DianaBerlioz plays American football??? You're kidding, right?
April 9th 2008 06:14
Did you know, dear reader, that Hector Berlioz (think Young Einstein look-a-like) French composer extrordinaire, was a pretty 'out there' composer? A radical kinda guy?
Famous in particular for his 'Symphonie fantastique', with its wonderful rich, lush orchestration and based on his infatuation of one woman, his 'Romeo and Juliet' symphony contains some of his (and the) 'wackiest' music he ever wrote and indeed was ever written for that genre.
Complicated, conflicting, confronting; fast rhythms, piercingly high and difficult wind passages; mad battling fugues between strings.
Considered 'too taxing' for the average audience, much of this music is seldom performed (thank God, you might say,not that you would go if it was, would you????).
But last night, the orchestra I am lucky enough to be a part of, made mincemeat of the difficulties and we got an emerging picture of a work of great depth and brilliance.
Dear reader: I fell in love (again).
Our conductor, who is like a young Hugh Grant, though built on a flimsier scale, is a specialist in French music, though he would look more at home in your local garage band.
Precise and passionate, he holds us together with a firm hand.
In a society which reveres the individualist it is no mean feat to bend the minds of 90-odd (and trust me, they are pretty odd) to a common aim.
Indeed, orchestral playing is such an old fashioned skill, wouldn't you agree?
Oh, I don't mean the fact that the music is old fashioned, but the idea of 'team spirit' to such a degree?
Only the dear Americans, with their organised football matches, can claim to get a group united so well.........singing, clapping, chanting and so forth......and yet they are such an exponent of the individual.....so interesting....
Famous in particular for his 'Symphonie fantastique', with its wonderful rich, lush orchestration and based on his infatuation of one woman, his 'Romeo and Juliet' symphony contains some of his (and the) 'wackiest' music he ever wrote and indeed was ever written for that genre.
Complicated, conflicting, confronting; fast rhythms, piercingly high and difficult wind passages; mad battling fugues between strings.
Considered 'too taxing' for the average audience, much of this music is seldom performed (thank God, you might say,not that you would go if it was, would you????).
But last night, the orchestra I am lucky enough to be a part of, made mincemeat of the difficulties and we got an emerging picture of a work of great depth and brilliance.
Dear reader: I fell in love (again).
Our conductor, who is like a young Hugh Grant, though built on a flimsier scale, is a specialist in French music, though he would look more at home in your local garage band.
Precise and passionate, he holds us together with a firm hand.
In a society which reveres the individualist it is no mean feat to bend the minds of 90-odd (and trust me, they are pretty odd) to a common aim.
Indeed, orchestral playing is such an old fashioned skill, wouldn't you agree?
Oh, I don't mean the fact that the music is old fashioned, but the idea of 'team spirit' to such a degree?
Only the dear Americans, with their organised football matches, can claim to get a group united so well.........singing, clapping, chanting and so forth......and yet they are such an exponent of the individual.....so interesting....
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