OPINION: On "tarting up" an orchestra schedule

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News

Last week Joshua Kosman, music critic of the San Francisco Chronicle, posted a thought-provoking column (LINK) that referred to sobering financial comments coming from David Gockley, general director of San Francisco Opera.

In his column, Kosman drew analogies to the travails currently plaguing the Philadelphia Orchestra and New York City Opera
and concluded with the following: “There's no reason to imagine that anything comparable is in the cards for San Francisco's future — both of these crises (NY and Philly), after all, could have been seen coming from quite a ways off had anyone cared to look. But they are cautionary tales nevertheless, a reminder that no arts organization is guaranteed survival or success.”

However, in discussing the Philadelphia Orchestra, Kosman wrote something that really set my teeth on edge. While laying much of the blame for the orchestra’s travails at the feet of the ensemble’s management, Kosman wrote: “orchestra management [recently made] the decision to cut subscription concerts by 15 percent, cancel touring and tart up its musical offerings with light classics and film scores.” Much as I admire Kosman’s writing, I think he’s dead wrong on at least three points.

There are four ways you can solve a financial crisis, be it in a family or an organization: raise revenue, cut expenses, declare bankruptcy or go out of business. The Philadelphia Orchestra’s management and board have elected a combination of the first three.

On the revenue side, the orchestra is undertaking significant fund-raising efforts throughout many segments of its constituencies. In this, of course, it’s competing with every other arts organization.

On the expense side, among the decisions were, as Kosman notes, to reduce concerts by 15 percent and cancel touring — perhaps put touring on hiatus would have been a better choice of words, although the orchestra will continue to make its annual pilgrimages to Carnegie Hall in New York City.

A 15 percent season reduction sound severe but is it? The orchestra’s 2011-2012 season covers 29 weeks, similar to other major ensembles. There’s also a three-concert series entitled “Beyond the Score,” which uses lectures and demonstrations to deconstruct a familiar piece (Jeffrey Kahane, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra music director, is leading one of these; it’s similar to what Kahane and LACO do each season at Ambassador Auditorium). Also on the agenda are four “Family Concerts” on Saturday mornings and three holiday concerts during December. Considering that the orchestra isn’t selling out most of its concerts, the 15 percent reduction in performances may not even be noticed.

As to the touring suspension: tours can be valuable for orchestras. They usually increase the ensemble’s prestige and may lead to ancillary income from recording sales. Most importantly, tours help the musicians bond with each other. Tours are also expensive, often egregiously so. Considering that the orchestra’s music director-designate, Yannick Nézét-Séguin, doesn’t assume his position full time for a couple more years (and, thus, isn’t yet available for a tour), suspending the activity makes eminent sense to me. Moreover, if I were a PO subscriber, I’d want the orchestra’s financial resources devoted to local concerts, not overseas.

Finally, to the Philadelphia Orchestra board’s decision to “tart up [Kosman’s words] its musical offerings with light classics and film scores.”

First, from a factual point of view, Kosman is almost completely wrong when examining the upcoming season. Perhaps Kosman considers Rhapsody in Blue to be a “light classic”; I don’t but I won’t argue semantics. There is one week with a “film score”: Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront, although this doesn’t really fit the genre. Bernstein wrote this 22-minute piece in 1955 as a symphonic piece, using materials from his 1954 score for Elia Kazan’s landmark movie the year before. Many orchestras have played it. What would really be bold would be a screening of the movie with the orchestra playing the film score.

Second is the issue of whether including motion picture music “tarts” up a classical concert. Throughout musical history, composers have written significant music for non-orchestral purposes; movies in the 20th and 21st century fill that role. Without wanting to debate the quality of film music, I notice that Kosman didn't kvetch about a program that includes Debussy’s Symphonic Fragments from The Martyrdom of Saint-Sebastian, which was incidental music composed in 1911 for a play written by Gabriele d'Annunzio (almost an exact corollary to film music). Moreover, every orchestra programs opera overtures by Mozart, Rossini, Wagner, etc. throughout their seasons.

What astonishes me is not that a symphonic orchestra would program film scores indoors but how few do it. I wouldn’t advocate an entire season of film scores (although a series might be an interesting possibility) but if a program with movie music entices someone to go to a live concert in a concert hall, how bad can that be? You build audiences in small, incremental ways. If movie music isn’t your cup of tea, don’t buy a ticket.

As I said, I’m amazed that more orchestras don’t screen entire films with the orchestra playing the score, although it’s worth noting that the Los Angeles Philharmonic will show the movie version of West Side Story on July 8 and 9 at Hollywood Bowl with the Phil playing Bernstein’s iconic score. Synchronizing an orchestra with a movie isn’t easy but many conductors have done it successfully.

Outside the box? Sure — so what? In its recently completed season the Los Angeles Philharmonic ventured an innovative program that mixed the words of Shakespeare (as delivered by actors) with music that Tchaikovsky wrote about three of Shakespeare’s plays (Hamlet, The Tempets and Romeo and Juliet). Smart concept, well presented; it worked particularly well in the motion picture telecast in theaters.

I also remember several years ago that Michael Tilson Thomas created an evening entitled "The Thomashefskys," which featured stories and music from the conductor’s grandparents and their life in the Yiddish Theatre in the early 20th century (he later brought it to Los Angeles with the LAPO). It, too, was outside the box and involved so-called “popular” music of its day. Kosman’s 2005 review (LINK) of the San Francisco Symphony program was highly laudatory; he certainly didn’t think the concept “tarted up” the schedule.
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(c) Copyright 2011, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

Comments

[Allisyar.wordpress.com]

I whole-heartedly agree with your sentiments. That said, I think that the local orchestras could/should do a better job of embracing the best film music as concert pieces.

When Salonen released the Bernard Hermann disc over a decade ago, I looked forward to seeing him conduct some of that Hermann's music during subscription concerts; alas, he never did (the closest he came was playing some of it on the 3rd opening concert of WDCH which was specifically devoted to movie music). Still, there were many noble attempts, most memorably the concert of Revueltas's "Redes" played live with the film or the resetting of the Lilian Gish film, "The Wind," to music by Sibelius.

I remember Nagano conducting "On the Waterfront" on the same concert as the Gershwin Concerto in F and the Ives 4th Symphony w/ the LA Phil back at the Dorothy Chandler -- what a great night.

During that time, John Mauceri reliably and intelligently devoted much of his Hollywood Bowl concerts to film music; even though it was done as part of a "pops" concert, it never felt like pandering a la so many Merry Widow or Gilbert & Sullivan pieces. Ever since he has left, integration of quality film music into any concert (let alone a "traditional" winter season subscription concert) has been sorely lacking.

I was happy to see to see the LA Phil devote a weekend in their upcoming Winter season to film music w/ Thomas Wilkins conducting; however, it seems to be offered as a "pops" concert stuck in the middle of the regular season: no program is listed, just a smattering of film composers names.

For the smaller, regional orchestras, I wonder if some of the reluctance is because many of the musicians in those orchestras spend their "day job" actually recording the scores to film music, and their time spent in the concert hall is purposely set aside for Beethoven, Mahler, and Stravinsky instead of more Williams, Elfman, and Korngold.

Here's hoping that somewhere along the way, Gustavo Dudamel and the other "big-name conductors" embrace and champion film music in some way greater than is typical today.

- CK Dexter Haven