The orchestra I conduct in Ottawa, the Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra did a production of Handel's Giulio Cesare earlier this year. As you can imagine, for a small orchestra, this was a huge undertaking. After the performance we were "reviewed" by an anonymous blogger. What he had to say made my blood boil and so I decided to answer him. In doing so, seems to have set off a whole round of other discussions, with Tom Allen, a presented on the CBC, devoting a whole page to the issue. Below is all original review, my response and then Tom Allen's Blog
SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2012
SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2012
Concert Review: Thirteen Strings Trapped in Tradition?
The Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra
Handel's Giulio Cesare
Dominion Chalmers United Church, 355 Cooper Street, Ottawa
Friday, April 27, 2012
Last night, the Thirteen Strings presented their most ambitious program it has ever produced in its nearly 40-year history. With 8 singers, a stage director, stage manager, and an enlarged orchestra, the ensemble performed a semi-staged version of Handel's Giulio Cesare. No doubt one of its better performances in recent memory, however the opera was an excellent example of baroque music performance during the 1980s.
A great display of young Canadian singing talent, the bunch predominantly came from the modern classical tradition. The vibrato of Caesar, Cleopatra and Cornelia in use throughout the opera became tiring at times and starkly contrasted its little use by the strings accompanying them. Interestingly, in Caesar's aria 'How silently, how slyly..." Ms. Yemen (Caesar) was almost entirely drowned out by the French Horn which she stood beside most of the way through. All that could be made out from the balcony nearest her was her ever-pulsating vibrato.
The star of the evening came in the form of Daniel Cabena (Tolomeo), who shone in his humorous character and the flexible style in which he sung, melding chest voice and falsetto into his lines effortlessly.
The modern instruments performed well stylistically, but some ornaments were muddled in execution. A rather odd beginning to the performance, a cello attempted to accompany the first recitative and, after much difficulty, promptly dropped out for the rest of the opera.
A much-needed production for the city, the opera was, sadly, full of compromises. The Thirteen Strings itself was born out of a want to explore baroque music, though without the baroque instruments other orchestras, such as Tafelmusik, were introducing to North America. One of the few orchestras who seem to operate in this manner, the only other orchestra which comes to mind is Quebec's Les Violons du Roy who, unsurprisingly, are of a similar vintage.
The most concerning part of the evening came in the introductory words by Rob Clipperton. Clipperton noted that the opera was an expensive venture for the orchestra, as attested to in recent pamphlets asking for donations of up to $1000 from individuals, and thanked those who did make a private donation quoting Kevin Mallon who, reportedly, said "people should get off their fat arses and support art." The quote was followed by cheers of "here, here!" from the 400-strong audience overwhelmingly made up of over-60s.
Though it is common to read the term 'silver sea' in classical music discussions, I feel that it is necessary to mention that there may have been 20 people in the audience below 40 years old. If noone pays attention to this fact, there will soon be no more arses left to support art, especially with the high rate of obesity in Canada.
Handel's Giulio Cesare
Dominion Chalmers United Church, 355 Cooper Street, Ottawa
Friday, April 27, 2012
Last night, the Thirteen Strings presented their most ambitious program it has ever produced in its nearly 40-year history. With 8 singers, a stage director, stage manager, and an enlarged orchestra, the ensemble performed a semi-staged version of Handel's Giulio Cesare. No doubt one of its better performances in recent memory, however the opera was an excellent example of baroque music performance during the 1980s.
A great display of young Canadian singing talent, the bunch predominantly came from the modern classical tradition. The vibrato of Caesar, Cleopatra and Cornelia in use throughout the opera became tiring at times and starkly contrasted its little use by the strings accompanying them. Interestingly, in Caesar's aria 'How silently, how slyly..." Ms. Yemen (Caesar) was almost entirely drowned out by the French Horn which she stood beside most of the way through. All that could be made out from the balcony nearest her was her ever-pulsating vibrato.
The star of the evening came in the form of Daniel Cabena (Tolomeo), who shone in his humorous character and the flexible style in which he sung, melding chest voice and falsetto into his lines effortlessly.
The modern instruments performed well stylistically, but some ornaments were muddled in execution. A rather odd beginning to the performance, a cello attempted to accompany the first recitative and, after much difficulty, promptly dropped out for the rest of the opera.
A much-needed production for the city, the opera was, sadly, full of compromises. The Thirteen Strings itself was born out of a want to explore baroque music, though without the baroque instruments other orchestras, such as Tafelmusik, were introducing to North America. One of the few orchestras who seem to operate in this manner, the only other orchestra which comes to mind is Quebec's Les Violons du Roy who, unsurprisingly, are of a similar vintage.
The most concerning part of the evening came in the introductory words by Rob Clipperton. Clipperton noted that the opera was an expensive venture for the orchestra, as attested to in recent pamphlets asking for donations of up to $1000 from individuals, and thanked those who did make a private donation quoting Kevin Mallon who, reportedly, said "people should get off their fat arses and support art." The quote was followed by cheers of "here, here!" from the 400-strong audience overwhelmingly made up of over-60s.
Though it is common to read the term 'silver sea' in classical music discussions, I feel that it is necessary to mention that there may have been 20 people in the audience below 40 years old. If noone pays attention to this fact, there will soon be no more arses left to support art, especially with the high rate of obesity in Canada.
Kevin MallonMay 4, 2012 12:29 PM
Dear Mr. Burn,
I am writing to tell you that I take offense by your review of the Thirteen Strings concert of Giulio Cesare.
1/You wiite: “No doubt one of its better performances in recent memory”—Really? When was the last time you heard the orchestra? This is my second year of performances with the orchestra and there have been exceptional concerts—if you feel in a position to make a comparison of Giulio Cesare to these other concerts, maybe you could tell us how many of the concerts you have been to.
2/ You say:
“however the opera was an excellent example of baroque music performance during the 1980s”.
By way of explanation you simply mention Tafelmusik and tell us of the existence of Les Violons. Yes, Taflemusik is a period instrument orchestra. (I was a member if this orchestra for ten years.) Are you saying that the only people who should perform baroque music is a baroque orchestra? If so, especially in Canada, one needs to tread carefully lest the ghost of Glenn Gould bites one in the ass. Clearly the Thirteen Strings is a modern chamber orchestra, which covers all repertoire—and so there is a compromise, these are modern instruments that as you say play baroque music stylistically. But I see no explanation of 1980’s performance style……
3/ “A rather odd beginning to the performance, a cello attempted to accompany the first recitative and, after much difficulty, promptly dropped out for the rest of the opera”.
What in the name of God are you talking about? We rehearsed all week only with the harpsichord and at no moment did our first cellist, “after much difficulty, promptly drop out for the rest of the opera. “ How dare you make such a statement and cast a fine musician in the role of an incompetent. What’s more it makes it seem that the recitative was thereafter somehow disorganized, when in fact, it was played superbly by harpsichordist Marie Bouchard. How better it would have been for you to make this point instead of insulting our cellist.
4/ You mention the vibrato of the singers—never mentioning their good points, especially the fact that Jillian Yemen, singing Cesare has one the fasted coloratura for baroque runs I have ever heard. Oh, and by the way, when singers project and make more sound the voice naturally vibrates—I challenge you to listen to the recording of Christie or Gardiner and hear any less.
5/ Last but definitely not least you regret that there were so few young people and remark that the audience was a “silver sea.” I am furious with this! You are so arrogant and insulting to older people, who are the back- bone of the concert attending audience. I read in one of your own commentaries how you lamented that so few people came to one of your own concerts. I’m sure you would have been glad to see a few of these silver hairs, then. Sure we want younger people to come to concerts but that can’t be at the expense of our older and loyal patrons.
You are young and arrogant and offensive. I have been around in this game a long time. I have been concert- master for Gardiner and Christie. My credentials speak for themselves. You would do better to not make my work target for your foolish words. I stand by my work—who are you, what have you achieved—what right have you to cast stones? When can we see your performance of Giulio Cesare? I’m so sick of people sitting in their armchair pulling down other people’s efforts. Please tell me when your next concert is - I am in Ottawa frequently. I will gladly go and then write publicly about its shortcomings. How would that make you feel?
Kevin Mallon
Music Director,
Thirteen Strings
Aradia Ensemble
West Side Chamber Orchestra (New York)
I am writing to tell you that I take offense by your review of the Thirteen Strings concert of Giulio Cesare.
1/You wiite: “No doubt one of its better performances in recent memory”—Really? When was the last time you heard the orchestra? This is my second year of performances with the orchestra and there have been exceptional concerts—if you feel in a position to make a comparison of Giulio Cesare to these other concerts, maybe you could tell us how many of the concerts you have been to.
2/ You say:
“however the opera was an excellent example of baroque music performance during the 1980s”.
By way of explanation you simply mention Tafelmusik and tell us of the existence of Les Violons. Yes, Taflemusik is a period instrument orchestra. (I was a member if this orchestra for ten years.) Are you saying that the only people who should perform baroque music is a baroque orchestra? If so, especially in Canada, one needs to tread carefully lest the ghost of Glenn Gould bites one in the ass. Clearly the Thirteen Strings is a modern chamber orchestra, which covers all repertoire—and so there is a compromise, these are modern instruments that as you say play baroque music stylistically. But I see no explanation of 1980’s performance style……
3/ “A rather odd beginning to the performance, a cello attempted to accompany the first recitative and, after much difficulty, promptly dropped out for the rest of the opera”.
What in the name of God are you talking about? We rehearsed all week only with the harpsichord and at no moment did our first cellist, “after much difficulty, promptly drop out for the rest of the opera. “ How dare you make such a statement and cast a fine musician in the role of an incompetent. What’s more it makes it seem that the recitative was thereafter somehow disorganized, when in fact, it was played superbly by harpsichordist Marie Bouchard. How better it would have been for you to make this point instead of insulting our cellist.
4/ You mention the vibrato of the singers—never mentioning their good points, especially the fact that Jillian Yemen, singing Cesare has one the fasted coloratura for baroque runs I have ever heard. Oh, and by the way, when singers project and make more sound the voice naturally vibrates—I challenge you to listen to the recording of Christie or Gardiner and hear any less.
5/ Last but definitely not least you regret that there were so few young people and remark that the audience was a “silver sea.” I am furious with this! You are so arrogant and insulting to older people, who are the back- bone of the concert attending audience. I read in one of your own commentaries how you lamented that so few people came to one of your own concerts. I’m sure you would have been glad to see a few of these silver hairs, then. Sure we want younger people to come to concerts but that can’t be at the expense of our older and loyal patrons.
You are young and arrogant and offensive. I have been around in this game a long time. I have been concert- master for Gardiner and Christie. My credentials speak for themselves. You would do better to not make my work target for your foolish words. I stand by my work—who are you, what have you achieved—what right have you to cast stones? When can we see your performance of Giulio Cesare? I’m so sick of people sitting in their armchair pulling down other people’s efforts. Please tell me when your next concert is - I am in Ottawa frequently. I will gladly go and then write publicly about its shortcomings. How would that make you feel?
Kevin Mallon
Music Director,
Thirteen Strings
Aradia Ensemble
West Side Chamber Orchestra (New York)
blog post Opinions Unleashed: Is the armchair music critic a prophet, a curse, or a bore?
Should we be bothered with the opinion of the armchair critic in the digital age?
Heckeler Heckled
Kevin Mallon, the Canadian conductor, did something unusual last week. He answered back to a blogger who criticized his production, with Ottawa's The Thirteen Strings, of Handel's opera Giulio Cesare.
The blogger is a musician named Kevin Burn but blogs under the title The Heckeler*. As a result of Mallon's response, and the response to it, The Heckeler experienced a significant increase in traffic from all around the music-loving world. The review was picky, verging on nasty, and criticized everything from the ancientness of the audience to the modernity of the instruments. Mallon, where most would ignore such sniping from an unaffiliated blogger, responded to the criticism point by point, and concluded with "who are you, what have you achieved—what right have you to cast stones? When can we see your performance of Giulio Cesare? ... I will gladly go and then write publicly about its shortcomings. How would that make you feel?"
Better ignored?
The exchange was entertaining and informative, but was it a good idea? Does Mallon's response give undue credibility to someone who could be blogging from his Mum's basement?
Or is it that The Heckeler was making just comment, and that Mallon has been lulled into hyper-sensitivity by a lack of bracing criticism in the mainstream press?
Cleveland rocks (what's left of) the boat
The precarious state of the music critic in the mainstream media was highlighted in 2010 when Don Rosenberg, the critic for the Cleveland Plain Dealer was taken off the classical music beat he had been ably manning for 18 years. The trouble was his consistent and unrelenting criticism of that city's celebrated orchestra and, specifically, their conductorFranz Welser-Most. The paper replaced him with a younger writer. It's also worth noting that the paper's publisher was on the board of the Cleveland Orchestra at the time. Rosenberg sued for defamation and age discrimination, and lost.
The case is not without its complicating factors, but the upshot is clear: harsh criticism is risky, and in what has become an increasingly squeezed and nervous mainstream press, probably not worth the trouble.
Cue the rabble
On the other hand, have you looked at the "comments" section of the online edition of your favourite paper lately? The digital age has given untold numbers of astoundingly hateful critics a soapbox in every direction, and in their bilious spewing it would appear that words such as "restraint," "balance" or even "libel" have never darkened the narrow corridors of their minds.
If there were ever a golden age of anonymous, public hatred, we're in it, and the armchair blogger is gleefully leading the way to even greater depths.
Darwinian process?
Some suggest that the nasty blogs and comments phenomenon are an evolutionary response to a hamstrung traditional press, but that isn't the case in Ottawa. That city enjoys (and, as the case may be, suffers under) a tradition of stern, independant and intelligent music criticism. The Ottawa Citizen employs two very capable critics -- Richard Todd and Steven Mazey -- both of whom, I can tell you from experience, will not hesitate before telling it as they heard it, no matter whose feelings might get hurt.
And, for the record, Todd liked Mallon's Cesare just fine.
Here's Kevin Mallon in action conducting the Aradia Ensemble in a performance of Handel's Israel in Egypt.
Should we be more critical of this?
So, is this a good situation, or a bad one? Is the traditional press actually creating armchair monsters? Is the music-loving public? Are the bloggerati a necessary element that is keeping watch while the old watchdog licks its wounds, or have they sprung from the same bounteous source as road-rage, beer-league hockey and what passes for intelligent debate on Parliament Hill and in the chambers of Toronto's City Council?
Prophet, curse or bore?
Our question on Shift today is this: Is the armchair music critic of the digital age a prophet, a curse or just a bore?
_________________
*The name is a pun. Mr. Burns is a bassoonist with a passion for early music. Heckel is the name of an important early 19th century bassoon-maker.
Related links:
posted by Tom Allen on May 13, 2012
other posts
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posted by Mark Wigmore on May 13, 2012
Comments
COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS POST!
NONE of the above. Oh c'mon, kids! Grow some thicker skin. In this age of "reality" TV, "Canada's Got Talent" and all those various Idol programs, it follows that a crop of amateur critics will emerge. Read them for their entertainment value if nothing else. Official spin and carefully constructed media releases are almost never correct. I'd rather read Opera Chic any day than listen to William Littler pontificate. Kevin, just chill. Your work speaks for you.
Nice to have you on the FM, Pete.
Everyone talks about poor Rachmaninov and how the critics hated his first symphony.Can you imagine how poor Glazunov felt, being responsible for that bad performancebecause he conducted it drunk. History has seen Serge recover, but what about Alex.
Glazunov did and showed he could orchestrate as well by writing his iconic Scene de Ballet and Chopiniana the very next year in 1895. In addition, back on the subject of Tom's last subject 'The Change Up' Glazunov had the real courage to break away from the Mighty Handfull, abandon nationalism and adopt a more cosmopolitan style of music.
as much as i believe in good better best .i believe no one has the right to willfully castigate another . if a critical review exists , it seems to me that it should attempt to educate and to draw a better heart product from the presenter(s) .this grow a thicker skin business is an excuse for insensitive behaviour . all presenters come at their own level and appeal to a certain segment of the population the desire to do more or better is in most of us and encouragement is a wonderfull tool . the field will always thin itself out . bullying is not an appreciated skill
I love reading or hearing comments from an opinionated, knowledgeable music lover. Remember the great Bob Kerr, of Off The Record? I learned a lot from him, whether I agreed or not, and nobody got hurt! But I have no time for anonymous bitching.
I remember Antonio San's poignant,well worded and scholarly criticismof Marc Andre Hamelin's readingof the Schnittke piano concerto.That was also another rare instance where the pianistcommented and defended his interpretationto which Mr. San stood his ground andreinforced his opinion.
This was a 2010 concert on demand.
Most of us are just grateful to hea ra complicated, rarely played, high quality work played,but Antonio wasn't daunted by accomplishedperformers and expects them to live up to their reputation.
I don't see any difference between Marc Andre or Kevin Mallonresponding and when Tom Allen posts a comment to set us straightwhen we've been unreasonably critical.
Since we're on the subject of criticism, even if a cod has expired,the quality write-up, references, photos and documentation thatthis concert existed, is lost when they get deleted after one year.So that event, and the three historically significant comments on this subject are lost forever.
It's unfortunate that everything on the old Radio 2 Blog (in it's three versions)were truncated. All that great writing and ideas exists somewhere, all it needs is a place to view (archive) it. Otherwise, as it is now, it's significant quality is evaporated.
The new cbcmusic is wonderful, but it got to it's current state because of the progress made on the old Radio 2 Blog.Maybe I'm too much of a Cbc digital preservationist, but just as classicalmusic, you can't have a sense of the future if you don't keep alive the past.
