The music of revolution
By Matthew Heil
Public Relations Manager
After almost two weeks, The Phoenix Symphony is back again with our second-to-last Classics Concert, Classics 15. This week also marks the return of Michael Christie to the podium after several conducting engagements around the country.
And what is in store for concertgoers this week? Two works of symphonic revolution, that praised the fight against opressive governments. First in the evening will be Beethoven's incidental music to Egmont by Goethe. Written in 1787, the drama tells the story of Count Egmnot. The ultimate Flemish warrior, Egmont is rebelling against the dictatorial Duke of Albe.
As part of the performance, renowned soprano elizabeth Magnuson will sing, with text narration by local KTAR radio personality Michael Dixon. It's a fitting artistic parallel to Shostakovich's Symphony Number 10. Written at the death of Stalin, the work paints a vivid and dark picture of the dictator, who "feared and hated music" according to the composer--because of its power to provide hope and refuge.
Under the assaults of Stalin, Shostakovich vowed never to compose symphonies while the dictator was alive. It wasn't until March 1953, when word of Stalin's death spread, that Shostakovich began releasing the works he had not performed or published. That summer he also began a new symphony, that exposed all the fury and hope and sadness that Stalin had both created, and forced into hiding. It's what one of Shostakovich's contemporaries had dubbed “optimistic tragedy,” weighed down by the past, but hopeful for the future.
So then we get two stories in symphonic form, both of triumph in spite of the antagonism that society held. Perhaps that is the most appropriate kind of springtime entertainment. One that reminds us that change for the better is possible, in any circumstance.
Public Relations Manager
After almost two weeks, The Phoenix Symphony is back again with our second-to-last Classics Concert, Classics 15. This week also marks the return of Michael Christie to the podium after several conducting engagements around the country.
And what is in store for concertgoers this week? Two works of symphonic revolution, that praised the fight against opressive governments. First in the evening will be Beethoven's incidental music to Egmont by Goethe. Written in 1787, the drama tells the story of Count Egmnot. The ultimate Flemish warrior, Egmont is rebelling against the dictatorial Duke of Albe.
As part of the performance, renowned soprano elizabeth Magnuson will sing, with text narration by local KTAR radio personality Michael Dixon. It's a fitting artistic parallel to Shostakovich's Symphony Number 10. Written at the death of Stalin, the work paints a vivid and dark picture of the dictator, who "feared and hated music" according to the composer--because of its power to provide hope and refuge.
Under the assaults of Stalin, Shostakovich vowed never to compose symphonies while the dictator was alive. It wasn't until March 1953, when word of Stalin's death spread, that Shostakovich began releasing the works he had not performed or published. That summer he also began a new symphony, that exposed all the fury and hope and sadness that Stalin had both created, and forced into hiding. It's what one of Shostakovich's contemporaries had dubbed “optimistic tragedy,” weighed down by the past, but hopeful for the future.
So then we get two stories in symphonic form, both of triumph in spite of the antagonism that society held. Perhaps that is the most appropriate kind of springtime entertainment. One that reminds us that change for the better is possible, in any circumstance.
6 Comments:
"Against the Grain" back again after several months of silence....(I was finishing grad school).
Went to see last night's performance of Egmont & the 10th symphony. The music was great I was especially pleased to be exposed to a Beethoven piece that I was previously not familiar with.
BUT! Who on earth was the yahoo that gave the opening remarks? I generally don't listen to those guys, I come for the music, but he said something really stupid and offensive about Phoenix not existing until recent decades. That's funny, because my great-grandparents came here 100+ years ago and Phoenix did, indeed, exist. Granted, it wasn't the metropolis it is now, but comments like that are just plain insulting.
And just what is this new "oversight" group anyway? It wasn't made very clear, but it sounds like corporate interference with the Symphony to me. Can someone from the PSO give some less-garbled information?
Thanks,
ATG
The Board of Overseers is group of people that is involved primarily as advocates on behalf of the symphony in what might be called a more meaningful way than the general patron but not as intensively as the Board of Directors that actually have fiduciary and governance duties.
Having a Board of Overseers allows us to engage with a broader segment of our community such as past Board members and community personalities among others that have an interest but not the time available to attend to the ongoing business of the Board of Directors. We are able to connect in a more meaningful way with our dedicated donors and ultimately give this group of people a closer look into the operation of our business.
There isn't any interference going on, rather an honest attempt to bring more people into the fold and generate more good will throughout the community.
Hope that helps!
Thanks for coming to the concert. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
What degree did you finish over the past year?
During pieces like Shostakovich Symphony 10, I'm struck by how different life is for us as 21st century Americans living in Phoenix compared to the conditions under which Shostakovich had his music written and performed. As I and my fellow concert-goers drive our comfortable air-conditioned cars down wide, palm-tree-lined streets and stroll to our freshly remodeled concert hall through the warm evening air down safe, well-lit walkways complete with helpful police officers, I find it exceedingly difficult to get into the mind-set Shostakovich and his Russian audiences must have been in when his music was first performed.
Many times the majority of Phoenix Symphony concert-goers seem to be turned off by darker and more brutal music of revolutionaries - attention wanders, we shift in our seats or start looking around the hall. I don't think it's that they (or at times I'll say 'we') don't appreciate the music for its technical brilliance...but instead I think that the part of the person's soul Shostakovich was trying to reach with his Symphonies is simply not present in many of our comfortable freedom-loving lives.
As the brass drove the loud sections of Symphony 10 with side-drum and cymbals crashing along I could feel Shostakovich's passion...but I can only imagine what that music would mean if I were in the concert hall listening to this music as an escape from or an expression of the harsh realities of an oppressive government and political upheaval happening just outside the concert hall's door.
I absolutely love Shostakovich's sense of drama, melody and drive - and any concert bearing his name is one I'll gladly attend...but perhaps is life sometimes just too good here to really "get it"?
Thank you to symphonyseeker for such a thought provoking entry.
In short, I suppose representing the joyful and the anguished moments captured by composers, and every other performing or visual artist is all that we are able to do.
The interesting thing from my perspective is trying to bring out those intentions in such a way that those who wish to internalize them have a potent source to draw from. You make a very good point in saying that audiences can become squeemish if they aren't prepared to deal with the full spectrum of emotions a well-played symphonic performance can yield.
Herein lies a difference between say an art gallery where you can fully engage with a piece or a collection and stay away from another that doesn't appeal merely by walking closer or away. The symphonic audience is in their seat, in effect stuck to deal with what we present, if you see it that way.
My hope is that by creating different presentation styles that we can encourage the audience to come to the "format" that best suits their need. This is also one of the reasons that we do Intermission Insights and when possible introduce pieces before we play them. It can be very confronting to a listener to have no idea what they are getting themselves into. I think it's very interesting to have the opportunity to feedback to the artists during Intermission Insights since it isn't practical to do so while they perform.
I can't think of any audience that can fully comprehend and internalize every stimulus that composers use to express themselves. What I do know is that as human beings we sometimes need to decompress with the arts and other times be swept away by the sheer power of their emotional potential. The good news I see is that more people are coming to our performances than ever so I can only surmise that those listeners are dealing with the music in their own way and hopefully every performance gives them a bit more confidence to let their guard down.
Thanks for writing!
ATG here again!
Thanks, Maestro Christie, for clarifying the "Oversight" group. It sounds like a good thing, as you describe it. Somehow, the term "Oversight" still seems a little scary to me.
In answer to your question, I was finishing my Master's in Art History, so I was particularly struck by your comments about the difference between music and the visual arts and the listener/viewer's engagement with them.
I personally applaud all of your efforts to make "difficult" music more accessible to concert goers. These methods may offend some traditionalists, but phooey on them. Music isn't "just" sound any more than art is "just" something you hang on the wall. The sad fact is, most of the general public has not been given the tools to unpack what they see and hear when they attend concerts and museums so it is up to the institutions themselves to educate whenever possible.
Keep up the great work you do! I'm looking forward to next season!
ATG
In the end we as artists are asking the general public to relish the aspects of our art that we love so dearly. And come back repeatedly to be exposed to it.
That's a tough ask.
I can only imagine being taken to a NASCAR event, having headphones so I can hear the driver speaking to the crew, being right down there when the tires are changed by a precision team at some ridiculous speed and being there when the champagne bottle gets sprayed on the winner. Then I'm told I've had the ultimate exposure to the essence of this sport, surely I'm a convert, right? For me, no. I've been covering my ears so I won't go deaf and even though they are amazing machines I can't tell a fuel injector from a spark pulg.
I also think about a family that moves into a new neighborhood and goes to a church that is the same denomination but that alone is the initial defining aspect for that family. Their new church will be the one where other families happily approach the building and where they feel a communal understanding of their spiritual values.
In my opinion we must strive to let people know we are here, make them feel welcome when they arrive and produce our art so convincingly that we ignite even the smallest flame of interest. We can't look down on them for an instant. We must approach each new patron with the same gentle but encouraging manner we would expect when we take a chance to experience something new.
Once we've done all of that we may never see them again. That's just the way it goes. I'm sure NASCAR feels the same way about us!
Here's hoping!
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