Leon Botstein wrote a great article in the Wall Street Journal today entitled “The Unsung Success of Live Classical Music.” The entire article is interesting, but these are some of the comments from the article I had thoughts on:

Nothing can reproduce the sonic and emotional power of live performance. But looking out at the audience at most classical music concerts in the United States, one sees a crowd that is largely middle-aged, verging on the geriatric.

As someone who spends his life trying to get the word out about live classical performances in Utah, I’ve been impressed at how many young people actually do attend Utah Symphony performances.  Our Vivace group is one of the largest groups of its kind in the country (there are over 1,000 members right now) and at our opening weekend concerts last month we had over 350 STUDENT Subscribers! That’s quite a feat. I’m convinced that young people will support the arts if you make them aware of opportunities. The Symphony isn’t just for the “geriatrics.”

From its birth as a secular and church-based art form, classical music has depended on patronage and philanthropy, not on income from sales either at the box office or in record stores.

That’s still true today. I don’t think many people realize that revenue from ticket sales alone doesn’t and can’t support the Symphony. Sure, it contributes to the bottom line but most of the funding for the Symphony and Opera comes from other sources, such as donations from patrons and assistance from the community. Arts organizations won’t survive unless the community wants them around.

The real attraction of classical music is the power and sensuality of the live sounds. The excitement that ensues from the unpredictability and drama of live performance is comparable to watching spectator sports.

I love the way Mr. Botstein puts this - “the power and sensuality of the live sounds.” I truly believe that in order to really experience music, you need to experience it in person. Music brings out so many emotions in people - excitement, passion, sadness, etc. I remember one of the first Utah Symphony concerts I attended and I actually found myself wanting to laugh, not because of anything funny about how the Symphony was playing, but because I actually found humor in the music itself. You really can’t compare a live performance to a recording. There’s just something special about it.

The extreme northern region of Europe, otherwise known as Scandinavia, is known for its peculiar Sun cycles. Being so far to the North at times the sun will only just barely dip below the horizon thus it is called the Land of the Midnight Sun. The unusual weather in Finland as well as the exceptional beauty of the landscape has influenced many artists over the years. This has produced a distinctly Finnish styling to their works. Jean Sibelius is no exception.

Sibelius reflected the influences of his time in many ways but there are two that are particularly evident in his music. The first was the political mood and kindled nationalism and the second was the haunting beauty of his native Finland.

The time in which Jean Sibelius wrote his only violin concerto was a period of great change. This late romantic period is also known for the rise of Finnish nationalism. The people were trying to identify what uniquely belongs to them. Sibelius became a dominant character in the development of the Finnish culture through his music. In fact it could be said that Sibelius epitomized the Finnish character in his music. He allowed the music to grow organically stripping away the unnecessary elements. Many of his works were also based on Finnish poetry and national sentiment. One particularly patriotic example is his work titled Finlandia.

The other influence that so colored Sibelius’ work was his overwhelming connection to nature and in particular his native landscape. Erik Tawaststjerna a biographer of the composer wrote of him:

“Even by Nordic standards, Sibelius responded with exceptional intensity to the moods of nature and the changes in the seasons: he scanned the skies with his binoculars for the geese flying over the lake ice, listened to the screech of the cranes, and heard the cries of the curlew echo over the marshy grounds just below Ainola. He savoured the spring blossoms every bit as much as he did autumnal scents and colours.” (Tawaststjerna, Erik; Robert Layton (Translator) (1976–1986). Sibelius)

Both of these influences can be seen, or rather heard, in the Violin Concerto in D minor, Op.47 (1903/1905). But there is one final element that is perhaps more telling than the rest. Sibelius loved the violin. He studied long hours to become a violin soloist only to discover that he had embarked on this journey too late. The violin concerto with its virtuosic passion allowed Sibelius to live his dream vicariously.

Perhaps it is fitting that this concert that features a Finnish composer and a Finnish conductor be entitled Land of the Midnight Music.

Utah Symphony presents
Land of the Midnight Music
October 10 & 11, 2008 @ 8 PM
Abravanel Hall

Hannu Lintu, conductor
Henning Kraggerud, violin

Strauss ~ Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche
Sibelius ~ Concerto for Violin in D minor
Schumann ~ Symphony No. 2 in C major

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Deseret News put up a short video with highlights of last night’s Salute to Youth concert this morning. Those of you who were there know how impressive these young musicians were. It was a fun evening.

Deseret News video

The next family concert will be Halloween High-Jinks, featuring the music from Hansel and Gretel. It’s part of our Lollipops series. If your family enjoys these concerts, I’d recommend calling the ticket office and getting a Lollipops season family pass. It’s only $85 and allows your entire immediate family to attend all three Lollipops concerts this season. Call (801) 533-NOTE to order.

Family passes are also available for the Discovery Series, but since the first concert has already happened, it’s too late to order them this year.

My fellow designer, Melonie Mortenson, recently posted some designs for two characters in Madama Butterfly. These designs have been specifically created for a Costume Showcase which will be presented after the opening performance of Madama Butterfly for Utah Opera’s 2008-2009 season.  I chose to design two characters from the opera Pagliacci.

A one act opera, Pagliacci is a tragic story of two actors, husband and wife, who perform onstage together. Afterward, the wife is murdered by her husband.  I was intrigued by the story of the characters, but also by the fact that their performing art was Commedia del Arte.  These performers traveled presenting comic performances to wide audiences in Italy, France and Spain.  As a matter of fact opera finds it’s roots in the Commedia art form.

But back to the designs, I thought of a design concept which would illustrate both the farcical nature of the performance that the actors give, and the tragedy that closes the performance. In order to show both I chose to create vinyl outer costumes, through which undergarments could be seen which give a

view into the hearts of each character. I also love to incorporate modern sculptural elements into my designs. I feel that costumes can heighten the emotions expressed by the character and underscore their performance.

Here are my designs for the upcoming Costume Showcase. I hope you will check back with us for upcoming blogs on our process from designs to 3-D interpretation!

I know I’m not completely unbiased, but that’s the best word I could think of to sum up my thoughts on last night’s concert. I really enjoyed all the pieces that were performed, but especially Jason Hardink’s selections from Messiaen’s Catalogue d’oiseux. Catherine Reese Newton got it right when she said Hardink is “a treasure in our city.” This is the second performance I’ve seen that featured Jason at the piano (the other was Ancient Voices of Children last March), and both times I’ve been impressed with his ability to interpret and perform music that is completely different than anything most of us have ever heard. I’ve played the piano most of my life (not professionally, at all), and I wouldn’t know where to start with those pieces.

Also, Water Bird Talk was a lot of fun. It really felt like you were witnessing a break down at a lecture on water birds. I couldn’t stop laughing at how serious the lecturer (baritone Timothy Jones) was as he matter-of-a-factly described mating habits of the cormorant and demonstrated bird calls at the piano. Having Ardean Watts there as host to explain the music and interview Jason made it even more enjoyable (and even educational!).

This year, we’re performing our contemporary chamber series on two nights instead of just one, so if you weren’t able to go last night and you like “weird” and different music, try to get there tonight. Tickets are available on our website or by calling ArtTix at (801) 355-ARTS.

Rod Daynes brought this interesting article about the Utah Symphony to our attention. It was originally printed in The Melodian in November 1950 and details the early days of the Utah Symphony. Thanks Rod!

These words from the article are still true today:

Although it had been a difficult struggle, Salt Lake City and the surrounding communities should be very proud of our present Utah Symphony Orchestra, and we should give it every possible aid, together with unstinted praise for the musicians, and encouragement to those responsible for its continued success.

Raising the funds for the initial Utah Symphony

Wednesday, October 15, 2008.  7:30 p.m.  Downtown library auditorium.

Thomas M. Cimarusti is Assistant Professor of Musicology at Texas Tech University. Upon completion of his Masters degree in musicology from Brigham Young University, he pursued doctoral studies at Florida State University where he recently defended his dissertation, “The Songs of Luigi Gordigiani (1806-1860), “the Italian Schubert.” He has presented papers for the Music Libraries Association, the American Musicological Society, and the International Association of Music Libraries. His publications have appeared in The Organ Encyclopedia and Perspectives on Ernst von Dohnányi. He recently completed an edition of Dohnányi’s Piano Quartet in F# minor, the score of which he provided for the North American premiere in New York. Mr. Cimarusti’s research interests include verismo opera, musical paleography, watermarks, nineteenth-century Italian song, and the music of Astor Piazzolla.

How do you deal with a nagging wife? Some would say to there are only a few responses suitable to the situation, “Yes dear” and “I’m sorry dear.” Others would say to lavish her with praise and make her think you are listening. Yet others would say there really is no solution to the problem except perhaps to not get married in the first place. In “A Water Bird Talk” our male archetype finds another way to cope with his woes. He talks about birds! In a clever twist of phrase our darling lecturer takes advantage of his captive audience to recount the woes of his unlucky life, or perhaps his unlucky choice of wife. His lecture on birds soon turns in to the feverish soliloquy of the henpecked husband. As he describes the peculiar habits of the birds they become hilarious metaphors for his own life.

The composer Dominick Argento, now in his 80’s, is generally regarded as America’s preeminent living composer of lyric opera. He is particularly well-known for sensitive settings of complex, sophisticated texts as in his song cycle in “From the Diary of Virginia Woolf.” In “A Water Bird Talk” Argento incorporates material from the Russian author Anton Chekhov as well as passages from John James Audubon’s book The Birds of America. He calls this particular opera a monodrama as there is only one character singing.

Dominick Argento once said in a radio interview “My interest is people. I am committed to working with characters, feelings, and emotions.” Perhaps it is this commitment that allows us to relate so freely to the unlucky husband. Argento tells the story of real people in real situations. In fact, it is something many men can relate to today despite the time disparity.

Argento’s commitment to character, feeling, and emotion can also be felt in the instrumentation of the piece. Specific instruments are chosen to represent each of the birds and in turn the feeling our lecturer is trying to portray. For example the oboe and chimes are used to represent the pied-billed grebe that in turn represents the lowest form of bird life or the henpecked husband.

With the creative composition and light-hearted portrayal of the unfortunate husband this opera is sure to make you laugh.

A Water Bird Talk
Ardean Watts Contemporary Chamber Series at Westminster
September 24 & 25, 2008
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I just updated the website - we’re officially sold out for tonight’s performance! Everyone here is really stoked about tonight’s concert, and we’re still working hard to put the last minute touches on the hall. It feels great that so many people are coming to opening night - the energy will be exciting and make for a memorable performance.

There are still tickets left for tomorrow’s concert, but you’ll want to buy them soon if you plan on going. Hope to see many of you tonight.

If you’re planning on attending this weekend’s concert, buy your tickets soon. It’s expected to sell out.

Keith will also conduct three other concerts this month: A Waterbird Talk, Judy Garland in Concert with the Utah Symphony, and Salute to Youth.