{"id":16999,"date":"2014-01-15T07:20:29","date_gmt":"2014-01-15T12:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=16999"},"modified":"2014-01-15T07:38:09","modified_gmt":"2014-01-15T12:38:09","slug":"classical-music-101-visually-an-orchestra-is-a-lot-like-a-duck-gliding-across-the-mill-pond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2014\/01\/15\/classical-music-101-visually-an-orchestra-is-a-lot-like-a-duck-gliding-across-the-mill-pond\/","title":{"rendered":"Classical Music 101: Visually, an orchestra is a lot like a duck gliding across the mill pond"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(Mark<\/a>
(Mark Stivers illustration.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some concert presenters looking for new audiences think orchestral concerts don’t pack the visual punch to match the audible experience. So they add a light show or project visuals. We’ve even seen dancers move about the stage during concerts.<\/p>\n

But before we jump to multimedia conclusions, it may be worth taking a fresh look at that boring old orchestra. The big picture may be static, but, as is the case with a duck gliding across the mill pond, there’s an awful lot going on underneath.<\/p>\n

Violinist Hilary Hahn, one of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Mozart festival guests this week, wrote an excellent piece on what to watch at a concert on her website — based on her childhood experiences. It’s well worth appreciating in full:<\/p>\n

Things to Watch in an Orchestra Concert<\/h2>\n

I went to my first concert when I was five years old. Since then, I\u2019ve spent many hours observing various orchestras and getting to know orchestral musicians, and some visual characteristics catch my attention over and over again. Most of the time, I notice these when I\u2019m watching as an audience member \u2013 when I\u2019m onstage, I\u2019m much more absorbed in the music itself, picking up on different types of cues.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re relatively new to classical orchestra concerts, check out this list. It might give you some new ideas of fun things to look for the next time around.<\/p>\n

Bowstrokes in the violin and viola sections:<\/strong>
\nAll of these performers move together, thanks to carefully notated bow-direction markings in the music. The bowstrokes are choreographed for consistency of tone and articulation, but of course visual unity is taken into account. This is noticeable especially in fast music, and especially when a note is attacked in unison, making for an army of spear-like sticks cutting the air together.<\/p>\n

Where the conductor is looking, and when:<\/strong>
\nYou can tell a lot about the music you\u2019re hearing by watching the conductor\u2019s cues to the orchestra and by trying to figure out why he or she is pointing at certain instruments at certain times. Sometimes conductors gesture early, ahead of time; sometimes they\u2019re right with the music (as a musician in an orchestra, it\u2019s helpful if the conductor gives phrasing indications in advance, so that we know for sure what\u2019s coming next). As far as technique goes, some conductors prefer a precise or mechanical style; others are more vague, choosing to demonstrate the shape of the music rather than its details.<\/p>\n

Double-bassists\u2019 left hands:<\/strong>
\nThe bass is such a big instrument that its practitioners are required to move their left hands huge distances over the fingerboard in order to reach the notes. For example: a violinist can play many intervals without changing position; but for those same intervals, a bassist may need to move his or her hand from over his\/her head to waist level. It happens very fast \u2013 I don\u2019t know how they do it!<\/p>\n

Brass players\u2019 eyebrows:<\/strong>
\nThese musicians\u2019 eyebrows are a virtual map to their phrasing structures and tone production. They go through all manners of contortion, depending on the instrument, the expressiveness of a certain phrase, the amount of effort it takes to produce the tone, and the mood of the passage they\u2019re playing. Also, watch for oboists\u2019 and clarinettists\u2019 facial color and muscle tone \u2013 when they have to play long sections without taking a breath, their skin turns from red to purple, their veins and eyes start to pop out, and their facial muscles look very strained. I think I\u2019d pass out if I had to perform such a feat.<\/p>\n

The gong:<\/strong>
\nThis was my favorite instrument to watch when I was a little kid going to Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concerts. I\u2019d wait whole symphonies just to hear it struck, to hear the tone well up as if in an exotic temple or royal court. (I read a lot of fairy tales.) Although I became a violinist in the end, I still like to tap any gong I pass in backstage hallways and rehearsal rooms. I even rammed one with my head once, to see what it would sound like. Call me crazy! But don\u2019t tell the percussionists.<\/p>\n

Hilary Hahn<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some concert presenters looking for new audiences think orchestral concerts don’t pack the visual punch to match the audible experience. So they add a light show or project visuals. We’ve even seen dancers move about the stage during concerts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[117,12,19,31,36,42,60,63,68],"tags":[6480,6453,857,4223,2515,6474,4362],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-4qb","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16999"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16999"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17007,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16999\/revisions\/17007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16999"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=16999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}