Stage Antics

[dreamaurora]

I was watching a dvd of a japanese rock band ( X Japan specifically ) performing and I was wondering what if classical pianists and performers adopt a more modern and contemporary stage antics and sets instead of the usual 'pianist in suit or gown sitting throughout the whole recital'. It was not new, Listzt was known to move around the audience between the pieces in his recital and Maria Joa Pires recently offers a 'dressed up' set in her recitals, as one of the members here has posted.

What if for example we follow the examples of the rock and pop bands. Perhaps instead of wearing suits or gowns, spandex or leather will be the preferred concert attire and perhaps for the guys, they can perform shirtless throughout the concert ( and oh, don't forget custome change during intermession ). Instead of usual dimmed concert lights, perhaps you can have laser, lights and pyrotechnic display , especially during the virtousic sections of the recital such as Liszt or Alkan. And perhaps after the concert, you can take the piano bench and smash up the grand piano, I would think the audience will love that. Heh, sorry for my extreme rambling for the purists out there. Anyway, what do you guys think ?

[eddie92099]

I think the reason that bands such as "X Japan" (who, I must confess, I have never heard) have to use pyrotechnics to bring their mediocre music to life - Liszt and Alkan do not need this artificial respiration,
Ed

[jeff]

I like X-Japan  

I think seeing a classical pianist dressed up like: https://www.projectj.net/direngrey/direngrey1.jpg (they're all guys, by the way), would be way cool.

[xenon]

At the root of the word of "classical", one gets the word "class".  Classical musicians are an elite breed who has not succumbed to the conventions of the lesser musicians who requires electrifying visual display and outrageous costumes to entertain the audience.  The music has been passed from the masters of music of old onto us, the newer generations.  It would be a disgrace to the composer and the music is we were to perform the classical genre in such bastardized manner.

Classical music is often described as being on the top of the musical hierarchy.  This is from where the standards of music that we know of today comes.  All of the other forms of music falls underneath that.  It is an interesting thought to label some of the music today as actual music.  Nowadays, when one coins the term "musician", the immediate thought among the general public is not of the classical musician with the long overcoat and musical outlook, but rather some punkish rocker who is high on some drug with tattoos covering their body that has a vocabulary limited to profanity and has an IQ level of a cow.

However, I have always wondered what the public's reaction would be when I was famous and well-seasoned with musical experience, and I showed up to one concert with spiky green hair.  

[xenon]

And perhaps after the concert, you can take the piano bench and smash up the grand piano, I would think the audience will love that.

Wow, I really laughed at the tought of that.

That would truly be a sight, though I would feel sorry for the piano, as it is a handcrafted masterpiece that has had lots of love and devotion put into its creation.  If one was to smash a bench on the piano, I would think that they should also kick the piano and roll it off the stage onto the first few rows of audience members.  Think of it as "piano surfing".

[lobo]

i couldnt agree more with eddie and xenon

[Beethoven87]

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!  I had a huge, thoughtfull post to put in here, but I accidently clicked "back" and lost it!!!!  So maybe once I've calmed down, I'll retype something along the same lines and post it.   GR.

[allchopin]

Hey, dude, youre such a n00b.  you just click forward- it retains what you typed.

Anyway, taking piano to the extreme sounds like a lot of excitement, at the expense of the owner of the piano.  Im sure many more people would come to the concerts, and, honestly, you could get famous by doing so.  You'd not only be a first, but you would certainly be deviating from the standard.  But I know you, aurora, you dont got the nerve

If you do happen to get drunk and pull this off, MAKE SURE you get it on tape.  

[amp]

In the 50's in America there was Liberace, he did a lot of classical music, with interesting clothing and stages. I have no stance on his performances, but he did what you suggested DreamAurora.

[dreamaurora]

Well, I will not be the first. Maxim Mrvick already did it ; He's the guy that plays Bumblebee complete with a band and dj accompanying him ( and laser too ). Well, but seriously, I was speaking to one of the local classical pianists, he was going to feed his playing data from a piano into a computer onstage and generate real time 3D animation on the screen behind, and it is a pure classical piano recital concert. I am guessing a rock style classical concert may be a bit extreme but perhaps classical pianists today may experiment with different ideas to make their concerts more interesting and more appealing to the masses.

[thracozaag]

Well, I will not be the first. Maxim Mrvick already did it ; He's the guy that plays Bumblebee complete with a band and dj accompanying him ( and laser too ). Well, but seriously, I was speaking to one of the local classical pianists, he was going to feed his playing data from a piano into a computer onstage and generate real time 3D animation on the screen behind, and it is a pure classical piano recital concert. I am guessing a rock style classical concert may be a bit extreme but perhaps classical pianists today may experiment with different ideas to make their concerts more interesting and more appealing to the masses.

 Unfortunately, you can't market culture.

[Hmoll]

Xenon,
The equine mammal on which you are astride is so high in the stratosphere that you are rendered devoid of objectivity. - Translation: Get off your high horse.  Just because music is called "classical" does not automatically put it on a higher level in any real or imagined "hierarchy" (who made up this hierarchy, anyway?).
There is plenty of good - and great - music recorded and performed in just about every style. On the other hand there is plenty of bad music out there in every style, as well, including classical music.
I don't necessarily think the best performers of Jazz, Blues, etc. - even Rock - are somehow lesser artists than classical musicians. For example, I'm not a great fan of Jazz - personal preference - but I would have a difficult time arguing that Jazz theory and harmony is any less complex or interesting than it's counterpoint in classical music. Also, jazz musicians are called upon to improvise within that context much more than their classical counterparts.
I don't know anything about this band X-Japan, and I don't have time to look them up. Maybe they are all virtuosos on their instruments, and their producer wants them to starve themselves skinny, and put on a light show in their performances. On the other hand, maybe they know two chords between them, and their on stage antics serve to detract from their mind-numbingly boring songs. My point is, there are really bad and really good musicians in every genre from Country Western, Traditional Irish, Rock & Roll.

"Some punkish rocker who is high on some drug with tattoos covering their body that has a vocabulary limited to profanity and has an IQ level of a cow." That's the stereotype you used. Here's another one I heard recently from a reputable teacher: "99% of the young [classical] pianists out there today are nothing more than 'competition pianists' who regurgitate old war-horses on stage without an ounce of imagination, feeling or musicianship."
I don't agree with either stereotype.

[Beethoven87]

Hmoll, thank you.  You have stated eveything I was going to post before I foolishly deleted it...  In short, I agree.  Figures upon stratospherically statured ungulates are of nugacious countenance in my eyes as well.  (I am aware that NOBODY ever uses the word "nugacious," but who cares?)

[allchopin]

Wow, youre trying way too hard- all your archaic english is driving the cockamamie sentence to incoherence.  And nugacious isn't even a word...

Amp: Liberace never smashed up a piano, or did anything of the sort.  The "craziest" he ever got was dancing on stage and wearing an enormous, elaborate coat.

DreamAurora: Have you ever strayed from the norm in any of your concerts?  I have thought about performing in a more comforatble chair rather than on the ergonomically-hampering bench.  And why only the guys take off their shirts? (I mean, it's only fair, right?)

[eddie92099]

 (I am aware that NOBODY ever uses the word "nugacious," but who cares?)

The word is nugacity  ,
Ed

[Beethoven87]

Sheesh!  I was just trying to have a little fun...  I didn't expect some sort of Spanish Inquisition...  (NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!!!!!!)

Anyway, I'm sure if you search through enough L-E-X-I-C-O-G-R-A-P-H-I-C-A-L materials (don't tell me THAT's not a word), you'll find nugacious.  Besides, looking at some of the teeny-bop AOL shorthand people use these days (Like LOL, w00t, TTYL and n00b) I think archaic english can be more coherent then much of modern language.  By the way, I tried clicking back and then forward experimentally...  It didn't work.  I think my browser is too archaic.

On topic:  I've met far too many way uptight classical music fans that have instinctive disdain and even repulsion toward any mention of music other than classical.  Even within classical music, I meet a lot of people who disregard a piece of music for being too simple.  Take Fur Elise:  I mention this to some of my musical friends, and generally the response is: "Oh man, I HATE that peice.  It's so childish and SIMPLE."  You know what I say?  I think it's pure genius that Beethoven was able to convey the emotion and beauty of that piece so simply and eloquently.  I wonder when people went from appreciating beautiful but simple tunes to critiquing them for being too childish.  This is my argument for modern music (personally, my preference is Heavy Metal and Progressive metal... outlaw me or something:  I don't care.  I'll never go back).  Even if the songs are, I admit, horribly simple at times, they are pleasing to mine ears in some obtuse way.  I like to think of it as "light listening."  Heavy Metal is something I listen to when I'm studying, or driving or something.  When I put on a good Chopin or Liszt, I can't concentrate on anything else.  The music demands my full attention, and demands more comprehension than any rock ond roll.  

As for high horses, when did classical musicians start to think they were superior to eveyone else?  

[sram]

i don't go to a recital to be wowed and dazzled, but to be moved .

Sound is the quintessence of music, the rest is just fluff.

[meiting]

All arguments of class or "fluff" aside, there is a valid statement that the classical music market is/was in decline (whether it still is or not, we don't quite know). It's up to us, the younger generation, to promote classical music to our peers.

I personally probably will never do a "rock"style classical recital. After all, the "rock" style makes the recital non-classical for me. However, there are possibilities of multimedia content within a concert, and I have given several of these much thought, and might even use some of them in later concerts. I'm hoping to patent them so of course I won't say anything about them just now.

mt

[pianowelsh]

Remembering that this is 'fun'. I have to agree that comfort is a consideration and as pianists play in all kinds of climates perhaps they should a vast touring wardrobe?! ranging from 6 jumpers and an eskimo duffle coat for the Edinburgh festival (only jesting it never gets THAT cold in Edinburgh - come to think of it that would rule out most cross handed repertoire - hey maybe we should have programmes for different climates too) right down to swimwear when your playing a big tent out side the sphinx at Giza??! I know myself there is nothing more horrid than playing in a hot room and your hot in jacket and tie with no air con, or similarly a freezing church where your muscles are in spasms and your not sure whether its nerves or the cold or both! I'm really not sure about the punk rock style mind you, within one programme we try (with all the skill we individually possess) to move the audience through different experiencial worlds so I think really to be 'way out ' in any way is possibly not helpful if the audience can't see past it. At the end of the day it's the music they want to hear. People in classical music seem to be getting less formal i think of nigel kenedy as one example. There's plenty of scope for a bit of everything though - why not be creative!!??

[Nordlys]

Hi. I didnt see this thread before now. Here is my view:

The classical concert has become something that has been called a "sonic museum". It is the equivalen of the art gallery. The music is taken out of its context, previously music was always part of a context (seremony, party, dance etc). Everything is removed, so that we can enjoy only the music in itself. That is why classical musicians now try to be as discreet as possible, nothing should disturb the pure music. This attitude can be viewed both as good and bad. But we should remember that the idee of the "sonic museum", where nothing but the sound is left, has finally been achieved with recordings. If that is what we want, why do we need concerts? I think we need concerts, it is unfulfilling to listen to music alone at home. We want to go out and experience something together with others, and to see the musician for real. So I think classical musicians should consider this: the concert is an integral experience. It is not just the sound that is important, but how the musician appear, the setting, and everything that happens in the concert.


My thread here is about something similar:
https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,5669.0.html

[dlu]

At the root of the word of "classical", one gets the word "class".  Classical musicians are an elite breed who has not succumbed to the conventions of the lesser musicians who requires electrifying visual display and outrageous costumes to entertain the audience.  The music has been passed from the masters of music of old onto us, the newer generations.  It would be a disgrace to the composer and the music is we were to perform the classical genre in such bastardized manner.

Classical music is often described as being on the top of the musical hierarchy.  This is from where the standards of music that we know of today comes.  All of the other forms of music falls underneath that.  It is an interesting thought to label some of the music today as actual music.  Nowadays, when one coins the term "musician", the immediate thought among the general public is not of the classical musician with the long overcoat and musical outlook, but rather some punkish rocker who is high on some drug with tattoos covering their body that has a vocabulary limited to profanity and has an IQ level of a cow.

However, I have always wondered what the public's reaction would be when I was famous and well-seasoned with musical experience, and I showed up to one concert with spiky green hair.  

You are trying way TOO hard to get your point across here...although i agree with it....you sound VERY pompous...

Oh...and by the way i am positive that the word "classical" does NOT come from the "hypothetical root:" class....but i see where you were going with it...am i starting to sound pompous now too?

DLu