{"id":44870,"date":"2017-04-26T20:33:40","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T00:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=44870"},"modified":"2017-05-26T20:00:34","modified_gmt":"2017-05-27T00:00:34","slug":"feature-haus-musik-the-bar-is-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2017\/04\/26\/feature-haus-musik-the-bar-is-open\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURE | Haus Musik: The Bar Is Open"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_44874\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-44874\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-44874\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/04\/Haus_Musik.jpg\" alt=\"Haus Musik, Julia Wedman (violin) (Photo:Trevor Haldenby)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/04\/Haus_Musik.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/04\/Haus_Musik-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/04\/Haus_Musik-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-44874\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Haus Musik, Julia Wedman (violin) (Photo: Trevor Haldenby)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span class=\"wpsdc-drop-cap\">H<\/span>ouse music and early music, at first, seem like an unlikely pair. House music typically evokes electronic music as crafted by music producers and DJs, while early music refers to music composed in medieval, renaissance and baroque eras. But breaking down the distance between these two discrete musical worlds packs a wealth of potential for Toronto\u2019s hometown early music ensemble. Their Haus Musik project challenges expectations with regards to the experience of classical music; it describes itself as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/hausmusikto.wixsite.com\/mysite\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the classical alternative<\/a>.\u201d The Haus Musik performances \u2014 the fourth of which is taking place at Toronto\u2019s Longboat Hall <a href=\"http:\/\/www.musicaltoronto.org\/datebook\/haus-musik-april-27-2017\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this Thursday<\/a> \u2014 rethinks just about everything to do with the performance of classical music except for the music itself. With a change of venue, a dismissal of audience conventions, and collaborations with contemporary music producers, sound designers, dancers and videographers, Tafelmusik\u2019s signature product \u2014 the performance of early music on period instruments \u2014 remains unchanged. The early music is situated alongside new sonic, multimedia and social ideas, but ultimately remains the centerpiece of Haus Musik performances. The packaging is wildly different, but the parcel remains the same.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/user\/hausmusikto\/playlist\/3rhal0ojnZINg8YCBjrNg0%3Fplay%3Dtrue%26utm_source%3Dopen.spotify.com%26utm_medium%3Dopen\" width=\"300\" height=\"380\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week I spoke with Tafelmusik\u2019s managing director William Norris, who conceived the Haus Musik project. He explained that on Thursday, musicians from Tafelmusik and electronic sound designer <a href=\"http:\/\/www.slowpitchsound.com\/\">SlowPitchSound<\/a> will create a soundscape that will explore the performance\u2019s central theme of city life versus country life. In line with previous Haus Musik performances, the electronic music and the live early music will largely be sonically separate, alternating throughout the evening, with limited direct interplay. I asked Norris if he thought the trade off between early and electronic music worked well. He responded with a chuckle, saying: \u201cSurprisingly, yes it does. As long as the producer knows what pitch we\u2019re playing at, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fb-video\" data-allowfullscreen=\"true\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HausMusikTO\/videos\/1250061128441794\/\"><\/div>\n<p>But what I found most interesting from my chat with Norris was how the Haus Musik concept negotiates its relationship with the core classical music product. While Haus Musik is indeed an initiative of a classical music organization, it is very careful to not frame itself as such:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo be honest, in our classical world, we forget about some of the preconceptions that come up when you say \u2018orchestra\u2019 or \u2018classical.\u2019 And, they\u2019re often quite negative to be honest. So by calling it Haus Musik we get away from that being the first thing that people think of. We make it something intriguing [\u2026] it doesn\u2019t look obviously classical. It looks like something artsy, cultural \u2014 a night out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By treating Tafelmusik and Haus Musik as separate brands, Norris explains that Tafelmusik is not concerned with engaging their existing audience base with Haus Musik: \u201cwe\u2019re starting from scratch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>And this is the whole point: engaging new audiences with new \u2014 or, in this case, quite old \u2014 music. Norris recognizes the need for classical music organizations to be more open-minded and experimental in the presentation of their musical product if they are serious about broadening their audience. He described the Haus Musik project as a response to an age where audiences have come to expect more options and customization in their cultural endeavors. Television was cited as an example in our conversation; here, there\u2019s different programming for everyone. But classical music, on the other hand:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026hasn\u2019t changed. We just all do the two-hour concert that starts at 8:00 p.m. and you have to sit down and be quiet [\u2026] We should be looking at ways to diversify our product to appeal to a bigger audience, rather than expecting everyone to come to the same product, which may not be right for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s interesting that in order for classical music to move forward, it \u2014 in many ways \u2014 seems to be distancing itself from itself. \u00a0While distance from tradition is certainly forged in some ways, this innovative approach to the presentation of early music appears to bring audiences closer to the music in certain ways as well. In transplanting the music into a casual, bar-like setting the proximity and the intimacy between the freely standing, drink-wielding audience and the performers is intensified. This creates a kind of interaction that is lost in a conventional concert hall because of the rigid divide between performer and audience that these settings tend to perpetuate. Norris suggested that perhaps this mode of early music performance is actually more authentic than a performance in a contemporary concert hall.<\/p>\n<p>Given that audiences are not restrained to a seat or bound by certain classical music conventions, I asked Norris how audiences responded to the live early music: do they casually chat and treat the performance like background music, or do they actually <em>listen <\/em>to the music?<\/p>\n<p>He answered my question with outright optimism: \u201cPeople mostly get glued [\u2026] as soon as the live music starts, people immediately zoom into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In this new kind of performative context, the stakes are raised. In a concert hall, if the audience is unengaged with the music, they\u2019re forced to keep still and be quiet; engagement, in a way, is forced. In a bar context, if the audience is unengaged, they are free to start talking\u00a0or wander off to a different corner of the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s almost a truer test of the performance,\u201d Norris explained. \u201cWe know when we\u2019ve got people\u2019s attention in this kind of setting. And it\u2019s nice for us to think about how we can keep people\u2019s attention, because maybe we\u2019ve lost that connection with the audience in the traditional concert hall.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To follow up on this, I commented that it must be comforting to see audiences that are so new to early music become so captivated by it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d he answered. \u201cIt\u2019s evidence that there\u2019s nothing wrong with the music, it\u2019s just rethinking how we get it out to people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From a certain perspective, it might look like Tafelmusik is bamboozling a perhaps unassuming audience with the historically-informed performance of early music by getting people in the door with a promise of innovative collaborations and a contemporary atmosphere. But confronting tradition and expectation in this way achieves its goal in that it brings quality early music to audiences who may not typically find themselves at Korner Hall on a Saturday at 8 p.m., which is a powerful and promising premise. It lowers the risk for the audience\u00a0and allows them to experience and understand the same great music in a way that works for them. And besides, what\u2019s a good parcel without fun packaging and a pleasant surprise?<\/p>\n<h3><b><i>#LUDWIGVAN<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n<p><i>Want more updates on Toronto-centric classical music news and reviews before anyone else finds out? Follow us on\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LudwigVanToronto\/\"><u><i>Facebook<\/i><\/u><\/a><i>\u00a0or <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LudwigVanToronto\"><u><i>Twitter<\/i><\/u><\/a><i> for all the latest.<\/i><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Haus Musik packs a wealth of potential for Toronto\u2019s hometown early music ensemble.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":44874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6439,4967,63],"tags":[6079,3224],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/04\/Haus_Musik.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-bFI","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44870"}],"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\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44870"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45546,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44870\/revisions\/45546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44870"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=44870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}