By David Amos
SAN DIEGO — After having attended hundreds, if not thousands of concerts, and personally participated in as many as a performer, I have become somewhat choosy in the programs to which I am invited. There are many interesting approaches to my opening sentence, but here are a few insights of my own and a few from others which are worthy of sharing with you.
There is that famous quote from a legendary conductor of the past: “I rarely go to concerts; if the conductor is bad, I am dreadfully bored, and if he is good, I am jealous”.
There is a lot of truth to this. In a few luminary, unforgettable exceptions, I come out of the concert hall with a glow of satisfaction, knowing that I just heard a performance by a master, with a thorough knowledge of the music and the gift and enthusiasm to communicate this to the ones of us in the audience.
But, unfortunately, these are rare only occasionally and far-in-between. (Or as the late Karl Haas used to say, “rare and well done”). More often than not, I come out of certain concerts, convinced and at times angry that what I just attended was as close to fine music making as beef jerky is to French Cuisine. And what makes things worse is that most of the people around me stood up and cheered at the end of the concert, especially if it concluded fast and loud. So many people just don’t get it.
The great and legendary pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was once asked to name living pianists whom he admired. His answer was simple: “E tutti morti! (They are all dead)”.
So, so many performances today, live and on recordings, cleanly played, by world famous conductors, soloists and orchestras, are at best a crashing bore. No creativity, spontaneity, spark, or controlled dramatic moments. Music doesn’t have to be interpreted in a radically different way to be worthy of listening. Some of the greatest performances I have heard live and in recordings were compositions from the traditional and beloved repertoire, but performed with such understanding sincerity and focus so that the composer’s message was unmistakable. Also, what the interpreter can extract from his/her own imagination to further enhance the listening experience can not be overemphasized.
Also, a lot depends on your well informed point of view. What one listener may call “music that is played with so much feeling and emotion”, someone else may call it “messy and undisciplined.” Pick your poison!
There are many, many wonderful performers today, but very few of them possess that unique “something,” that vibrant magic many of us long to hear. Pity the impresarios, concert promoters and producers booking agents and record company Artists and Repertory executives who have to enthusiastically promote some of these hapless young rising stars who have won a few awards and are nothing more than flying fingers and a pretty face. No content, no depth, but they could be commercially successful, albeit only for a short time, if properly promoted and hyped.
How many concerts you and I have attended, spend good money for the tickets, get dressed up for the evening, deal with the inconvenient parking, sit in a tight space narrower than a Southwest Airlines coach seat, and be submitted to a program that is stale, lifeless, but full of empty pomposity. Unfortunately, with good hyper publicity, we are at times convinced that if the program is of little interest to us is because it is our ignorance that prevents us to enjoy the experience. How many times you and I heard said “Of course you have heard pianist Peter Umschlag-Omschlag? Word of mouth and his reviews are phenomenal, or that’s what I am told!”
There are many truly wonderful artists, soloists, singers, and ensembles “out there” that operate outside the radar of big hype and publicity, but are admirable artists.
While in Israel, two months ago, I was talking to a musician who is involved, albeit superficially, with Israeli and world classical music. I mentioned to him the names of a few artists and composers whom I consider exceptional. But his response was “How can they be any good if I have never heard of them?”
Of the famous living musicians who are household names, there are in the world today ten times as many, unknown, but of the same quality, composers and performers alike. Their voices deserve to be heard.
All of the above points to the inevitable conclusion that the subjects of musical interpretation and the enjoyment of the listening public are not only interrelated, but the stakes and pleasures are far higher with further understanding and slightly deeper study. Contrary to what you think that I am implying, I encourage you to attend as many concerts as you can, and listen to recorded music by the legendary masters, in order to familiarize yourselves further with artistic values and standards of excellence, without being so influenced by empty hype. Leave the latter to the mass pop music forms.
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Amos is conductor of the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra and has guest conducted professional orchestras around the world. He may be contacted at david.amos@sdjewishworld.com