 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2009-01-24 13:49
Last week we had a wonderful experience with Marin Alsop conducting Barber and Dvorâk. The day after, the reviewer starts up by saying: “In our country the issue of being a female conductor is since a long time ago not an issue anymore, not more dramatic than being a female musician.” Then he goes on saying how her interpretation in Dvorâk 8th is affected by her femininity in a sense that she is over-interpreting it and trying to find a depth that it doesn’t disserve. This has to do with the fact that she is a female conductor and so used to having to justify herself, having to work twice as hard as a male conductor would have done. This is the essence of his conclusion.
First, I think there is enough depth in Dvorâk 8th to not worry about digging, for the rest I wish old f***s like him could put a big shoe in his mouth and let it stay there for a long time. The orchestra had a great week with Marin and wishes her welcome back.
Alphie
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-01-24 14:50
Hi Alpha, I play in her orchestra in Baltimore, some players love her some don't, just like it is with any conductor we've ever had. I think the reviewer has reached a ridiculous conclusion. She does not conduct the way she does because she is a woman. She conducts the way she does because of her training and musical ideas for better or for worse. Here in Baltimore she is generally very well received and is doing a very good job with the BSO. ESP www.peabody.jhu.edu/457
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2009-01-24 18:59
It's all in Swedish. I tried to do a WorldLingo translation of the article but it didn’t turn out so well (pretty funny actually). The rest of the review is very positive actually, it’s just that gender has to be mentioned at all that irritates me.
It also happens frequently at Early Music events that critics explain or excuse a good or a bad performance depending on the instruments used. A concert can be “surprisingly good despite the old instruments” or “bad because of the old instruments.” It shows such a lack of education to judge a performance on anything other than the performer for better or for worse.
Alphie
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2009-01-24 22:02
"In our country the issue of being a female conductor is since a long time ago not an issue anymore"
If it wasn't an issue to this critic, then why did he start off his review by mentioning it?! It sounds like he just added another composition to the prolific output of idiotic critics...
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2009-01-25 20:02
I for one LOVE Marin Alsop's renditions. I usually hear something different in a piece she conducts, and this is not because she gratuitously looks for odd things to bring out, but simply because she finds things that are interesting to HER and is able to have the orchestra deliver.
Not many conductors today have all three attributes. That is the ability to look at something fresh; the spine to have a personal vision; and the ability to make the musicians before them actually send that vision out to the audience.
Even if all her interpretations are not to everyone's liking, she DOES deserve to be heard by everyone because she is TRULY one of very few in this league ANYWHERE.
............Paul Aviles
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Author: robertgh
Date: 2009-01-26 17:04
Hi, Paul,
You've captured the essence of what is making the BSO+Alsop pairing such an exciting experience these days. There's a palpable air of anticipation every time she's on the podium because no matter how familiar the repertoire, you're going to hear a freshness borne of a coherent, internally consistent vision of the work. This isn't flash and gimmick, over-the-top stuff, nor is it quirky and idiosyncratic (okay, there is the very brief pause between final movements thing, but generally that works to sustain momentum). Add that to an already terrific orchestra playing in a very good hall and you can see why Baltimore's the place to be these days.
And yes (shameless fan comment here) the clarinet section is second to none. Come early and listen to their warmups; great fun!
Bob H.
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