It's all about the classical music composers and their works from the last 400 years and much more about music. Hier erfahren Sie alles über die klassischen Komponisten und ihre Meisterwerke der letzten vierhundert Jahre und vieles mehr über Klassische Musik.
There is a growing trend amongst concert hosts and performers to introduce the music to be performed ahead of the concert, and on radio for presenters to describe the music in some detail immediately before it is broadcast. Such presentations can offer the audience a different perspective on what they are about to hear from the printed programme notes and may reveal special or personal insights into the music. I think audiences have a great fascination in the “behind the scenes” work of musicians, especially soloists such as concert pianists, and a performer’s own introduction to his or her programme provides a more personal view on the music, allowing performer to discuss why they chose this repertoire, what makes it special for them and, particularly in the case of modern or new music, give the audience some “listening notes” to help them find their way through the music.
Such introductions may also create a more intimate link between performer and audience, breaking down the “us and them” atmosphere which can sometimes pervade the concert hall. A good introduction will encourage engaged and empathetic listening from audience and a sense of mutual communication and cooperation between performer and listeners.
It can be frustrating, therefore, when presenter or performer tries to tell the audience “how to listen”. I would prefer presenters not to preface a work with gushing purple prose, telling us that this music is “beautiful”, “absolutely gorgeous”, “fiery”, “dramatic” etc. Listening to music, whether in a live concert, on disc or on the radio is a highly personal and subjective experience, one which taps into one’s emotions to create an individual response. My version of “beautiful” or “dramatic” music will not be the same as yours, and to influence the listener by describing music in this way or telling us how to listen may deprive us of the uniqueness of the listening experience. Equally, audiences and listeners are not stupid and do not need to be ‘helped’ through the music or given obvious musical ‘signposts’ to listen out for before we’ve even heard a note. And a long verbal introduction to a piece can make one impatient to hear the actual music.
Sometimes in pre-concert presentations, extracts from the music in the programme are played to introduce the music or illustrate a point or to ‘help’ the audience. Such extracts can be enlightening and informative, but equally they can feel strangely disconnected when taken out of the context of the entire work or the programme as a whole.
I actually enjoying hearing a piece of music “cold”, so to speak, without any introduction, allowing the sounds to seep into my aural landscape and my consciousness, wondering where the music will go, without an introduction via a verbal or written programme note. Sometimes we need to be surprised, delighted, shocked or enraptured, and at other times it can be satisfying to “work” at listening (and I have never regarded listening as an entirely passive activity: some engagement is required, whatever the genre of music). We can take pleasure in our personal discoveries, our unique responses to what we’re hearing, the thrill of the unknown or the unfamiliar.
Music comes out of silence and through it we can escape from the noise of everyday life, the unending onslaught of images, messages, videos, memes…
After two years of Covid-19 lockdowns, navigating Brexit red tape, and now a cost of living crisis, the music industry is living through one of its toughest periods to date.
With Christmas just around the corner, this has historically been a lucrative period for those working in the arts industries.
But over the last two years the festive season has been anything but reliable, as the music industry has had to endure lockdowns, Covid cases, and a disruption to freedom of movement. And now, the cost of living crisis is making its mark on the country’s arts scene.
Last week, the government announced that the UK had entered a recession for the first time since 2008. According to the charity Help Musicians, the ‘cost of living crisis’ has meant that more than half of the musicians in the UK are concerned they’ll be forced to leave the industry.
Classic FM spoke to classical music venues and ensembles to learn how the the music industry is struggling to keep their heads above water this winter, and whether there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
The cost of living crisis is negatively impacting musicians ‘more than the pandemic’
Help Musicians CEO, James Ainscough, has described the current environment for musicians as “brutal” and believes that now is the toughest time it has been to be a musician since the Second World War.
In a recent survey, the UK charity found that 98 percent of musicians are concerned about earning enough income over the next six months, and 90 percent are worried about being able to afford food
60 percent of musicians also told the charity that they are earning less than they were in 2021, suggesting that the cost of living crisis may be impacting them financially more than the pandemic.
The following challenges are having a severe impact on their mental health, with 88 percent saying their poor mental health is currently negatively impacting their career.
Artists have also been found to be in a 'cost of working' crisis, with 91 percent unable to afford music equipment, whilst energy and fuel costs are making travelling to concerts and heating rehearsal spaces impossible for many.
In response to the “unique set of challenges facing musicians this winter”, Help Musicians have published advice on managing finances, developing a career, facing financial crisis, touring, and managing mental health.
Concern is echoed across the industry. Earlier this month, Naomi Pohl, general secretary of the Musicians’ Union said in an interview for PRS for Music: “We’re at another moment when the industry needs to pull together.
“We were joined up during the pandemic and we again need to make sure there’s additional support for musicians who need it, otherwise there’s a risk of a talent drain.”
The Musicians Union’, along with other unions, gathered outside the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on Tuesday 22 November to protest cuts to arts funding. The unions have argued that the cuts put musicians’ jobs and livelihoods at risk, during a cost of living crisis.
Members of the ENO Chorus sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ outside Arts Council England’s London office
‘Our energy costs have gone up by 250 percent’
Central London church, St-Martin-in-the-Fields, is an 18th-century building that also functions as a classical and jazz music venue, attracting audiences of tourists and locals alike. Its tourist audience has shrunk over the last two years due to the impact of Covid and a decline in travel and tourism, but the cost of living crisis brings another new challenge to the venue.
Chris Denton took over as CEO of St Martin’s in May 2021, leaving his role as executive director of audiences at the Southbank Centre. “We’ve got this issue of audiences who have been reluctant to come back following Covid-19,” Denton told Classic FM.
“Because of Covid-19 fear, we’ve got the issue of tourism in London not having bounced back, so that’s already a downer on classical music audiences returning.
“The cost of living crisis really adds another dimension to the problem, and it is so unwelcome for all of us in terms of the fragility of the recovery from Covid.”
Denton continued: “Over the last year, our energy costs have gone up by 250 percent. We’re a church, and like a lot of older buildings, very expensive to heat.”
For Denton, dealing with these rising bill costs is “a careful balance of trying to maximise people coming through the door, without overpricing things and putting them off,” which it seems he has been successful in.
Denton said the cost of living crisis has “hugely” impacted St Martin’s, from the programmes they decide to present, to their pricing strategy.
“There’s this question of whether or not audiences are prepared to be risky with their ever decreasing disposable income and actually thinking what, what might they want in order to entice them to come out. There’s lots of different issues that we’re thinking through because of this current crisis.”
And he’s not alone with centring the needs of the audiences – balancing what they want to see and what they can afford, while still upholding the values the concert venue wants to try and deliver in terms of the artistic offer.
Dougie Scarfe, chief executive of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra told Classic FM that the orchestra is “doubling down” in its efforts to ensure audiences can access their various discounted ticket schemes for students, children, and people on Job Seekers Allowance.
BSO Resound performs Copland's Simple Gifts
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is Classic FM’s Orchestra in the South of England, and covers an impressive 10,000 square miles of the southwest of England.
As well as in-person shows, the southern orchestra is one of the few ensembles to have continued their ‘on-demand’ video and livestream output since the end of the pandemic.
For Scarfe, it’s important to consider the cost it takes to get to the venue, on top of the ticket price. “With our livestream concerts actually being live, if you live 100 miles or 200 miles away from the concert hall, or you can’t get a local transport to our venue, you can still share in that live experience with our presenters and musicians.
“We’ve got audiences who have had their dinner, opened a bottle of wine, some of them get dressed up into the lounge where they sit watching the concert on their computers, or on their TV, and still are able to share that live experience. And I think in times like these, our role bringing music into people’s lives is actually never more important.”
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra performing at Classic FM Live earlier this year. Picture: Matt Crossick
For audience members who are coming out to see concerts, the BSO has deals with local restaurants so guests are able to make the most of their ‘night out’.
Scarfe says that this is what people missed during the pandemic. “That feeling of being with other people who are having a great time, whether that’s in the theatre, whether that’s football, or in the concert hall.
“I think there’s a genuine desire within audiences to come back. And if we can help this by making it as affordable as we can, with ongoing concessions, and live streams to make the experience more accessible, then that’s what we’re going to do.
“A fundamental thing to human life is to have that shared experience, and by putting all those things together with all the offers and all the deals, we can help out audience have a really fantastic night out.”
‘The crisis is forcing people to think twice before buying concert tickets’
Jon Collins, CEO of Live, a group that represents the UK’s live music business, said in a statement: “While we welcome the government’s desire to bring stability to the UK economy, today has offered little help to secure the future of our £4.5 billion industry and the 200,000 people it employs.
“Unprecedented operating conditions are pushing our sector to the brink, as much-loved venues close their doors, tours are cancelled and artists drop out of the industry.”
Simon Eaton, Head of Live at the Troxy theatre in London, told Classic FM, “The cost of living crisis is forcing people to think twice before purchasing tickets for concerts. Not only having to account for the price of the ticket itself but also the night out that comes with it – travel, food, drinks – which are all on the up.
“We’re certainly seeing people drinking less at shows which for a venue is difficult as it’s our major source of revenue. Unfortunately, the same crisis is affecting artists too.
“Touring is more expensive than ever before and as result ticket prices are going up which leads back to people being unable to purchase them and a negative cycle created.”
In response to the Autumn budget, the Independent Society of Musicians noted that the statement did not provide targeted support for the music industry.
If you or someone you know in the music industry needs help finding crisis resources, visit Help Musicians for further sources of support
Pianist Anna Fedorova and AVROTROS Klassiek are a golden duo: recordings of her previous concerts are one of the most popular ones on our channel. And now she's back! In Het Concertgebouw she performs Rachmaninoff's 'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini'. Enjoy!
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Anna Fedorova [piano]
Philharmonie Südwestfalen
Gerard Oskamp [conductor]
Recorded: Sunday the 11th of March 2018, during The Sunday Morning Concert in Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam.
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor "Farewell", Hob. I:45 (1772)
00:00 - Allegro assai
07:08 - Adagio
21:36 - Menuet: Allegretto; Trio
26:22 - Finale: Presto; Adagio
Performed by Charles Mackerras and the Orchestra of St. Luke's (Telarc: 1989).
A look at one of Russia's most influential composers - a teacher of Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and many others, and composer of such great works as Scheherazade, Antar, and Flight of the Bumblebee.
"MacArthur Park" is a song by Jimmy Webb in 1968, originally composed as part of an intended cantata. Richard Harris was the second to record it. Other covers include Donna Summer's disco arrangement from 1978 and Waylon Jennings's version recorded in 1969. Maynard Ferguson, Stan Kenton, and Woody Herman all performed big-band jazz arrangements.
"MacArthur Park" utilized flowery lyrics and metaphors (most famously, love being likened to a cake left out in the rain) that were considered by media such as the Los Angeles Times to be "polarizing" and "loopy." The inspiration for "MacArthur Park" was the relationship and breakup between Webb and Susan Ronstadt, a cousin of singer Linda Ronstadt. MacArthur Park was where the two occasionally met for lunch and spent their most enjoyable times together.
In 1978, "MacArthur Park" by Donna Summer was number one on the American pop music sales charts for three weeks. "MacArthur Park Suite stayed at number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart for five weeks in 1978.
(LYRICS)
Spring was never waiting for us, dear, it ran one step ahead, as we followed in the dance. Between the parted pages, we were pressed, In love's hot, fevered iron like a striped pair of pants. MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark, All the sweet, green icing flowing down... Someone left the cake out in the rain, I don't think that I can take it 'cause it took so long to bake it, And I'll never have that recipe again, Again! Aha!
I recall the yellow cotton dress, foaming like a wave, on the ground beneath your knees. The birds, like tender babies in your hands and the old men playing Chinese checkers by the trees. MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark, All the sweet, green icing flowing down... Someone left the cake out in the rain, I don't think that I can take it 'cause it took so long to bake it, And I'll never have that recipe again, Again! Aha!
There will be another song for me and I will sing it. They'll be another dream for me, someone will bring it. I will drink the wine while it is warm and never let you catch me looking at the sun yea, and after all the loves of my life, after all the loves of my life you'll still be the one. I will take my life into my hands and I will use it. I will win the worship in their eyes and I will lose it. I will have the things that I desire and my passion flow like rivers from the sky. Oh and after all the loves of my life, yea, after all the loves of my life you'll still be the one and I'll ask myself why yea! MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark, All the sweet, green icing flowing down... Someone left the cake out in the rain, I don't think that I can take it 'cause it took so long to bake it, And I'll never have that recipe again, Again!
You're one of a kind, I gotta have ya, well you're one of a kind, I need to have ya! Right from the start you tore me apart, you took the best part of my heart, Aah! Body and soul, you took me out of control. You stole the best part of my heart, Aah! Ooh! You're one of a kind, you've got magic. I know you're one of a kind, baby you're static. Right from the start you tore me apart, you took the best part of my heart, Aah! Body and soul, you took me out of control. You stole the best part of my heart, Aah! Ooh! Right from the start you tore me apart, you took the best part of my heart, Aah! Body and soul, you took me out of control. You stole the best part of my heart, Aah! Ooh!
Baby please (baby please) please don't take your love from me (please don't take your love from me) I am yours for ever more (ever more) 'til eternity. Silently (so silently) listen to the words I say (listen to the words I say) I'm not talking just for play (just for play) listen to me please (won't you listen to me). Heaven knows it's not the way it should be and heaven knows it's not the way it could be and don't you know there's no need to leave! Heaven knows I never wanna leave you, heaven knows I only wanna please you, don't you know love is what I need!
Down inside (down inside) don't get caught with foolish pride (don't get caught with foolish pride) blow the other things aside (things aside) it's only you and me (you and me, you and)believe in us (believe in us) we were always meant to be (always meant to be) me for you and you for me (you for me) 'til eternity ('til eternity). Heaven knows it's not the way it should be and heaven knows it's not the way it could be and don't you know there's no need to leave! Heaven knows I only want to love you and heaven knows I never wanna loose you, don't you know love is meant to be! Heaven knows it's not the way it should be and it's not your style so stop with the pretending so come on down and hear me when I cry!
MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark, All the sweet, green icing flowing down... Someone left the cake out in the rain, I don't think that I can take it 'cause it took so long to bake it, And I'll never have that recipe again, Again!
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→ Website: https://www.daniel-farre.com
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Hi, my name is Daniel and I'm a professional event pianist from Germany.
What kind of music do you like to play? Let me know down in the comments and don't forget to like and subscribe, new videos are coming soon!
I recently started a Instagram account where I'm also posting pictures of my work trips as a event pianist. Make sure to check it out!
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(it's a bit complicated to get to the app via this link, you can also just type in "Daniel Hoffmann Farré" in Instagram)
