm · Filed under Blog: Winter 04, Classical Music
Composers take note. Here’s how to get your music played and receive that critical praise you’ve been hungering for:
1. Marry a world-class soloist.
2. Become the music director of a famous orchestra.
3. Write your spouse a concerto.
4. Take your orchestra on the road.
Hey, it worked for Andre Previn, who led his wife Anne-Sophie Mutter in his new violin concerto with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchesta. Even Bernard Holland thinks it’s a good idea: “New music should do anything it can to find an audience, and this way is better than many.” And don’t worry, there’s “no sin in [this] kind of three-way.”
March 6, 2005 at 11:46 am · Filed under Blog: Winter 04, Classical Music, Performers, Recordings
I noticed something from my last post. Six out of the ten solos I listed were recorded live. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. There’s something about the energy, excitement, intensity, immediacy, and spontaneity of a live performance that simply cannot be captured in a controlled and sterile studio environment.
You don’t hear live classical recordings that often. Occasionally you’ll run into one–Lang Lang’s “live” Carnegie Hall recital CD comes to mind. Although who knows just how much splicing and editing was done from the dress rehearsals. You don’t see live classical albums nearly as often as live jazz or rock albums. Even Steely Dan, the rock and roll studio kings of the 1970s and 1980s, cut a live album not too long ago. (In fairness to Mr. Lang, there’s a well-hidden but still audible edit in “Peg” on the Steely Dan album right before the final guitar solo–listen closely, you’ll hear it.)
So why don’t people make live classical albums? They’re scared to, that’s why. Who wants to take a chance at releasing an album with a wrong note (or two)? Imagine the humiliation and shame you’d feel in front of your peers, who never mess up. Today’s advanced editing techniques have made it possible to create perfect, flawless, almost superhuman sounding recordings. You can even speed up a passage if you can’t play it fast as you’d like to. Over time, the bar has been set continually higher for the polish and perfection of classical recordings. And that’s not entirely bad. I think this high standard has spurred amazing advances in instrumental technique. But who can play flawlessly all the time? And what about the synergy between artist and audience?
Walter Benjamin talks about certain aspects of this phenomenon in his essay, “The Work of Art in the Mechanical Age of Reproduction.” In one instance, he compares the stage actor’s performance to that of a screen actor. The stage actor presents his/her artistic performance to the public in person. The screen actor’s artistic performance is presented by the camera. And the camera that presents the performance to the public doesn’t need to respect the performance as an integral whole. The editor chooses the sequence of events, camera angles, and close-ups, which then constitutes the completed film. One consequence of this is that the film actor lacks the opportunity to adjust to the audience that the stage actor does. This allows the audience to take the position of a critic without expreiencing any personal contact with the actor. Everybody’s a critic.
While I’ve been up on my soapbox, I have to admit that my recordings contain editing. It’s an accepted practice and everyone does it (sure sounds like peer pressure). In the end, it comes down to each artist’s integrity. They’ve got to live with what they’ve chosen to do. Catholics might have a harder time with this than others. Someone could make an amazing sounding recording with a little (or a lot of) studio magic. However, if they’ve really pulled a fast one on everybody in the studio, the truth will inevitably come out in live performance. My next album won’t be “clean” but one of these days I’ll make a live album. Mark my words.
(Actually, not all of my recordings have editing. This one, which features me on alto saxophone with the Larry Teal Saxophone Quartet, was recorded live in concert.)
February 28, 2005 at 11:52 am · Filed under Blog: Winter 04, Classical Music, Performers, Television
Did anybody see Yo-Yo Ma’s performance of the Sarabande from Bach’s 6th suite at the Academy Awards last night? The piece was supposed to serve as a requiem of sorts for the folks that passed away this past year. But the audience’s clapping for the deceased, who had their pictures flashed on the giant screens as Mr. Ma played, was both annoying and distracting. What’s up with these Hollywood-types? Don’t they know how to act?
January 18, 2005 at 2:34 pm · Filed under Blog: Winter 04, Classical Music, Performers
Jerry’s post about the violinist Nicola Benedetti, who might sell more albums based on sex appeal rather than her talent as a musician, raises an important question: What is our goal as musicians? To sell albums or to make art?
The answer to this question would probably vary depending on who was asked. Posed to the artist, I’m pretty sure the answer would be the latter. But directed at the president of a big-name record company, I bet the answer might be different. And probably at odds with his or her artists’ aims.
To her credit, Ms. Benedetti seems to understand the possible ramifications of her recent deal–her spokesman Ian Roberts issued the following statement: “Nicola wants to keep to her core of classical music, but modernise without losing standards.” And just what would happen if she began to lose her standards? Well, she’d run the risk of being branded a “sellout” by both peers and critics, if they haven’t already made that judgement.
The music business has it’s fair share of these artists, and each instrument can most likely claim at least one. Among saxophonists, Kenny G as long been the bearer of this burden (all the way to the bank, I might add!). The truth is that many of these so-called “sellouts” are fine musicians, Mr. Gorlick included. They’ve simply chosen a path in music that might be a bit more lucrative than the path that you or I have chosen.
But the issue then becomes the hype or overhype surrounding the artists. This is precisely why Anthony Tommasini wrote such a scathing review of Lang Lang’s Carnegie Hall recital in The New York Times. Because Deutsche Grammophon had built up such expectations about the event, who can fault Mr. Tommasini for his reaction when, to his ears, the performance didn’t live up to the hype?
Performers and composers want to make music and share their art with the public. Record companies want to sell albums. In a way, these two goals are quite simila—at their core they both are about allowing people to enjoy music. Yet they couldn’t be more different. Is there a way to bridge the gap between these competing aims or perhaps just create more common ground?
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