Klarinet Archive - Posting 001374.txt from 2000/06

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: [kl] A review
Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 03:41:28 -0400

"It has been my observation that the first step in teaching people to
appreciate good music is to over power them completely by sheer majesty.
You cannot acquire a love of music by listening to simple pieces at
first and gradually working up to more complex ones."

That was Emanuel Feuermann -- Heifetz's favourite cellist -- in an
American newspaper in 1938. Today we hear 'education, education,
education' but all this appears to mean is 'dumbing down, dumbing down,
dumbing down'. Just what does 'access' mean if you kill off the product
you're trying to promote?

Last week saw some bad moments for classical music. It began with
schlock -- the televised 'Classical Brits' awards where, after Vanessa
Mae had murdered Vivaldi's 'Seasons' with the help of 'a battery of
drummers', Trevor McDonald had the impudence to suggest that poor old
classical music needed a leg up. If that was depressing, even more so
was the presence of Culture supremo, Chris Smith, appearing to endorse
such a preposterous view.

Bank Holiday Saturday at the Dome presented another bash -- in every
sense. For the first time, Dome functionaries opened the magnificent
Skyscape -- 'the live entertainment venue' although hitherto confined to
endless screenings of 'Blackadder' -- for a concert. Situated next to
Dome Proper, it's a huge space -- another aircraft hanger in need of a
few planes -- but with seating available (and packed out) for 7000,
ideally suited for popular events, an asset that seems to have passed
the planners by.

'The Kennedy Experience' was the event, a free concert, the culmination
of 'The Millennium Concerts' presented by BBC World Service for world
broadcast, and part of 'sling-an-umbrella-over-a-huge-number
-of-other-people's-events-and-call-it-a-festival': BBC Music Live. A
largely middle-aged crowd, heard the largely middle-aged Malcolm
McLaren, introduce the largely middle-aged Kennedy. Rows of BBC execs
must have winced at Kennedy's first utterance: "Turn the fuckin' spot
off. It's doin' my head". That may not have been great broadcast
material, but was anything else?

The programme was in two parts: Kennedy wrecking classical; Kennedy
wrecking rock. With a backing-group of six, he thundered through the
hapless Vivaldi's 'Seasons' with a sound-system evidently aimed at Mars.
Announcing that they'd only worked together for two days, it sounded
like it. Back projections caught the contorted face - and the
concentration - for this guy can really play if only he wasn't "giving
'em what he thinks they want, like." The arrogance is breathtaking.

Sitting largely with fingers in the ears, I found the Jimi Hendrix
section fared a little better -- volume at least is more appropriate,
even if agonisingly distorted -- and the light-show was pretty. After
three hours, the audience -- whose response had been largely muted --
haemorrhaged. Who knows when the concert actually finished.

What was achieved?

c Annette Morreau, The Independent, 28 May 2000
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE GMN family artist: www.gmn.com
tel/fax 01865 553339

... Never take a beer to a job interview.

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