Programming in Baltimore
The Baltimore Symphony just put on a program that might fit on an ANALOG roster. As part of their "Twist" series they are attempting to stretch a bit outside the normal museum atmosphere of a symphony orchestra.
The program is simple enough: Sibelius, followed by Dougherty, followed by the Firebird. Interesting to me is that they recognized the natural desire for visual aids. The idea of pairing ballet music with a visual component is natural to the conservatory-trained but, according to my limited market research, many concert goers view the symphony, the opera, and ballet as three very different genres. Indeed, we've heard the Firebird Suites so often, it is a surprise to recognize that there was once a story that went along with the music.
When listening to the Sibelius and watching the sexy Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell dance I couldn't help imagining myself transported back to the very early days of Ballet. Before the lavish Diagalev stage productions, before Paris put the dancers in the forefront, and before Wagner put the orchestra under the stage, we might have seen something very similar to the Baltimore production: one solitary dancer on the apron of the stage with no props and no set.
With countless U.S. ballet companies perishing, perhaps this is the answer. Maybe we need to go back to these primitive productions. Instead of compartmentalizing the orchestra to music-only productions and dance to tape-only shows, combine them a few times within the symphony season. Let ballet slowly re-develop something like its former glory. Both the symphony and the ballet can only gain from this relationship.
Dougherty's Hell's Angels immediately reminded me of the flack about Dan Brown stealing ideas for the Da Vinci Code. If I were to write a piece for bassoons and orchestra about the Hell's Angels I would be labeled a copycat, and possibly even sued. Why? Why should Dougherty have exclusive rights to write about such a strong mythical force in American culture?
The piece is certainly an able and balanced one. It inspires me to write about the same thing, using the same canvas. Of course, my version would be different enough to the unbiased ear. I would most certainly involve less musical-theater effects and more ring-modulator effects, and I would probably even include some text from Hunter S. Thompson's book.
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The program is simple enough: Sibelius, followed by Dougherty, followed by the Firebird. Interesting to me is that they recognized the natural desire for visual aids. The idea of pairing ballet music with a visual component is natural to the conservatory-trained but, according to my limited market research, many concert goers view the symphony, the opera, and ballet as three very different genres. Indeed, we've heard the Firebird Suites so often, it is a surprise to recognize that there was once a story that went along with the music.
When listening to the Sibelius and watching the sexy Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell dance I couldn't help imagining myself transported back to the very early days of Ballet. Before the lavish Diagalev stage productions, before Paris put the dancers in the forefront, and before Wagner put the orchestra under the stage, we might have seen something very similar to the Baltimore production: one solitary dancer on the apron of the stage with no props and no set.
With countless U.S. ballet companies perishing, perhaps this is the answer. Maybe we need to go back to these primitive productions. Instead of compartmentalizing the orchestra to music-only productions and dance to tape-only shows, combine them a few times within the symphony season. Let ballet slowly re-develop something like its former glory. Both the symphony and the ballet can only gain from this relationship.
Dougherty's Hell's Angels immediately reminded me of the flack about Dan Brown stealing ideas for the Da Vinci Code. If I were to write a piece for bassoons and orchestra about the Hell's Angels I would be labeled a copycat, and possibly even sued. Why? Why should Dougherty have exclusive rights to write about such a strong mythical force in American culture?
The piece is certainly an able and balanced one. It inspires me to write about the same thing, using the same canvas. Of course, my version would be different enough to the unbiased ear. I would most certainly involve less musical-theater effects and more ring-modulator effects, and I would probably even include some text from Hunter S. Thompson's book.
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posted by dolf at 11:41
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