Klarinet Archive - Posting 000167.txt from 1999/10

From: "Steven J. Goldman" <sjgoldman@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] The VPO concert and Ed Lacy's comments
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 1999 11:34:19 -0400

I think television and orchestral music have been up until now a rather
incompatible. While the idea of placing a camera to give a full orchestral
view sounds like a no brainer, the problem is, most people have relatively
small screen TV's. The view looks worse than the farthest reaches of the
upper gallery of any auditorium I've been in. Now at a live concert, I
rarely just watch the entire orchestra all the time. I tend to focus on the
people that have the most important musical part with short peeks at the
conductor and the rest of the musicians (particularly clarinets of course).
And we should not forget the visual aspects that composers purposefully used
(particularly when the violin sections were on either side of the
conductor - if there was one). On a small screen TV, however, all the
instrumentalists look like slightly wiggly dots. It does not have the same
effect as being at a performance. Therefore, moving in for tighter shots in
an attempt to mimic what we do as an audience is probably a necessity if the
visual aspect of a performance is going to add anything to it (at least
until we all have big screen, high resolution TV's). Now, I agree that the
directors don't seem to do a very good job of it at all, and have a lot to
learn. But a full view of the orchestra for the complete concert? In that
case you might as well just get the CD. You wouldn't lose much visually and
the sound would be so much better.

(Yes, it is best not to get into the problem of Maazel on a clarinet list.
Historical or sociological list perhaps).

Steve Goldman
Glenview, IL

sjgoldman@-----.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu]
Subject: [kl] The VPO concert and Ed Lacy's comments

........

The idea of simply placing a camera where the orchestra can be seen
as a whole and leaving it alone, is an anathema to any TV director.
It is simply "too static" for the medium, in their view. Thus,
they must jazz it up to make it into real entertainment. I guess
they presume that it is unreal entertainment.

As for Maazel and his relationship with the orchestra, that is a
much deeper and darker problem. Let me suggest that the best the
VPO can do with respect to Maazel is to tolerate him, and the
reasons behind this attitude are not ones I wish to speak of in a
public forum.

=======================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
leeson@-----.edu
=======================================

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