For my birthday, Clear purchased me a ticket to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra: The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky.
Not being the huge symphony buff, I dont have a whole lot of critique on the performance. I was in the very last top row, which made it a bit of a strain to see. I closed my eyes and listened to the music for the most part. The orchestra played a short 10 minute introduction. Then, they took a break to regroup. The orchestra moved to the back half (as you can see in the photo) and the dancers came out for part 1. I got out my seat and stood to watch the dance portion. They took an intermission and came back out with the full symphony, but the dance was done. Part 2 was the portion one would recognize from Disney’s Fantasia. In front of me was a family of bobbleheads. They were really intent on the piece and were nodding their heads like it was a rock concert.
The ballet dancing was interesting to watch. There were 3 males and 3 females dressed in casual dance shirts and pants. I wish there was a backdrop, costumes, or maybe some props to help paint the picture. I was also a little disappointed that they didn’t act out the second half. It seems like the most relevant (and well known) of the piece with the rituals and sacrifice. But I suppose they wouldn’t have been able to fit the entire orchestra on the stage. After the dancing act, Man! The audience applauded forever! I mean sure it was good and they were out there for maybe 20 minutes, but the dancers had to bow four different times. They took each others hands walked to the front, bowed, came back, clapped, took hands again, rushed the front, bowed, came back, and left the stage. Then, they came back on stage and did it all over again. People. It was good, but stop clapping, and lets get this show on the road.
The concert experience is nice, but I dont know if I fully “get it”. The directors receive a ton of praise, but what are they actually doing. They’re just a visible metronome. They didn’t compose the piece. It’s already laid out for them, and they’d be a fool to change anything about it. The only thing they do is speed it up or tell one section to play louder or not. By any other director or orchestra, a concert of this magnitude would sound exactly alike. If I were to buy a CD of the performance, I feel like I’d get the same listening experience out of it. And do I really need to get all dolled up and bump elbows with some of these people. Aside from the bobbleheads, many of the people looked all dressed and weren’t even paying attention. Did you come just to get all dressed up?
I dont know. Just my 2 cents.
clear :) said,
January 28, 2007 @ 2:08 pm
On the vein of the conductor question (what’s so great about em?): There’s a group called the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and they make a point of performing without a conductor and they play some hefty literature at times, too, not just works for small groups. There are probably other groups like this, but this is the only one that I know of.
Maybe in some ways the conductor is part of the celebrity/personality draw? Part of that thing in people that makes them want to go and see soandso’s version and once you’re conducting a group like the CSO, you’ve probably been put through the paces somewhere along the way so people want to see if you have anything new to say. Chicago has a big history of celebrity conductors, Georg Solti (and perhaps Toscanini?). Conductors often speak before the performance so the conductor can be another link to the audience to help the performance seem more personal.
BUt yeah there is a lot of see and be seen at concerts. Probably partially because a lot of the funding for these groups comes from individual, private and corporate, donation by people who have a lot of dough. Only 41% of the Oregon Symphs budget comes from ticket sales and for the ballet theatre it’s 50%.
I don’t know if the two things are really related but it would seem that if you are pandering to the elite that you are going to get some feather strutting at these events too. Things may be slightly less like that now than they were 300 years ago, but that sentiment is definitely still there.
People still like to wear tuxes and ball gowns and one of the last places where these wardrobes are still appropriate is at a symphony concert. I’ve thought about the other way too. Why is it necessary for the orchestra to wear stuffy clothes? And furthermore, it seems ridiculous that the men have to wear tuxes and the women can get away with a black shirt and slacks. It seems odd and outdated to me.