Sax-O-Phun - Rudy Wiedoeft by Erik Abbink (saxophone) and Nola Strand (piano)

I have added a new video shot at one of my rehearsals:


Erik Abbink: Sax-O-Phun, by Rudy Wiedoeft

Enjoy!

Flashback: Glenn Gould Doc now online (dutch subtitles)

One hour documentary on the timeless artistry of pianist Glenn Gould. Dutch subtitles.

The closing gap of cultural advancement between rural and urban audiences

There's one (important) factor I forgot to mention in my ad lib 20th century technology list ("gramophone, radio, TV, Internet") of my "new sense of programming" post. It's a less obvious one, but not less important: the ease of travel has changed tremendously.

The invention of 19th century steam trains, steam ships, streetcars/trams, and 20th century automobile and air travel has not only made it easier for (rural) audiences to travel to concerts in the city, it also has made it easier for musicians to tour and perform in more remote locations.

And traveling they did, to communities large and small. Sousa's Band was one of the first large international groups to hit Victoria (in 1892, then a community of about 20.000 people: http://www.britishcolonist.ca/tc/1896/02/04/18960204005.pdf#search=sousas%20%20 - second story from the bottom left), taking advantage of railway and steamship travel.

My wife's grandfather, who's 92, explained to me fairly recently how much the ease of travel has made an impact on day to day life. People living about 20 km outside the city of Victoria didn't travel as easily to the city as we do today: for the majority of people (without a car) such distances were simply too far. Imagine having to do all the effort of having to bike, or go old-style and take a horse and buggy to visit a concert downtown! (only by 1910 were horse and buggy/carriage outnumbered by cars).So question yourself, if travel hadn't changed how large would your audience then be today?

For a long time "city concerts" were visited mostly by those living in the direct vicinity of the venue. Only very few outside the city would have the time, the funds, and were able to muster the effort to travel "long distances"; how much things have changed in a single lifetime.

Scarlatti Sonata K30 by Domenico Scarlatti - Vis-à-Vis Saxophone Quartet

I have added a new video from our June 5 Concert to Vimeo, namely the Scarlatti Sonata K30 (Cat Fugue) by Domenico Scarlatti


Vis-à-Vis Quartet: Sonata K30, D. Scarlatti.

or view it here

Flashback: 2009 Aurelia Saxophone Quartet with Trombones at the Concert Gebouw Amsterdam (video)

Talk about extraordinary projects; Aurelia Saxophone Quartet and the New Trombone Collective. Work by Daniel Schnyder - Cubach (Bach in Cuba)

The performance of this work starts at 41:50, and after a 15 second advert you can't bypasss :(

Worth the trouble though :)

On a new sense of programming (part 1)

It's one of those things you don't get proper training in when going through a Conservatory or University education: concert programming.
To be frank, it has been a while since I did any research on this topic, but a few concepts immediately pop up in my mind.

A program with a theme. Having a theme is a great way to unify a program. This can be an obvious theme (e.g. a collection of Bach suites) or a more adventurous one (e.g. music inspired by "fire", "wind", "London", "1849", and so on).

Another important concept in programming is that of sandwiching "high brow" (read: harder or less accessible works) with "medium or low brow" (read: works enjoyable by general public, e.g. those without a special interest in art music). Although nowadays many critics have criticized this technique as "forcing" less likable works onto an audience, I still believe it has a place in the overall programming process (more to follow on this in a follow up post).

Now I need to come back on what I said earlier, because I did run into a programming "question" once (once only, yes) during my UBC D.M.A. program, when preparing for my final saxophone comprehensive exam (before entering candidacy). The question went something like this:

Prepare two programs; one for a recital in New York Carnegie Hall, and one for a small local chamber music series in Kamloops (B.C.).

Now, the question itself suggests that I should have come up with two different programs, right? Many musicians would support the idea that, because the New York audience is going to be more culturally advanced than the Kelowna audience, one will need to compromise the Kelowna concert with a more suitable, "audience friendly" (whatever that means) program. Right?

I beg to differ, and here's why.

I don't think the New York audience is going to be significantly more advanced than a rural audience. Agreed, urban centres are generally more exposed to cultural activities (think concerts) than rural communities, but times have changed the rural disadvantage, substantially.

During the 19th century Canadian rural communities did of course have a considerable disadvantage compared to urban cities. This difference in cultural savviness was greatly diminished through the advent of gramophone (1900s), radio (1920s), and television (1940s).

Throughout the last century anyone with an interest in serious, non-commercial (read: "classical") music has been able to educate themselves by using the earlier mentioned technologies. And things got even better: most rural communities have now access to high speed internet, making the cultural divide even smaller. And the internet has more to offer than even the biggest city ever will, ranging from downloadable mp3s, to YouTube/Vimeo communities, streaming webcasts, and access to speciality "classical" radio (and podcasts) from around the globe.

Think about that, the next time you program for a rural community. And do some effort (schmooze) to get feedback on your new sense of programming. I can assure you that you will be surprised on the savviness of your audience; I have been, many times ;)

To be continued...

Getting ready for tomorrow's saxophone quartet performance

All of the members of the Vis a Vis Quartet are getting pretty excited about tomorrow's saxophone quartet concert. We did an early dress rehearsal on Tuesday, and will hit the stage "for real" at 8pm tomorrow (Saturday).



It was great to see a nice article about our quartet and our upcoming performance in the Oak Bay News:
http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/oakbaynews/entertainment/95350914.html

Further details about the concert can be found here:
http://www.saxophonequartet.ca/concerts/2010-06-05-uvic-recital.php

I hope to see you all at Uvic's P.T. Young's recital hall, admission by donation!