Watch: Dude could be the next Itzhak Perlman
mainIt’ll get serious soon.
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Well, whatever you think of him, top musicians seem to continue to be pleased to work alongside Dudamel. Somehow that tells me more about his place in the music world than the snarky comments he gets around here.
I love the Dude. He’s just great and a really good ambassador for music with his youth, talent, smile and enthusiasm.
I see nothing wrong with the Dude having some fun on stage and entertaining the public. Life is short, we should all have fun. If Carlos Kleiber had more fun conducting he might have left a more substantial legacy.
But I am getting increasingly skeptical about the point of musical ambassadorships. What effect have the offstage activities of people like Pavarotti, Perlman or Yo-Yo Ma really had on the popularity of classical music? They are or were all unquestionably great musicians. Nothing wrong with furthering their careers, nothing wrong even with creating cult followings (which famously don’t translate to a great public for classical music). But does being in the spotlight, looking good, funny and like the person next door promote any cause? I seriously doubt it.
Active involvement in educating the public and mentoring musicians does.
I believe that the public of the future is created in childhood, through active involvement and overall exposure to good music. Children should worship the music, not the people. I believe they are better off doing more music and watching less or no TV, even if it is, say, Yo Yo Ma at his best. Let them enjoy Yo Yo Ma onstage. Let them appreciate his impeccable musicianship and his infectious onstage enthusiasm. They don’t need the TV small talk. They need other kids to do their own small talk.
+100
+100. Don’t forget composers. O Lord send us composers!
What do you mean?
I mean that the future of “classical music” depends on the appearance of new composers to write melodically strong new music.
Of course. Instead of “public of the future” I should have written “public and all kind of musicians” of the future.
Speaking of new melodically strong music, there is no shortage of that in film music. Why classical concert halls don’t get their fair share of it is beyond me.
A fair question and one of the reasons that the broad masses haven’t get forgotten what an orchestra can do with an appropriate score in front of it.
A few maybe partial answers: (1) There’s no money in it, especially ready money because the organizations (and sometimes individuals) that commission new music don’t consider this to be new music; (2) directors/editors don’t want music that is too great because it tends to distract; (3) much film music, in its thickest moments, sounds to be largely of chord progressions, with little or no development, partly for reason (2), and also because it must be governed by the rhythms of action and of picture cutting, rather than any internal logic; (4) many of film music’s most enchanting melodies are simply grabbed from somewhere else, usually from the shelf of Mr or Ms. Trad. Here, for example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2YPsfwSPGg
But I think you make a good point, it should be used to encourage better writing.
In an ideal world young children would be taken to concert halls and be exposed to great musicians playing their instruments and learning to appreciate great music at a tender and impressionable age. Reality check: Yo-Yo-Ma and such are unlikely to include small towns in whatever country on their concert tours. TV does reach millions.How many parents can afford to take little Billy, Suzy and themselves to a concert given by a famous musician or a symphony orchestra? Education and exposure have to begin in early childhood even if it means watching videos, listening to records or watching youtube. Children have to learn world history, they have to know something about the period when music was written, what was happening in the world when such and such composer wrote his symphony, etc. Then it becomes relevant and easier to understand and maybe even interesting. Well, one can dream…
The world until a couple of decades ago used to be a lot more ideal for classical music and opera and ballet.
Parents did take their kids to lots of concerts and even many operas and ballets,etc. etc…
But music was an integral part of the school activities and from Europe to North America and some countries in South America classical music was a very important element of everyday young people.
If my sister had not insisted that I attend a Heifetz concert in our home town in the south of Brazil, Porto Alegre, I certainly would not have had the career as a violinist that followed…I was 3 years old and next day demanded to start learning to play.
As expensive as concert tickets can be,there are always good seats at affordable prices if people try at least to involve their youngsters in such “projects”.
After all, kids need a balanced approach in developing their growing,between sports,reading,music and sharing an interest about all this “culture” with parents,guardians,family,friends etc,etc…
And as we try to celebrate Lenny’s 100th birthday today,most debate about his legacy but not many would challenge his wonderful global influence on young,eager kids a few decades ago.
We do need more adults seriously involved on keeping the cultural flames burning!!
Shall we discuss next, the Asian cultural revolution that has brought us amazing numbers of musicians starting even before Stern and Golub took their famous journey to Asia.
All we need is more culture from a young age and quite a lot less of the so called “smart phones” and brutal video games to challenge kids interests in music and eventually all forms of art.
That is how our generation that reads and exchange ideas here on slipped disc were brought up to love music and art.
You have a point about accessibility of concerts.
But for those who do have access, I believe it is important. A charismatic musician can make a difference, but any good musician is good enough.
The point I was trying to make, maybe with some hyperbole, is that I don’t think the chit-chat of celebrity musicians on tv has any value, especially for kids.
I don’t have TV signal at home, but used extensively youtube to introduce my children very early to good music. Youtube was particularly convenient for introducing the instruments: for every instrument I found clips, mostly with world class musicians.
Understanding history and background can be very important, but is premature for early childhood. Developing a taste comes first. The rest can come later.
No next Perlman. No next anything. Violin woefully out of tune and all we see and hear is the Dude doing what he does best by trafficking in the, in these sorry days, precious and valuable currency of clowning about. Thus V. Lind and Sue, et.al.
Well, obviously he’s no next Perlman. NL was making an amusing header.(Is there a next Perlman in the current crop?).
This was just an amusing lark — by two musicians who apparently appreciate one another. All I am saying is that the view of Itzhak Perlman means more to me than the view of Caravaggio, whoever he might be.
You could say that, too, about Lang Lang (to an extent) but it does open ears for more serious music. It mightn’t suit you and your musical snobbery but lots of people will be introduced to the art form this way; I know at least half a dozen myself.
+ 1
Why NL still post any clownery fom the messiah, we will never know.
Oh please. It’s a short video of two musicians enjoying their work and sharing a brief moment of fun. Thank God we can count on Caravaggio to criticize (would love to know if there‘s anything at all you like, because so far I have only read negative comments).
I recommend watching „Itzhak“ The Film, which is a great example of still keeping a positive attitude towards life and a wonderful sense of humour. If we had more artists like that, we would attract a lot more young people and children. It‘s the ones who dislike everything and feel superior -because they think they know everything better -that keep them away.
As much as I can’t stand Dudamel due to his support of the autocrat Chavez and the dictator Maduro, you do realise they are just joking around here, and NL is not being serious either? Try to not take everything so literally or you’ll become constipated and get haemorrhoids.
Why do the videos not display for me at this site?
He is a good violinist. He played well in the Mozart Clarinet Quintet with other LA Phil musicians (2008) before conducting the rest of the program.
Yes, you’d have to be pretty good to hang with that!
Aye.
Brain-burp: That was actually a midweek LAP chamber music program. He conducted the full orchestra in the weekend subscription concerts.
Slipped Disc. The People Magazine of classical music.
Remember you read this comment here first [before it got deleted].
The Dude Messiah should give up conducting and step aside to all women conductors around the whole world. Every single woman conductor are far superior to the Dude.