Classical Music: What's wrong today? What's right today?
In an attempt to singlehandedly begin to put right what I believe to be wrong with the classical music scene in the UK, I have created this humble blog as a forerunner to a large website currently in development. I am keeping my identity a secret both on this blog and on the website. I am attempting to create what in its skeleton state will be a huge and comprehensive directory of professional musicians (at first restricted to the UK), orchestras, conductors, soloists, agents, journalists, retail and so on. What this site will also include, however, is extensive space alloted to reviews, opinions, articles, backstage gossip (restricted to registered professional musicians of course), and public opinion of performances and classical music issues.
Intended to act as an umbrella site, the I.T-deficient musicians who currently run successful websites appear to have achieved traffic and popularity through word of mouth. Musicalchairs.info, for example is a fantastic directory of orchestras (the database for musicians is a little thin at the moment) which specialises in the advertising of orchestral vacancies across the globe. This website must attract a huge number of musicians every day dreaming of the Berlin Phil Concertmaster job!
Anyhow, I'm straying. An online hub of real journalistic, artistic and listening integrity is hugely needed at this time, and it is my hope that this will serve as a stimulus for discussion.
My aim, also is to publicise what has been crushed into the ground by non-English speakers, such as the past two governments in the UK; this is the idea of Elitism. This country has three, or four if you count Wells Cathedral, schools which nurture astounding young talented children to become great artists. Each school has its own apparent personality. The Menuhin School breeds a concentrated stream of formidable young string and piano players, many going on to be soloists. Recently one can think of Nicola Benedetti, Alina Ibragimova, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Natasha Lomeiko etc etc. The Purcell School, with its inclusion of all instrumental groups feeds tremendously skilled young musicians, many of whom go on to make excellent solo careers, many of whom go on to successful orchestral careers and many who choose not to go into music after all. I myself was once a pupil at the Purcell School. Chethams School of Music, with a more schooly atmosphere also produces similar players to Purcell, though many with an adopted Mancunian accent.
Elitism, as a word, is misunderstood by the Great British public, including our leaders. Elitism is not technically something that should be tied to favouritism (see Wikipedia's erroneous definition), or any such class divide or rich/poor divide. Fortune, background and colour are irrelevant. In London's Olympic bid, the committee celebrated elitism in youth without uttering the dirty word. The sports world is constantly promoting the fittest, strongest, most agile, most naturally talented people for the good of entertainment and national or regional pride. Why then, do people frown upon such 'favoured' treatment to incredible young girls and boys who can play their instruments better than we will ever be able to?
The Government is pouring an astronomical amount of money into the Olympics, And so it should. But why is education suffering? Why is music and the arts suffering? Schools no longer have free instrumental lessons, the conservatoires are having funding withdrawn due to ethnic diversity issues (not enough applicants from Hackney, due to the lack of a programme diverse enough - apparently there should be a popular music course at the colleges - something which defeats the point of such an institution accepting the best classical musicians, again the idea that these places are too elitist), and our orchestras are having to rely more and more on private and corporate funding. This, of course has led over time to certain ensembles and orchestras having to change their roles from the traditional.
We all know that the London Symphony Orchestra do very well indeed. The calibre of their solo artists and conductors (who clearly charge ridiculous fees - that is another gripe) points to a wealth of funds. The LSO and their Managing Director at the time, Clive Gillinson, were sadly at the brunt of a rather malicious and influential short article in the Private Eye, accusing them of being a 'corporate bulldozer'. I understand that certain moves (for example, their partnership with Classic FM and the Evening Standard, if I'm not mistaken) led people to believe that they were slowly becoming the Manchester United of Classical Music: rich and untouchable. It appeared that they would get huge revenue from the Classic FM fan base as well as securing only good reviews from the Evening Standard, each creating a snowballing effect for the security of the orchestra. You can't blame them, as far as I'm concerned. It's a bit of a battle out there. Mind you, they do play phenomenally well almost all the time. I've experienced a couple of rough patches......
What I would like to see, however, is more reciprocation of sorts between the London orchestras. Despite the fact the players are very familiar with each other, and that there is a large pool of freelancers who work for the orchestras, the managerial segments appear to be rather less sociable (maybe I'm wrong here, but that is what appears). It feels to me as if they are playing against each other, rather than complementing each other's strenghts. Each orchestra has its strenghts and weaknesses.
The Philharmonia Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra appear to be a little less visible than the powerhouse that is the LSO, moreso now than ever, having to share the Queen Elizabeth Hall due to Royal Festival Hall refurbishment, as well as doing more out of town gigs. Each seems more geared towards that horrible horrible word, Outreach. No professional playing musician in his or her right mind wants to go and play to a load of junkie kids in Peckham with their Strads and Guadagnini instruments. This is not a perk of the job. This is something we all agree is amazing and valuable, but boy, do we wish someone else could do the job. It really is the get down on your knees and get covered in shit dirty work. People who enjoy doing that and who like kids should do that, not burnt out old has beens and cynical 30-somethings already bored with their job having affairs while on tour. These aren't the right people to play to Doris and Billy in the Retirement Home. That's for other people. Of course, such informal settings, the government and other misguided people in positions of power think, will lead to more interest from the public. That's utter tosh as far as I'm concerned. For a start, you can have people going round playing Paganini to kids to get them started, yes. But then they need FREE LESSONS!!!! How is their interest going to develop into a fascination and a love if they can't afford it? Talent needs to be spotted and needs to be looked after, and ulimately the child has to be in an environment where they have the choice to use it or (god forbid you talented quitters) not. The fascination from a Kid's point of view isn't the close-up and personal intimate side of music, it's the macho bloody side of performance that they love, that they want to be. Every year when Wimbledon comes, we see hordes of people, especially kids, on the tennis courts trying to be the next stars. Each time the World Cup comes people are playing football. The Olympics get people into all sports. When a child sees an orchestra play, they either get it or they don't. If a child sees a concerto, however, that's a different story. There, on stage, is a role model; someone who's been showing off on stage is now someone the child will wee in its pants at the thought of meeting in person. This mistique which is automatically attached to anything of the sort by children is what makes it popular. If the B.B.C. pulled its finger out and stopped getting hung up on ratings, it could do some serious good for the Arts, not only music. Only one concert a week would begin to gather audiences. The Proms, which are not broadcast nearly enough on television, are watched by many, many viewers, and it is my opinion that they should not be banished to B.B.C. 4.
You can see I have a bee in my bonnet about a couple of things. I wish to discuss these things with other people, and even more, I would like to see others discuss this amongst themselves. I hope you get a chance to visit the website when it's done. The address will be announced here. In the meanwhile, start listening to more music and value what it gives us. Just imagine your life without it!
Intended to act as an umbrella site, the I.T-deficient musicians who currently run successful websites appear to have achieved traffic and popularity through word of mouth. Musicalchairs.info, for example is a fantastic directory of orchestras (the database for musicians is a little thin at the moment) which specialises in the advertising of orchestral vacancies across the globe. This website must attract a huge number of musicians every day dreaming of the Berlin Phil Concertmaster job!
Anyhow, I'm straying. An online hub of real journalistic, artistic and listening integrity is hugely needed at this time, and it is my hope that this will serve as a stimulus for discussion.
My aim, also is to publicise what has been crushed into the ground by non-English speakers, such as the past two governments in the UK; this is the idea of Elitism. This country has three, or four if you count Wells Cathedral, schools which nurture astounding young talented children to become great artists. Each school has its own apparent personality. The Menuhin School breeds a concentrated stream of formidable young string and piano players, many going on to be soloists. Recently one can think of Nicola Benedetti, Alina Ibragimova, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Natasha Lomeiko etc etc. The Purcell School, with its inclusion of all instrumental groups feeds tremendously skilled young musicians, many of whom go on to make excellent solo careers, many of whom go on to successful orchestral careers and many who choose not to go into music after all. I myself was once a pupil at the Purcell School. Chethams School of Music, with a more schooly atmosphere also produces similar players to Purcell, though many with an adopted Mancunian accent.
Elitism, as a word, is misunderstood by the Great British public, including our leaders. Elitism is not technically something that should be tied to favouritism (see Wikipedia's erroneous definition), or any such class divide or rich/poor divide. Fortune, background and colour are irrelevant. In London's Olympic bid, the committee celebrated elitism in youth without uttering the dirty word. The sports world is constantly promoting the fittest, strongest, most agile, most naturally talented people for the good of entertainment and national or regional pride. Why then, do people frown upon such 'favoured' treatment to incredible young girls and boys who can play their instruments better than we will ever be able to?
The Government is pouring an astronomical amount of money into the Olympics, And so it should. But why is education suffering? Why is music and the arts suffering? Schools no longer have free instrumental lessons, the conservatoires are having funding withdrawn due to ethnic diversity issues (not enough applicants from Hackney, due to the lack of a programme diverse enough - apparently there should be a popular music course at the colleges - something which defeats the point of such an institution accepting the best classical musicians, again the idea that these places are too elitist), and our orchestras are having to rely more and more on private and corporate funding. This, of course has led over time to certain ensembles and orchestras having to change their roles from the traditional.
We all know that the London Symphony Orchestra do very well indeed. The calibre of their solo artists and conductors (who clearly charge ridiculous fees - that is another gripe) points to a wealth of funds. The LSO and their Managing Director at the time, Clive Gillinson, were sadly at the brunt of a rather malicious and influential short article in the Private Eye, accusing them of being a 'corporate bulldozer'. I understand that certain moves (for example, their partnership with Classic FM and the Evening Standard, if I'm not mistaken) led people to believe that they were slowly becoming the Manchester United of Classical Music: rich and untouchable. It appeared that they would get huge revenue from the Classic FM fan base as well as securing only good reviews from the Evening Standard, each creating a snowballing effect for the security of the orchestra. You can't blame them, as far as I'm concerned. It's a bit of a battle out there. Mind you, they do play phenomenally well almost all the time. I've experienced a couple of rough patches......
What I would like to see, however, is more reciprocation of sorts between the London orchestras. Despite the fact the players are very familiar with each other, and that there is a large pool of freelancers who work for the orchestras, the managerial segments appear to be rather less sociable (maybe I'm wrong here, but that is what appears). It feels to me as if they are playing against each other, rather than complementing each other's strenghts. Each orchestra has its strenghts and weaknesses.
The Philharmonia Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra appear to be a little less visible than the powerhouse that is the LSO, moreso now than ever, having to share the Queen Elizabeth Hall due to Royal Festival Hall refurbishment, as well as doing more out of town gigs. Each seems more geared towards that horrible horrible word, Outreach. No professional playing musician in his or her right mind wants to go and play to a load of junkie kids in Peckham with their Strads and Guadagnini instruments. This is not a perk of the job. This is something we all agree is amazing and valuable, but boy, do we wish someone else could do the job. It really is the get down on your knees and get covered in shit dirty work. People who enjoy doing that and who like kids should do that, not burnt out old has beens and cynical 30-somethings already bored with their job having affairs while on tour. These aren't the right people to play to Doris and Billy in the Retirement Home. That's for other people. Of course, such informal settings, the government and other misguided people in positions of power think, will lead to more interest from the public. That's utter tosh as far as I'm concerned. For a start, you can have people going round playing Paganini to kids to get them started, yes. But then they need FREE LESSONS!!!! How is their interest going to develop into a fascination and a love if they can't afford it? Talent needs to be spotted and needs to be looked after, and ulimately the child has to be in an environment where they have the choice to use it or (god forbid you talented quitters) not. The fascination from a Kid's point of view isn't the close-up and personal intimate side of music, it's the macho bloody side of performance that they love, that they want to be. Every year when Wimbledon comes, we see hordes of people, especially kids, on the tennis courts trying to be the next stars. Each time the World Cup comes people are playing football. The Olympics get people into all sports. When a child sees an orchestra play, they either get it or they don't. If a child sees a concerto, however, that's a different story. There, on stage, is a role model; someone who's been showing off on stage is now someone the child will wee in its pants at the thought of meeting in person. This mistique which is automatically attached to anything of the sort by children is what makes it popular. If the B.B.C. pulled its finger out and stopped getting hung up on ratings, it could do some serious good for the Arts, not only music. Only one concert a week would begin to gather audiences. The Proms, which are not broadcast nearly enough on television, are watched by many, many viewers, and it is my opinion that they should not be banished to B.B.C. 4.
You can see I have a bee in my bonnet about a couple of things. I wish to discuss these things with other people, and even more, I would like to see others discuss this amongst themselves. I hope you get a chance to visit the website when it's done. The address will be announced here. In the meanwhile, start listening to more music and value what it gives us. Just imagine your life without it!
posted by The Musical Genius at 10:18 AM
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