Naive Listening - 2008/04/06 13:17
I have come to classical music late and rather recently. I find that people tend to either enjoy their music through the lens of a critic's remarks or by what resonates with them personally. I am definitely in the latter camp.
As a result my enjoyment of a performance is often at variance with a critic's report and I have no problem with this. To date this has been me enjoying something that others have not.
Yet I always try and articulate why I liked something so I can learn and develop my appreciation of classical music in general and the performances of the RSNO in particular.
Last night has caused me to be in a different position and one in which I struggle to find the words to help me shape my thinking.
Apart from Ekaterina's wonderful singing and her beautiful stage presence, at the end of the night my mood was left totally flat. Yet I cannot put my finger on why. Given the rapturous response by many in the audience especially to the Rachmaninov Symphony #3 perhaps the issues lie entirely with me.
I like to see as well as hear. This completes the experience for me. As a result I sit near to the orchestra in terrace A. Even though the music loses some balance, this is more than made up by the visual experience. I looked at various members of the orchestra last night and their individual playing was good - no, great! I thought the woodwind were very strong.
[aside] One visual aspect that I will try and avoid in future is Mr. Lazarev's style of conducting. It was totally distracting and affected my enjoyment of the performance.
A conductor contributes the main part of the body language of an orchestra but this should help to tell a story. This means that there needs to be development, cadences and shades of mood in the gestures. Last night was mostly frenetic and seemed to be without modulation to my untutored eyes. [aside over]
Three thoughts come to mind. Was this a leadership/communications issue between the conductor and the orchestra or was this just down to musical interpretation and direction or was and is it just me?
Regardless, last night will not even put a dent in my high regard for RSNO.
regards, Keir
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Shos Ten
Posts: 16
Re:Naive Listening - 2008/04/07 08:53Keir wrote: Last night has caused me to be in a different position and one in which I struggle to find the words to help me shape my thinking.
Apart from Ekaterina's wonderful singing and her beautiful stage presence, at the end of the night my mood was left totally flat. Yet I cannot put my finger on why. Given the rapturous response by many in the audience especially to the Rachmaninov Symphony #3 perhaps the issues lie entirely with me.
I like to see as well as hear. This completes the experience for me. As a result I sit near to the orchestra in terrace A. Even though the music loses some balance, this is more than made up by the visual experience. I looked at various members of the orchestra last night and their individual playing was good - no, great! I thought the woodwind were very strong.
Three thoughts come to mind. Was this a leadership/communications issue between the conductor and the orchestra or was this just down to musical interpretation and direction or was and is it just me?
You 'looked' at various members of the orchestra last night and their individual playing was great... how can you tell this by looking?
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Keir
Posts: 4
Re:Naive Listening - 2008/04/07 20:50Shos Ten wrote: Keir wrote: You 'looked' at various members of the orchestra last night and their individual playing was great... how can you tell this by looking?
When I look at a person playing I find I can more easily hear their contribution from the full sounds of music coming from the orchestra. To mentally extract the oboe from the sound is easier when seeing the oboist with his/her gestures and movements.
If you have ever watched the BBC Proms you will see the camera work, when well done, makes the music much easier to dissect. For someone like me who is new to classical music this makes it easier to understand.
Regardless of this point, how did you enjoy the concert?
regards, Keir
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