Dudamel to play festival warm-up for the Viagra Boys
OrchestrasThe Coachella Festival has released its spring 2025 highlights.
It includes a ‘first-of-its-kind’ performance by Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, some way down the bill behind Lady Gaga, Missy Eliott, Charli XCX and the Viagra Boys.
What are they thinking at Walt Disney Hall?
But that is simple and clear: such programming reflects the world view of cultural relativism: everything is as good as any other thing, and to dare to apply something like the idea of distinction is elitist, hierarchical thinking, excluding things that have every right to be on the same level as anything else. So, to get new audiences to hear a symphony orchestra, it disguises itself as merely another form of entertainment, reassuring them that it’s nothing special they are offering.
Or, a simpler explanation: the staff thought that being sandwiched between pop is good for the orchestra’s reputation as being inclusive and adapting to the times.
I’m not sure I see a general return to contemplative arts as high status: Taylor and her merry band assure us that the younger generation are mostly without any aesthetic sensibilities.
For that reason, I’m glad LA Phil is playing: thought their estimation of great art is skewed, surely more than one of the attendees will be moved to investigate art again?
I’m hopeful. And certain it can’t get much worse.
They are thinking that there will be as much public for one performance at Coachella than they’ll have for a full season in their hall, simple.
it’s not surprising to see people complaining about no classical music performances at pop music festivals – the same people will continue to complain about classical performances at pop music festivals
Well there’s no pop music performed at opera houses or string quartet concerts…..I don’t notice the stage for Bruckner or Mahler symphonies being shared with a young support band in the first half…..maybe that’s the way forward for the future to encourage young people into the hallowed sanctum of concert halls.
Don’t know about your local orchestra, but the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal has had a long-running “OSM Pop” series. And they get a professional arranger (generally Simon Leclerc) to do proper original arrangements to employ the orchestra fully – it’s not just a backing band.
And they’re not alone.
Great move by LA Phil.
I was at the first free outdoor pops concert of the Vienna Phil at Schoenbrunn. There were similar misgivings. They played Starwars, the Planets to a laser show. It was a massive success, but not without controversy for taking the cultural icon and placing it outside of the tradition. What followed was groundbreaking for the institution. Children’s concerts, pop up chamber concerts on the Ubahn, free live projected opera on the side of the StastsOper. And, most importantly, women were hired into the orchestra. Now women conductors! Traditional venues, traditional ideas were challenged. This has served Vienna well, making it the best city to live in now for several years according to international surveys. This was only 2010! 14 years ago!
What an incredibly irritating comment. It reveals so much about a quite widely-held view among, startingly, so-called music lovers.
Why would it be necessary to ‘challenge tradition’ to make children’s concerts, pop-up chamber concerts on the Ubahn, free live projected opera on the side of the Staatsoper possible? It looks like: ‘let’s despise the greatness of the works from the past and have some fun’. It reads like a zero-sum matter: only when we despise tradition, we can have our OWN fun.
But there is logic in this.
To begin with, ‘tradition’ is NOT a boring, silly old fogey-stuff thing you are forced to listen to in silence while you actually wanted to play with your hoola-hoop, but very much living works that still speak to us as freshly as when they were conceived. Also it is not a set of bourgeois, elitist rules and ritualistic customs in intimidating halls with pilasters and busts. Tradition is the fire of creation, renewing itself time and again, when a great work is born again in the hands of dedicated players.
But when people feel intimidated and inferior when in the presence of something really great and artistic, instead of being inspired, they need to bring that something down, to get it out of sight, so that they can be happy with their little ego and their playthings.
Great works of music make us forget who we are and in the same time touch our potential. Only when we can be humble and open ourselves up to ‘that other thing’, can we experience the ‘message’ that says something about ourselves in terms of potential. That does not mean we all have to become great creators, but that we belong to something truly astonishing, called human life. Nothing more, nothing less. I have to stop now because my PA is getting her hoola-hoop out.
The free live opera (and ballet) projected onto the side of the Staatsoper is a long-held tradition, which only occurs during the summer months (of course).
Probably getting a decent fee and a big audience. Why not?
It’s one of the most popular music festivals in the world and it’s only 100 miles from Disney Hall.
I’d argue that it makes more sense than flying the whole orchestra 7,000 miles to perform in an authoritarian country.
All this sniffy indignation! No wonder some arts institutions (not the LA Phil, by the way!) are scrounging to get people to their concerts!
The Dude’s finally found his level 😉 seriously though, as any musician will tell you, it’s a tough world out there, so you find an audience where and when you can. If one is fortunate enough to hit it big, then earn a living whilst ye may.
If a few hundred people out of the ten thousand at Coachella decide it would be worthwhile to go to the LA Phil at Disney Hall, and if a couple dozen of those become repeat listeners, it will have been worthwhile. Small steps…
John Borstlap: “But that is simple and clear: such programming reflects the world view of cultural relativism…”
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Somewhat applicable. However, it would be more of a given if a concert hall that normally features classical music hosted something like rap or hip-hop performances. In some circles, even a program of John Williams may be viewed warily.
The politics behind today’s culture and governance can flip around on a dime. Or where two opposing viewpoints at the same time are either favored or disliked.
This blog is littered with news of shrinking audiences and yet also pearl-clutching at efforts to reach new ones. If society is truly as doomed as the snide commentary here would lead one to believe, what’s the harm in trying? At best, some folks under 70 find a foothold for a little more of our music. At worst, some musicians are getting paid to do what they do well as the Titanic sinks anyway. To answer the question “what were they thinking,” my guess is, “why not?”
Always when there’s some critique on the flimsy, superficial, and materialistic views on classical music by the ignorati, the pearls are being brought-up, to nail any such critique as silly elitist boozjwah protests against progress. But in reality it’s the dog’s peeing against the statue.
Why not? ENO played Wagner opera at Glastonbury.
The LA Phil have long wanted to move their “brand” away from the orchestra world (despite actually being an orchestra) and to be more “mainstream”, as they have tried (and failed) at the Hollywood Bowl, where the “pop” audiences talk and eat over their performances while waiting for the main act, much to the irritation of Gustavo Dudamel and the musicians. Here it will be done on a grander scale. It’s not the first time an orchestra is to perform at a “pop” music festival, which is also a reminder as to why it’s not become a regular occurrence, and the LA Phil won’t get this invitation again when Gustavo Dudamel leaves. They have never succeeded in bringing the Hollywood Bowl audiences to Walt Disney Concert Hall, and this won’t change that.
The problem is: how to reach people who could potentially be interested in classical music but don’t know about it?
Attempts like simply land an orchestra on a pop festival is like trying to explain Einstein to a kid who may have an interest in math. It is through education and information that interest could be sown, because only understanding – on whatever level – can bridge the gap.
Talk about looking SMALL!
Most popular classical musician can at best make it to third row in Coachella.
ANITA is bigger than “The Dude”
…..the irrelevance of this clique and its acolytes (including certain online blogs ome could think of) is just so palpable.
Laughable even.
I do believe the (right honourable) Viagra Boys are listed here as the lesser act.