Lost opportunities

Lost opportunities

This morning I read a concert review in the Wall Street Journal by David Mermelstein entitled Salonen conducts a bewtiching premiere in San Fransisco.

The review was positive and the photo accompanying the article enticed me to want to hear this new piano concerto. The article spoke of the COVID impact on classical performances and how the concert was not as well attended as it could have been.

The truth is, the San Fransisco Symphony was never likely to make money from me, living in Virginia. Yet, no matter where I live, I can read about this concert and have an interest in it. Part of me was upset with the Wall Street Journal for not including a clip of the concert. I mean, it’s 2023. If you attended an event where the point was to listen to the art, why isn’t there a video clip to go with the review?

I went to the SFS’s YouTube channel and there are videos parked there, but most of what I found was a tribute to their former conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas and nothing about this new piano concerto by Samuel Adams. I don’t mean to be treat you as obtuse, but what’s wrong here?

Both the WSJ and SFS have produced no promotional media of this music and the only way to experience it is through the written words of the reviewer, or else to get to Davies concert hall this weekend. And while the WSJ is repeating the long-held line that classical music is dying, I am sure the SFS would love to have more money and patrons coming at them too.

Part of me doesn’t wonder why concerts like these aren’t dying faster.

I listen and watch classical music performances every single day on YouTube. Most of these are performances tied directly to the performers so I know any ad-money is going straight to their channels. The comments reveal far shorter and less well-structured and considered “reviews,” but the benefit to these comments are that they represent multiple perspectives.

Last year I watched a recorded concert of the Academy of Ancient Music (London) on a live stream on YouTube. I was able to comment with an orchestra spokesperson about the performance as it was happening along with several hundred other watchers, from around the world. I stayed engaged the whole time on that platform because of those conversations. And the music.

My last example is an art exhibition I attended some years ago now. It was at my local art museum, but the setup was different. It was a private party and both food and drink were served. We were allowed to meander around the exquisite art with wine and food in hand. It was so different being at the museum this way. To this day, it was my favorite museum experience.

If you want to lure me to a movie, you show me a clip. Sure, people can review it and tell you it’s good, but today we’ve got this review stuff crowdsourced with the likes of Rotten Tomatoes and other review sites. You give me multiple ways to see it. I can rent it, I can “stream” it for free through a service I pay for, or I can go to “the theater.”

My point is, I’d like to have seen this concert. The review was enough to get me to commit. But how? I can’t fly across the country by tomorrow, despite the promise that they’re be unsold tickets. I think there are opportunities for the classical music community to better promote their work. There’s no reason why a guy in Virginia couldn’t enjoy that concert somehow. Maybe not this weekend, but why not next month?

I’m paying a good chunk of change yearly to be able to stream high fidelity music to my house or my mobile device 24/7. It doesn’t cover every record label, but there’s more than enough music to keep me satisfied. Sure, the SFS could record the music and put it on there and make cents on each stream. But I think there’s more opportunities than that.

For someone who loves good music I’m really upset that in 2023 I can’t get closer to it. I am not trying to kill the experience of live music making, I certainly get that. But the pandemic showed us some very creative ways that classically-trained musicians turned to technology to keep engaged with their fans. I know not all are lucrative but it’s a shame there’s not more innovation in this space.

Here’s a few ideas, for free.

• Make a concert space more like a Cinebistro restaurant/theater. Let me eat while I watch.
• Put cameras all over the performance space. Let me zoom in and customize my own “live” video. Let me see the scores on stands.
• Let the WSJ or any other media outlet get advanced access to a rehearsal and bring a camera or two. Work with the press to hype up performances and grab more attention.
• Hire/intern a few college kids to make some video and promote your concerts and other performance activities. Don't let your YT Channel become only backward facing.
• Let me interact with my phone during the performance and be connected with orchestra staff to answer questions or to learn about the music as it is being performed.
• Sell me a subscription to your concert series that comes with a hi-res, 3D video or audio subscription that I can only get through you. I’m thinking something akin to Atmos spatial audio.
• Make a video of the composer talking about his work and let me see that to better understand the art.
• Display the score while the orchestra plays.
• Redesign some of these concert spaces. In some cases I’m too close to people I don’t know and too far away from the talent.

Several years ago Apple gave away an album conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen on their iTunes platform that was pretty arresting music. I can’t say how successful that was, but it was not unlike their stunt to push out a U2 album to everyone. It was different. I am sure at least a huge audience at least was exposed to this concert performance that hadn’t in the past.

I am not saying that’s the answer, but we need more attempts like this to promote this art through new types of experiences.