Listen... the ESO Blog

Speaking of innovation and contemporary uses...

noreply@blogger.com (marcus) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:10:00 +0000

I was going through some of my music from the past few years and I came across one of my favourite pieces of electronic music. The piece, called Finished Symphony was written by the group Hybrid in the late 90's and features the Russian Federal Orchestra, conducted by Sacha Puttnam. This piece challenged the pre-conceived notion of "electronic artist" and "dj" at a time when electronic music was hitting the mainstream. The Times supposedly reported it as "one of the most moving pieces of electronic music ever". I firmly believe that still stands to this day. It has been used in over 30 applications since then - from video games to movies.

And in true electronic music form, this song was resurrected and remixed in 2007 by one of the current electronic scene 'it-kids', Deadmau5.

Have a listen for yourself to Hybrid's release: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z0CiLbUvi0&feature=related

And the remix by Deadmau5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8wpvC2d0kQ&feature=related

.... sorry - there's no video for these, just audio.

Commercializing Classical Music

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:22:00 +0000

Two different classical music bloggers are weighing in on classical music in commercials.

Alex Ross from The New Yorker mentions the Levi's commercial with music by Charles Ives, arranged by Owen Pallet (aka, Final Fantasy). As Alex says, it's a little more obscure than the typical Carmina Burana treatment:

And then Greg Sandow, in a discussion of making the use of classical music seem natural and not forced, uses an AMEX ad as an example on the natural side:

I've made a few commercials myself, and music choice is definitely one of the more difficult aspects. You're trying to create a mood within the first few seconds, and so much of that will depend on the ability of music to communicate universally and instantly. I will admit to using Carmina Burana in a commercial once - but only because it advertised the ESO's performance of the work itself.

Please note - this blog isn't sponsored by any of the companies portrayed in the commercials I've posted. At least, not yet...

Time for Three

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:03:00 +0000

Time for Three, an ensemble that appeared with the ESO last spring, has been named "ensemble-in-residence" with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. According to this article in the Indy Star, tf3 (as they are sometimes known) have "signed an agreement with the ISO to be its first ensemble-in-residence. They will appear in schools and other public places in town to bridge the gap between the average music lover and the classical scene."

I think this is a great idea, especially considering what this particular ensemble is all about. They're totally cross-genre - here they are covering Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek":

More and more, orchestras are realizing that they have to take music out to the community, and not just expect the public to come to a concert hall just because it's there. It's not always about the acoustics - sometimes art has to be experienced where we live and work too.

It seems like Time for Three "gets it" as far as using social media effectively, and it's great to see them doing so well.

Scratch My Back

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:59:00 +0000

Something to watch for this spring - Peter Gabriel will be releasing a cover album of songs by "all-time great singer-songwriters and bands." The interesting thing? There will be no guitars, drums or "world instruments", only orchestral instruments. Plus, it seems that the artists being covered will then cover Peter Gabriel's songs - what's being described as a song-swap. The Guardian explains more in the full article here.

Cell phones at the symphony

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:52:00 +0000

Ok, so maybe not quite as controversial as the post title might indicate. Anyhow, via Engadget and Mashable short video of the 1812 Overture recreated with 1000 cell phone ringtones:

I agree with the spirit of the project (even if it is a commercial), and especially with this piece. Perhaps along with the bells that the audience rings near the end of the piece every year at Sobeys Symphony Under the Sky, people can contribute ring tones.

Oh, you can visit Mashable to watch the "making-of" videos.

The Instrument of the Future

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:56:00 +0000

The Eigenharp looks like something straight out of an episode of Star Trek (like that roll-up piano), and Engadget has posted a review and a few videos of how this multi-faceted instrument works. It's like a piano, guitar, drums and wind instrument in one - you just have to watch below for the walkthrough of features.

Then watch the demo song:

This is a versatile instrument, and I can imagine that some people are going to become very, very good at playing the Eigenharp.

Walk in Beauty

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:18:00 +0000

ESO Principal Trombone John McPherson stopped by the ESO admin office to talk about his composition Walk in Beauty and play a short excerpt. The accompaniment is provided by my computer, using the notation software Finale, so that portion is a bit... mechanical, but it gives you the idea, anyways.

The piece was commissioned by the ESO and premiered in 2000, and will be performed again this Sunday, October 18. Watch the video (complete with background typing - see, we're really working!) below:

Practicing the stairs

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:20:00 +0000

Darren Barefoot posted something today that's interesting, cute and kind of heart-warming. I've included the video below - just watch:

He finally made it to that gala

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:02:00 +0000

CBC blog "Things That Go Pop!" has a recap of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's impromptu performance at the National Arts Centre Gala last Saturday and explores a few other famous musical performances by politicians.

The ESO gets by with a little help from our friends too...

Thanks to the Canada Council, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Arts Council, plus our corporate and individual donors.

My Classical Idol

noreply@blogger.com (pamela) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:31:00 +0000

Did you have a melody in mind? I know I certainly didn’t. I was in too much of a state of awe and amazement to think anything but “how does she do it?”

For those who had the privilege of seeing Gabriela Montero perform with your ESO last night at the Winspear, you were probably thinking along the same lines as I was. What’s her secret? Where does this brilliant musical gift come from? And how do I get a jukebox of melodies floating around in my head?

Gabriela, who I understand quite literally hears music 24/7, even in a room that is completely silent, invited the audience to participate in her improvisational solo recital. With a Chopin melody suggested here, and a John Denver tune hinted there, Gabriela was effortlessly provoked and delved into a completely unique world, all her own. Something called improvisation. Something quite uncommon in the classical world today, especially in a concert setting. Few artists have the natural innate ability to create something extraordinary on the spot, with no preconceived thought or intention going into that particular creation ahead of time. Simply put, it’s astonishing to see, hear, and experience first hand.

Despite spending 15 of my childhood years in piano lessons, attempting to master the perfect tone and degree of emotion in which a piece should be performed (i.e. how the examiner wants to hear it, as they afterall, have all the power to decide your pass / fail fate), I can’t remember very many occasions that I was freely encouraged to add my own little tidbit of interpretation to the music I was playing. That said, the entire concept of simply sitting down at a piano, with no notes on the music rack to read, and just allowing your fingers to move across the ivory keys to create an impeccably harmonic series of sounds is completely foreign and unbelievable to me, and I’m sure many others.

Every time I visit my parents home, I make an effort to play the lonely baby grand that these days sits as simply a beautiful piece of art in the front den. I gather the next time I visit and open up the piano, my inspired mind will transcribe a brilliantly crafted fugue and my fingers will go wild on the keyboard. Ummm… hardly. Who am I kidding? I suppose I can start with the basics and improvise my own unique Hanon, one that will warm up my fingers for an eventual and masterful act of improvisation. Yes, that would be a good start. Consider it semitone steps. Melodies are now being accepted.

Gabriela Montero improvising at Koln Philharmonie

Better late than never

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:22:00 +0000

Just when you thought summer was over, we've got another blogger review of Sobeys Symphony Under the Sky to check out! It's all about waiting for the moment, so it seems apropos to post now. Read Jim Tustian's blog post here.

And since we're on the topic, you can check out the winning photos and all submitted entries from our SSUTS photo contest by clicking here.

I heard Stradivarius was a fun guy...

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:08:00 +0000

It seems that soon you may be able to get that Stradivarius sound on the cheap, using fungus-treated wood. This little tid-bit of an article from The Great Beyond explains how and why:

Fungal Violin Defeats Strad

Muppets and Steve Martin

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:23:00 +0000

Given our affinity for posting videos of puppet-made music, we couldn't pass on posting this video of Steve Martin playing dueling banjos with the Muppets (via retroist.com):

Not the bird song you were expecting

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Here's an interesting little project someone came up with (via bitsandpieces.us). Essentially, they took a photo of birds on power lines (which so happened to look like a music staff) and composed a short piece based on the premise that the birds represent the notes on the staff.

Take a watch/listen:

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

Many more reviews

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:05:00 +0000

Hopefully you've already read many of our bloggers reviews of Sobeys Symphony Under the Sky. Several posted multiple reviews, and a few posts are still to come, but I wanted to do a recap of posts so far, linking to specific posts:

Sparkling Classics: Sep 4, 2009

sparkling classics by COLLECTed

Sparkling Classics by The Choir Girl

Success Under the Sky by the edmontonian.

Music Making! by nine-letter word

My first (and not last) experience with the ESO by Brittney LeBlanc

Operamania: Sep 5, 2009

Opera mania! by nine-letter word

Hollywood Adventures and Romances: Sep 5, 2009

Movie Music night by nine-letter word

Simply Sinatra: Sep 6, 2009

Simply Sinatra by The Choir Girl

The Edmonton Symphony. by Girls and Bicycles

Sobeys Symphony Under the Sky (Concert Review) by Adam Snider

From Trumpets to Tchaikovsky: Sep 7, 2009

Trumpets to Tchaikovsky by The Choir Girl

Cannons and Solstices by nine-letter word

Plus, something new - a review of the festival in Chinese! To be honest, I don't know what it says (yet), but there are pictures too...

More links will come as the bloggers finish up their posts.

Mastermaq took some photos on Saturday night, so be sure to check those out, and then check out our photo contest group - as of writing, 134 pictures have been submitted.

SSUTS continued...

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 22:54:00 +0000

Saturday always feels like the fullest day at Sobeys Symphony Under the Sky, with two concerts and a BBQ in between. I'd have to say that the weather was nearly perfect yesterday - pleasantly warm, but not too hot. And the crowds came out - I haven't heard the final numbers for Saturday night's movie-music concert, but I've only seen the hill that full a couple of times.

Oh, and before I forget, there is another blog post to check out for Friday's performance, written by Brittney LeBlanc at iNews 880. From the sounds of it, we've gained another convert!

Erin Craig, who has attended 14 out of 15 SSUTS, and even had a piece premiered at SSUTS as the ESO Young Composer, has posts for each of Saturday's two performances.

There will be some more links coming - so stay tuned!

It begins...

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:46:00 +0000

So the weather outside may not be perfect, but it's actually not bad, the day considered. The grass is a bit damp, but people are here, at Sobeys Symphony Under the Sky! And judging by the rehearsal, this is going to be a spectacular show!

With the weather as it is and various other reasons, I don't think we'll have much in the way of "live" blogging tonight, but you'll have lots to read following the show.

Check out:

thecollected.ca

thechoirgirl.blogspot.com

sharp11.livejournal.com

theedmontonian.com

Blogging Under the Sky

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:53:00 +0000

Sobeys Symphony Under the Sky is just a few short days away - and if the weather holds, I'm guessing it's going to be one of the busier SSUTS we've had.

Once again we've invited some local bloggers to review performances in the park, so be sure to watch this space for links to their blogs. Jim Tustian, one of our bloggers, has already done a preview post here.

Also - we're running a photo contest at SSUTS this year! Pictures will be posted to our Flickr account - check it out here.

50 different performances

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:51:00 +0000

As of August 18, all of the ESO's concerts are available for purchase as individual performances (as opposed to purchasing a subscription package). It's what we call the "single ticket on-sale day", and for me it has always signaled that the end of summer is approaching. Sad, yes, but it also means that a new season of concerts is almost here, and that's always a bit exciting! It also marks the point at which we as a marketing department begin to really focus on the individual performances and the full reality hits that we've got over fifty different shows to think about.

And there are already changes! Our gala fundraiser was rescheduled for two weeks later, and we've adjusted the performer's roster for our first set of Masters performances on September 18 & 19. The reasons for both of these essentially boil down to scheduling difficulties. And sadly, conductor Erich Kunzel has had to pull out of his engagement with the ESO on January 29 & 30, 2010. He's currently undergoing treatments for cancer and has been advised not to travel. Steven Reineke, who some might call Kunzel's protege, will conduct instead. These things happen every year - after all, getting highly sought-after musicians together in the same place and time is tricky at best.

But all that aside, it's a rather exciting season! Our very first concerts (after Sobeys Symphony Under the Sky) are the above mentioned Masters performances on September 18 & 19, and they're quite the shows! Here's why:

1. Crouching Tiger Concerto featuring the erhu. Yes - it's the music from the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the erhu is a traditional Chinese instrument - perhaps the first time it's been featured with the ESO? (I'm actually not sure, but that's a guess...)

2. Red Violin Chaconne. Yep, another great movie soundtrack that's been arranged as a concert piece. Composer John Corigliano received the Oscar for Best Original Score, and it's one of the more haunting and beautiful soundtracks out there.

3. Gershwin's Second Rhapsody. Who doesn't love a Gerswhin Rhapsody? This one isn't as famous as the Rhapsody in Blue, but it has that signature Gershwin sound. It's known as the New York Rhapsody in some circles, and was originally written for the film Delicious in the early 30s.

4. A new-ish fanfare for organ, brass and percussion from Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore. The Philadelphia Orchestra premiered the fanfare last year for Macy's 150th anniversary. The piece was commissioned by Macy's to use the world's largest playing pipe organ - the Wanamaker Organ at The Grand Court at Macy's in Philadelphia. We obviously don't have the largest organ in the world (just the largest concert organ in Canada), but it will be spectacular nevertheless, and a splendid locale for the fanfare's Canadian premiere.

So that's four movie-related orchestral works for our main classical series - can't get more exciting than that! Do I really have to tell you to buy tickets?

Bernstein and the F.B.I. (via Alex Ross)

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:42:00 +0000

This is one of the most fascinating things I've read in a long time, a look at the FBI's interest in Leonard Bernstein, as written by Alex Ross for the New Yorker:

Bernstein and the F.B.I.

It includes FBI documents, memos, Nixon tapes - like I said, fascinating!

Shared via AddThis

See It to Believe It

noreply@blogger.com (pamela) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:10:00 +0000

I've heard of instrument-playing robots. Actually... correction. I've seen and heard, live in person, a trumpet-playing robot. I even have a picture to prove it!

While in Washington, D.C. last spring I paid a visit to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. At the time, they were showcasing an all encompassing exhibit on how ancient Japanese traditions are being layered with modern sensibility and technological innovation to create culture. This included the wizardry of robots. Instrument-playing robots. A pretty intriguing sight, I have to admit.

Recently I came across this video, wherein robotic instruments perform George Antheil's infamous piece, Ballet Mécanique. Fascinating, with a hint of creepiness at the same time. Is this the future of orchestras? A consideration for pre-concert lobby entertainment? I'm not fully convinced... yet. Perhaps I'll just have to see it in person first, to really truly believe it... and accept it!

Now booked for the 2010/11 Season...

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:19:00 +0000

This has been all over the internet the last few days, so you've probably seen it already. But just in case:

Something about the piece makes me think of the slow movements from Rachmaninoff's piano concertos. I think it's the intervals from about 1:46 to 2:05.

An interesting sidenote, this performance is by the Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra, and I happened to spend 9 months in Klaipeda when I was in Grade 9. But that's, like, a lifetime ago in cat years.

You can do that with a carrot??

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:15:00 +0000

So waaaaaaay back in September I linked to a post about the vegetable orchestra, and only now do I find this fascinating video of an actual performance... I love the pepper mute about 5 minutes in.

Treble on Wheels

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:44:00 +0000

Treble on Wheels 5
Originally uploaded by edmontonsymphony

On June 27 & 28 the ESO team "Treble on Wheels" participated in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, raising over $25,000 for cancer research in Alberta. The total ride had 1742 participants and raised $6.9 Million dollars!

A few more photos can be found here.

You should have been there

phil.paschke@gmail.com (philharmonic) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:27:00 +0000

First off, thank you to Pamela for taking care of the blog during my vacation-related absence. Let's hope she keeps posting regularly, as I really enjoy what she has to say!

I came across or was sent a few different things to post about in the last little while. This one is going back a couple of weeks, but the Globe and Mail published an article about the live music experience.

Everyone has a story about a great concert. It's impossible to say how much burnishing is done in memory, and it doesn't matter anyway. But I tend to distrust any recollection of a famous or momentous event – Woodstock, say, or Vladimir Horowitz's last recital. History's finger seems to press a little too heavily on the scale. My own favourite concert experiences are mainly fragments, this song or that opera scene. But for many people, it's most satisfying to point to a whole event, to have that feeling of remembered fullness from one magic night, and to say, “You should have been there.”

We asked musicians, artists, music mavens and committed fans to recall their favourite show and to say what rang the cosmic bell for them.

Then follows a list of fascinating stories from the likes of Anton Kuerti to Ron MacLean. Orchestras tend to put on so many shows each year, it's easy to forget that any one of them could be that magical memory for someone...