Credit Where Credit's Due
I'm reeeeeally excited about the Gardening Club concert on 4 January.
Basically, because I know it's going to be great fun. We know and love the repertoire, the venue is just amazing, and everyone will be slightly out of their comfort zone, because nothing quite like this has been done before.
Having said that, I'd like to acknowledge a couple of people (who I don't know), whose ideas have inspired me. The way we're doing this may be new, but the concept behind it isn't.
The first is Matt Haimovitz, the American cellist. I don't know why he's not better known over here, but you can find most of his recorded work on the download networks and he's amazing. He's been doing 'indie-style' for years what most independent classical artists only dreamt of in the pre-download era, and Bach in a nightclub is probably second nature to him. Respect!
The second is Matt Fretton, who I also don't know and have never met, who is I think some kind of concert promoter here in London. He started the whole This Isn't For You thing, and I went to one, and it was fantastic. When you see an idea that's amazing, you want it to become mainstream, and if imitation is indeed sincere, I hope I'm being flattering. I also hope that I'm not the only 'Young British Musician' to be following his example. Formal evening recitals have their place and always will do, but so long as they remain the benchmark for classical performance then the genre is still at risk of stagnation, I think.
So often, the most incredible ideas are the ones that just pop into your head when you're doing something completely mundane. It's nice to combine the unknown-ness of those ideas with the security of a proven concept. Then at least it's interesting, even when it doesn't work.
Same goes for musical interpretation.
Basically, because I know it's going to be great fun. We know and love the repertoire, the venue is just amazing, and everyone will be slightly out of their comfort zone, because nothing quite like this has been done before.
Having said that, I'd like to acknowledge a couple of people (who I don't know), whose ideas have inspired me. The way we're doing this may be new, but the concept behind it isn't.
The first is Matt Haimovitz, the American cellist. I don't know why he's not better known over here, but you can find most of his recorded work on the download networks and he's amazing. He's been doing 'indie-style' for years what most independent classical artists only dreamt of in the pre-download era, and Bach in a nightclub is probably second nature to him. Respect!
The second is Matt Fretton, who I also don't know and have never met, who is I think some kind of concert promoter here in London. He started the whole This Isn't For You thing, and I went to one, and it was fantastic. When you see an idea that's amazing, you want it to become mainstream, and if imitation is indeed sincere, I hope I'm being flattering. I also hope that I'm not the only 'Young British Musician' to be following his example. Formal evening recitals have their place and always will do, but so long as they remain the benchmark for classical performance then the genre is still at risk of stagnation, I think.
So often, the most incredible ideas are the ones that just pop into your head when you're doing something completely mundane. It's nice to combine the unknown-ness of those ideas with the security of a proven concept. Then at least it's interesting, even when it doesn't work.
Same goes for musical interpretation.
