Michael James Oberhauser
  • Home
  • Experience
    • Behind the Scenes
  • The Music
    • Compositions
    • Compositions Performed
  • A Composer's Blog
  • Contact

A rant on recital and concert programming

4/20/2011

3 Comments

 
The private social club where I work has a monthly concert. They always bring in amazingly talented performers, but the works that are programmed on the recitals aren't always particularly exciting.

I was looking forward to tonight's concert. I had heard nothing but great things about the pianist who was performing. My mood changed when I saw what he had programmed: four fantasies/fantasias by Mendelssohn, Schumann, Mozart, and Beethoven. The Beethoven was - you guessed it - "Moonlight Sonata." I can't remember exactly what the other three were, because every time I try to remember I fall asleep.

Ok, that was a little harsh. I'm sure all four are great pieces, and they're definitely four of the powerhouse composers in piano literature. But couldn't one of them have been something a little more exciting? Perform three of those four - any three - and something else. (Well, maybe not any three. I'll take Schumann or Beethoven over Mendelssohn or Mozart any day, but that's just my taste. And do we really need to hear Moonlight Sonata again? The piece that anybody who plays piano at least decently well has learned at some point or other? But I digress...)

I know the pianist was programming for the audience. The average age of members of the club is 71.5. We can probably safely assume that the average age of these concertgoers was pretty close to 71.5. These people are looking for things that they're familiar with. I'm not asking for Ligeti to be programmed- that probably wouldn't go over very well with this crowd. At least pick something that they might not all have heard before: Something by a more obscure composer whose work is similar to the others you're playing. Something from a composer with a slightly broader tonal vocabulary. Go ahead and keep it tonal, just be a little more adventurous. Make those 71.5 year olds think a little bit. Make them talk about the music. Sure, they might not love it, but they'll probably be more likely to remember that piece compared to the others.

Everyone complains that nobody will go see performances of newer music. That's why we have to be ninjas and trick them into hearing newer music by surrounding the newer pieces with the safety-blanket pieces that they'll hear on the radio on the way home and in their homes when they pop in their CDs. Maybe one of these newer pieces will catch their interest. Then they'll be more likely to listen to things more like that, and things that are another step out of their comfort zone.

I know this rant has been made many times - most more artfully than this one. I'm just particularly disappointed about the concert tonight. Such talent, and he didn't do a thing to further an
3 Comments
Brian Lee link
4/20/2011 12:55:47 pm

Amen, brother. On my flute and voice recitals, I have done a lot of performing for the seniors, and they can and do appreciate much more modern stuff, as long as there is variety in the program. Persichetti, Robert Dick, and Lori Laitman are composers I have sprung on them successfully (2 of 3 are still alive!). 4 Germanic classical/early romantic pieces? Jeesh.

Reply
Michael link
4/20/2011 01:46:56 pm

And I've met the two that are alive! Robert Dick is a tad eccentric, but he's a fascinating and amazingly talented guy. Lori Laitman is one of the sweetest people I've ever met, and her art songs are the best being written now, as far as I know.

Reply
Michael link
4/21/2011 12:48:16 am

I just found the program from yesterday. The pianist played:

Fantasia in F-sharp minor, Op. 28 - Felix Mendelssohn

Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17 - Robert Schumann

Fantasy in C minor, K. 475 - W.A. Mozart

Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2
"Quasi una Fantasia" ("Moonlight Sonata") - Ludwig van Beethoven

Yep. Snooze.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Follow me on Twitter! @moberhau

    Categories

    All
    365 Project
    Duo Fujin
    Fallen Angels
    Four Poems
    Haiku
    Heaven-Haven
    Inspiration Ring
    Lilith
    Love Is Not The Last Room
    Magnum Opus
    Musings
    Necromancer
    New Inspirations
    Opera Alterna
    Perspectives
    Reviews
    Silver Finch
    String Quartet 1
    Summer 2011 Opera
    Temptation
    The Name On The Door
    Twitter

    RSS Feed

     

    The Blog

    Here I'll write about what I'm working on, how it's going, what I'm listening to, or anything that seems to pop into my head.

    Archives

    December 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    September 2010
    August 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    December 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.