Saturday Matinee

New Media and the Arts: A Case Study

So this is what it’s like to be a sports fan.

In the past week or so, I’ve gotten hopelessly addicted to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition that’s currently being live streamed over the internet. It’s every classical music/pianist dream (and new media person (Doug, I’m looking at you)) come true. Not only are all the performances live streamed as it happens, but the rehearsals are shown as well. It’s thrilling to get a glimpse of rehearsals, everything from the Van Cliburn finalist’s one-on-one rehearsal with conductor James Conlon going over the details of the piece, to the casual attire of the performers in glasses, to hearing unscripted and honest moments in the struggle between soloist and orchestra in coming together as one cohesive whole. It also has the added excitement of following your favorite performers in a reality-show setting sort of way with the excitement of a competition and the emotion-grabbing storyline of watching your favorites succeed or fail at every elimination. Perhaps a combination of American Idol and the Bachelor, if you will. In addition, it really gives a sense of how much work goes into putting a piece together and increases appreciation for the art form itself in addition to demystifying it. Isn’t this the goal of classical music these days in the MTV generation? And I’m amazed with the Takacs Quartet and James Conlon – they have the impossible task of putting together rehearsals and flawless performances with 6-12 different pianists in a unique competition setting.

This live stream is also for the newbie as well. They have an extensive “commentary” option where, as you’re watching, you can turn on comments that describe the piece you’re listening to. They point out the theme, the second theme, counterpoint, and the return back to the first theme with a different mood, or expansion on a theme. The points are concise and easy to understand and really relevant. I found it helpful for unfamiliar pieces. The level of options available in the live stream and archives are astounding.

It’s this sort of widely available accessibility that will draw fans in and get people excited about the art form and get classical music to shed its elitist shroud of better-than-thou obscurity. Like sports that I see everywhere, the Van Cliburn competition not only has it available to view online including archives of each performance (rehearsal footage was taken down, boo!) but quite a number of heated discussions on blogs that post everything from smart and funny reviews (another one here) to who danced on the dance floor, who performed with a broken toe, and what a competitor ate for dinner. It reminds me of the paparazzi that stalk celebrities, sports or not, like no other, and generates buzz for these performers as people. The classical music world could use a little bit of this.

Extending the sports metaphor further, my coworker suggested that I hold a “fantasy Cliburn” like they do for March Madness.

Granted, accessibility isn’t everything – point proven by the fact that I’m still not a baseball or football fan (although I have been known to attend an occasional Giants game). It also opens the door for criticism in the face of such transparency. On one hand, it’s exciting to see people so passionate about the art form. Yet commentors were brutal in discussing a tense moment between conductor James Conlon and Haochen Zhang, the youngest competitor in the Van Cliburn finals. Zhang was trying to convey to the conductor that someone thought the orchestra was too loud sometimes, and Conlon replied that the orchestra is an important factor too, and sometimes more important than the piano. (I do hope this isn’t the reason why the rehearsals aren’t currently being archived, because commentors talked endlessly about it). Conlon was a target of public criticism for his words because people thought he was being condescending to a musician so young. I disagree – I hardly doubt that Zhang is the only young soloist who works with an experienced conductor who hasn’t been guided in the same way and neither parties acted any less than with honorable professionalism. It was an honest moment and the tension between conductor and soloist SHOULD be there, as an equal meeting of two minds who come together to form a cohesive piece of music that requires both parts. Naturally, Zhang is worried about his status as a valid competitor and being heard, and Conlon is concerned about the work as a beautiful piece of music. Compromise and give-and-take and careful thought should be a natural part of the rehearsal process, and for me, it was a wonderful example of watching two very good musicians collaborating together.

And what better moments to watch the rehearsals than to watch an orchestra interact with a blind soloist who can’t see cues and downbeats? As Tsujii worked against both a sight and a language barrier, it was simply astounding to watch him pick up subtle cues such as breathing (!!!) and to pick up as the orchestra started to play without being told where he was.

This transparency will only serve the public and the music community in the long run. Controversy and discussion is a good thing for classical music. It gets people engaged and turned on, and it makes people listen more closely. For me, I was definitely watching for the balance between orchestra and piano in Zhang’s piece, and it was absolutely sublime.

As for my favorites – I haven’t listened to everything, but I’ve come to realize that this is not a competition about who’s the best piano player, but it’s a competition of the musician with a unique point of view, or as the judges kept on saying, a pianist who has “something to say”. My favorites are Tsujii’s preliminary round (esp the Chopin etudes) and his Chopin concerto (his Rachmaninoff concerto tomorrow is going to be very exciting), Zhang’s semifinal recital (especially the Chopin preludes) and Mariangela Vacatello’s Beethoven concerto. Di Wu’s Rach 3 tomorrow will be something to look forward to as well, in addition to Tsujii’s final round recital.

If you haven’t caught the competition so far, plug your computer into your largest speakers (as I am now) and listen. You’re listening to the future of music, and it’s an amazing and rare glimpse into the world of classical music. The competition goes until tomorrow, and the winners will be announced tomorrow.

Click here to watch and be amazed and form an opinion and share your opinion with others. Who are your favorites??

Just for the fun of it… here’s a clip of Tsujii’s semifinal recital of Beethoven’s monumental “Hammerklavier”. I’m a bit torn about this performance (I’m referring to the full piece, not this clip). He’s not the most refined player almost the point of distraction, but there an intangible quality that’s extremely moving and unforgettable. I hope this video clip captures some of that. Opinions?

UPDATE: I am so thrilled with the conclusion! No one captured my heart as much as Tsujii and Zhang, as much as I admired Vacatello’s spunky bright sound and Yeol Eum Son’s sparkly brilliance that never quite reached crystal clarity for me. I really hope this means that we’ll see way more of Tsujii and Zhang in the future. Tsujii also won the Best Performance of a New Work, which I’m assuming is referring to his Musto piece (he was the only performer to perform it in its dreamy haziness), and I’m definitely going to go back and listen to Yeol Eum Son’s chamber music piece. I also agree with Bozhanov’s marvelous Franck chamber music piece that he did with the Takacs Quartet, both for his bold choice in picking this difficult piece as well as its masterful delivery.

For those of you looking to donate to the Van Cliburn foundation, it’s too bad that you can only donate $75 or more. It’s a shame that the foundation is missing out on smaller donations. You can support the foundation however by buying recital CD’s and DVD’s that are available for purchase (recitals only, no concertos or chamber music available). Click here for the Cliburn store. Hopefully this will be enough to keep this webcast free in future competitions! What a fun journey it’s been.