Comments on: Keeping It Fresh http://insidetheclassics.myminnesotaorchestra.org/2010/07/keeping-it-fresh/ The Minnesota Orchestra Blog Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:41:30 -0800 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: WBS http://insidetheclassics.myminnesotaorchestra.org/2010/07/keeping-it-fresh/comment-page-1/#comment-5352 WBS Sun, 11 Jul 2010 17:42:16 +0000 http://insidetheclassics.myminnesotaorchestra.org/?p=6470#comment-5352 Interesting perspective. Years ago I was in Vienna and heard the Vienna Phil under Muti do an extremely committed program featuring Schubert. Next night I went with friends to a tourist trap where the orchestra played Strauss waltzes with singers and dancers, as they did probably 7 nights a week.. The orchestra players looked bored out of their minds and sat like statues, and the music making reflected their boredom. I felt sorry for them, actually, except when I thought about the admission price. Side comment about last night's Mahler 4: I've heard this 3-4 times at Orchestra Hall over the years, and each had the same problem: The Hall acoustics are not good for the light-voiced soprano that you need for the last movement. Same for the solo with the mis-tuned violin in the 2nd movement. Why not try a low-level mic to make them more audible (as is done with the mandolin in the Mahler 7). Presently it is a very different and less satisfactory experience than any recording of this work. (Or maybe it would help if the concertmaster faces the audience for those solos.) Interesting perspective. Years ago I was in Vienna and heard the Vienna Phil under Muti do an extremely committed program featuring Schubert. Next night I went with friends to a tourist trap where the orchestra played Strauss waltzes with singers and dancers, as they did probably 7 nights a week.. The orchestra players looked bored out of their minds and sat like statues, and the music making reflected their boredom. I felt sorry for them, actually, except when I thought about the admission price.

Side comment about last night’s Mahler 4: I’ve heard this 3-4 times at Orchestra Hall over the years, and each had the same problem: The Hall acoustics are not good for the light-voiced soprano that you need for the last movement. Same for the solo with the mis-tuned violin in the 2nd movement. Why not try a low-level mic to make them more audible (as is done with the mandolin in the Mahler 7). Presently it is a very different and less satisfactory experience than any recording of this work. (Or maybe it would help if the concertmaster faces the audience for those solos.)

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