Protests as Klaus Mäkelä is blanked off French TV
NewsFrench media are complaining that the Orchestre de Paris and its Finnish conductor were not seen on global television during the Olympic Games opening parade.
The only orchestra in view was the Orchestre National de France with its Romanian conductor Cristian Macelaru. They had borrowed cheap instruments from the O de Paris to play when the heavens opened and everyone got soaked.
Concertmaster Sarah Nemtanu said: ‘I would like to understand why, while we rehearsed the entrances, exits and bows, the cameras disappeared during the live television broadcast. Already, while we were following the ceremony on our cell phones, we were shocked that the Orchestre de Paris and its conductor, Klaus Makela, were neither seen nor mentioned during the scene of “Liberty”. This shows the place of classical music in our society.’
they should come here where classical music is valued especially by ACE
The organisers probably didn’t realise that these were two different orchestras and conductors.
*Orchestre National de Paris, Klaus Makelaru*
The place of classical music our society is indeed low. Classical music sales account for only a percent or two. People on this site like to wring their hands about governments cutting arts funding and the impact it will have on orchestras. This is why. Classical music is utterly meaningless to the vast majority of people. Two things the rulers of the world wish would go away were both denigrated at the Olympics: classical music and the Catholic Church.
It’s as much about music education in primary and secondary school as anything. Wherever school children have good music programs, ( increasingly rare) classical music is still appreciated.
Even then, Cindy, much will depend on the quality of the teacher.
The part of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies that everyone is up in arms about had nothing to do with the Catholic Church or the Last Supper (which is in Italy, by the way, not at the Louvre). It was a nod to Greek mythology – Olympics being derived from “Mt. Olympus”. It had to do with Bacchus, the god of wine. The legend surrounding him is all about raucous partying. There were 17 people at the table – not the 11 pictured in the Last Supper. The right wing folks are so ready to feel insulted, that they jump to conclusions without actually reading the info in front of them.
Thank you
So wait. You are enjoying watching people who spent their lives perfecting their athletic craft. Their sport. Which is one of two career paths that start at age 3 or 4.
The other one is a musician.
Lemme guess. You think pop music is the future.
That 3 harmonic chord progressions is the beez neez. It’s is the result of our society getting dumber and dumber, and only able to handle focus for 3:30 seconds. Pop music is the result of our uneducated cultureless masses.
Had you taken one simple music theory course you too would see how pathetic pop music really is.
Tell that to the 4th rate joker responsible for the “New” Harmonization of the UK National Anthem – unprepared and unresolved dissonances, parallels Etc…
It is diabolical and would not even score a “Pass” at CSE
Brutally direct … but brutally accurate!
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Society views all music as entertainment now or something in the background – time to get off that high horse and realise that expecting the same treatment as 30 years ago is not going to happen. Sadly society no longer values or understands the talent and hard work of professional classical musicians.
Talent and hard work are no longer the requirements for “success,” however you want to define that: recognition, material reward, admiration.
Classical music is not the only field struggling to maintain a social presence. I shudder to think whether there will be enough doctors, let alone nurses, dentists, vets, architects, engineers, even lawyers in times to come. There may not be enough plumbers, electricians, car repair people (or even car builders, who tend to work in assembly lines in factories). To say nothing of farmers and fishermen.
But the ignoring of Makela and the Orchestre de Paris is a colossal blunder, presumably based on a control room decision that said some pop or camp activity going on simultaneously was more telegenic and important. Just one more instance of the lack of knowledge the young — who were doubtless in charge in there — have of anything that happened before they were involved.
Oh nonsense. It was organised by the French who are notoriously bad at these things.
Mäkelä is already over hyped and exposed. In advertising, it is at times a good thing to give a person, object, animal etc. a rest. Then again, you have political candidates who believe all exposure, even bad exposure is good exposure. Oh, well.
Not the point.
J Barcelo: Two things the rulers of the world wish would go away were both denigrated at the Olympics: classical music and the Catholic Church.
——
The irony is that many of those who tend to be socially or politically more peevish about Christianity than they are about Islam may end up being their own worst enemies. Example: “Queers for Hamas.”
There is way too much to cover on an open river parade. As it was, each country and their athletes in their section of the boat got, what, 10 seconds at most of TV time?
A lot of countries’ broadcasts opted for aerial views of Paris and cut out Jakub Orlinski’s performance (a wet break-dancing countertenor mime against a gray sky lipsynching baroque music on a raindrop blurry camera was hardly captivating TV)
Well, of course, the Orchestre de Paris could not be seen playing during the Opening Ceremony. They had loaned their cheap instruments to the Orchestre National de France!
Kantorow played Ravel under water. I hope that the piano was not too much damaged
Ravel: “Jeux sous l’eau”…..
Since when have orchestras and trash conductors been an Olympic sport?
It is jolly good luck to be removed from such a show.
Rather like the London 2012 Ceremony where young people from London’s East End played alongside the LSO under François-Xavier Roth. A tiny fragment of Elgar’s Nimrod was left in the soundtrack album. This prestige orchestra under Simon Rattle then became the foil’ to Mr Bean – ‘culture’ indeed!
Of the two conductors, one is a serious artist worthy of the title. The other is an overstretched collector of high profile contracts that I didn’t miss in the slightest.
They were too busy filming drag queens singing in playback!
INCORRECT:
The TV didn’t give a flying $&()/& about either orchestra, the National simply happened to play while more important people were walking around and were never even pointed directly. In fact, 100% of spectators would not even recognize there was an orchestra there at all.
Such is the importance of classical music these days.
People who think any of these conductors or institutions are worth anything are simply clowns.
The cameras were busy covering all the drag queens
Musicians will forever tell you it’s only about the music – but then jump up and down when their faces don’t get TV time!
Not true.
Most of us are very rarely on TV.
As for the diminished standing of classical music, we should admit that it seems to have exhausted its capabilities in the current form. For now at least. Most modern compositions are being performed out of duty at concert openings before switching to Brahms and Mozart or for the sake of diversity and inclusion. The last memorable melodies were composed maybe eighty years ago. And if no great music is being composed anymore, then it inevitably turns into a museum item.
The temptation of the juicy headline about “French TV” doing nasty things is great but nothing could be more wrong
First of all the TV product is a production of the International Olympic Committee
But more to the point, the TV director and Master of ceremony had been choosen to be your own British Simon Staffurth, who had directed the Queens Funeral Ceremonies, and Four Olympic Openings before (Tokyo, Rio / Beijing, PyeongChang)
Never be too hasty to blame the French 🙂
Not seeing Makela dancing around the podium is a blessing I’d say
Bread and circuses. Get back to the business of serious music and leave others to be ‘singing in the rain’.
Comical.opening ceremony and performances
Neither orchestra was the focus of the event, and they all knew that going into it. I still can’t believe they played out in the rain without cover.
The Klaus Makela Fan club and his mum may have been gutted by the inclement, interrupted broadcast live from Paris but your average global sports viewer mainly anticipates watching skilled sporting events not skilled orchestras.