CBSO’s new Mish-Mash
OrchestrasThe orchestra’s 2024-25 season, unfurled yesterday, involves the following initiatives:
The CBSO has appointed two creative associates; Professor Nate Holder and production company MishMash. Associates will hold the role for a year-long tenure with the aim of encouraging new thinking around the CBSO’s work to attract young audiences and support the orchestra’s ambition of further developing an anti-racist approach to work.
CBSO chief executive Emma Stenning said: ‘I’m so proud of this season. It speaks to the future of this remarkable orchestra, puts the brilliant Kazuki Yamada at the heart of our music making, and solidifies our commitment to being an ensemble that truly explores both the creative potential of our glorious city, and the opportunity of creating work in new ways, that will speak to more people.’
What in the name of God is an anti-racist approach to being an orchestra? I am very sad to see the slow death of this once great ensemble at the hands of the crazy WOKE brigade.
I do so agree. Just play great, top quality music, of which there is tons – past and present – with the greatest conductors and soloists, then perform it to the highest standard and you will be a great orchestra. Everything else will fall into place.
Totally agree. As a teenager myself I was attracted by great music. Didn’t care about the performers’ age or attire, and am sure I wouldn’t have cared about any woke initiatives. I just enjoyed the damn music.
Could you kindly describe ‘woke’? Since it riles you up so much.
I think we all know the answer to that, all those dead, white, European composers.
A character in the the film Tár summed it up best when he said that as a pangender BIPOC he wasn’t really into Bach, not least because of his misogyny (he had 20 children, you see).
Miv, Your “anti woke” comment would carry a lot more weight were you to quote an actual person rather than a fictitious one.
Antonio Pappano said it right. Orchestras are not there to be social workers, they are there to make music.
What a load of rubbish…the history of orchestras all over the world is full of people who didn´t get hired or were fired on grounds of racism…my jewish grandfather lost his job in an orchestra in germany 1933.
Just BTW, i prefer to be woke to being asleep. Thanks God the times of the goners are over and, ex subscribers become less and less. I am in my mid sixties now, and after 45 years as an orchestra veteran, i am glad times have changed, even if some of the CBSO´s agenda is clearly over the top. But things will settle down in a while.
It is a bumper season with many mouthwatering concerts putting classical music, presented in a friendly and largely conventional way, firmly at the centre. There are also a lot of initiatives to take the CBSO into the wider community. The season is titled ‘Turn Up The Joy’, and the aim is to share the joy with the West Midlands.
The CBSO’s Shireland Academy secondary school is another outreach initiative, which puts music into a more central place amongst the regular sections of the curriculum, with members of the orchestra taking part from time to time.
As a concertgoer since the 1970s, I feel I can say it’s exciting times for classical music in Birmingham. There’s plenty on offer: it just needs some support and encouragement now.
Enjoy the videography of your fellow attendees……………
That’s fine and as it should be. Nothing to do with being anti-racist! Just keep doing what you are being paid for and that is making good music!
Turn off the phones.
Race seem to be the most pressing problem in this orchestra -even more urgent than the lack of funds…
I’ve been around a while and every few years I’ve seen someone come up with an exciting, new, whizzo scheme or musical form to “attract young audiences”, but the audiences always seem to end up looking more-or-less the same.
The idea always seems to involve identifying those least likely to attend and expecting them to undergo some sort of damascene conversion. Wouldn’t it be better to identfy those most likely to attend, find out what is putting them off, and tackle that?
The problem, of course, is that it doesn’t fit in with DEI dogma.
Without changes within the education system, there is a limit to what can be achieved by orchestras and opera companies, on their own, with limited resources.
we can have lots of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Canon in D, and do away with Shostakovich and Bartok, that will get those who are the most likely to attend I’m sure
Nail hit firmly on the head – I couldn’t agree more with you Adrienne.
“Wouldn’t it be better to identfy [sic ]those most likely to attend, find out what is putting them off, and tackle that?”
Of course it would. Most sensible comment on this entire theme.
Precisely so, Adrienne. You have it in a nutshell.
Very well said.
…..and from where are these young audiences going to find the money for the price of regular concert tickets ?
They find plenty of money for the things they want. The orchestras want young people more than young people want orchestras.
Student Tickets from £5. Under 18s from £5. 18 to 30s from £10. Benefit Recipient tickets from £5.
From their wealthy boomer parents and grandparents? Trouble is this particular demographic seems to prefer to blow its wealth on vacuous stuff such as cruises
Anti-racist? Is that all? Can’t the CBSO address transgender issues – oh and sort out the illegal immigrant problems?
Yes, and public transport and the NHS while they are at it. What a pity playing music gets in the way of all this.
Many wonderful programs with new and old music, large and small ensembles in a number of different venues, each only performed once. I’m guessing some get repetitions out of town.
It’s just like the BBC – diluting everything to pander to mediocre plonkers who couldn’t distinguish between a bar of soap and a bar of music….and, in the process reduce everything to the lowest common denominator. Phones, pictures, what next?… beer, condoms for the interval…..
Beer for the interval? What’s wrong with that . Alcohol consumption in concert intervals has been around since the year dot.
It appears that the way to attract a new audience = according to these brainboxes – is to alienate the present one. Well done!
Anti-racism is getting to be old hat. Anti-transism and pronoun-awareness are the big issues of the day now. And, of course, meaty music like Beethoven, Brahms and Wagner should be excluded in case it deters vegans.
I live an hour from Birmingham. It’s my closest good professional orchestra. I had been on the point of booking my first season ticket.
Then I read about audiences being encouraged to flash their phones around filming during performances.
I want to focus on the music and the performers. I don’t want to be distracted. The performers don’t like it either.
So, good luck with your new audience members. Hope you attract enough of them to replace all of your past and present audience who won’t like it either.
To draw new audiences requires a more creative thinking and going beyond the conventional type of solutions. For instance, open-air performances to draw more blacks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYD42BXbjFg
I shall not be attending any concerts with this ‘modern’ approach and I am not the only classical music lover to choose this path. The whole point of going to such a concert is to be immersed in the music without any distraction. Stop pandering to minorities.
It’s a very good programme – I think deliberately have big serious concerts – Mahler and Bruckner 9 – with some different performances aimed at different audiences. This season it’s the most serious things that have has full houses and silent audiences like Shostakovich 8th. It’s very clear that there is no room for any new audience for things like that but more popular ones don’t sell well. Also, I don’t see the age range as being any different from when I heard Shostakovich 8 under Previn fifty years ago.
From: Richard Stanbrook.
Date: 4th May 2024.
Music – the international language – should be open to all, irrespective of age, gender and ethnicity. Any sensible, caring person would accept this tenet but, clearly, there are the vociferous few who don’t share such sentiments. An old adage springs to mind: “empty vessels make the most noise.”
On the matter of recording live concerts using mobile devices, I can envisage a scenario where a less than reliable phone starts jingling (or worse) during the last movement of Mahler’s “Das Lied Von Der Erde.” Far better for the CBSO to preserve their concerts for posterity by issuing CDs – rather like the “LSO Live” label. Perhaps it already does…
This is what happens when an orchestra gets more funding than it ought to. Increased headcount in the office, and crappy ideas out front