The days of symphony orchestras and other classical groups presenting nothing but standard two-hour, music-only programs are over.
To counter ever-shorter attention spans and ever-increasing entertainment alternatives, and to attract new audiences, groups are searching for novel ways to package their offerings.
“The whole ossified format of overture, concerto, symphony: sure, it’s fine to do that once in a while, but why should it always be that way? I think we are moving in a very big way away from that,” said Jeffrey Kahane, the Colorado Symphony’s new music director.
In some cases, this change means new formats in alternative settings. In May, for example, Central City Opera held a sold-out bash at Lakewood’s Belmar Center that included a balcony buffet, season preview and short performance by a mezzo-soprano.
In others, it means trying to open the door and shine light on what can be a daunting genre for many people by supplementing a musical presentation with commentary and discussion.
Kahane plans to take this latter approach Friday and Saturday when he and the symphony investigate the history, symbolism and inner workings of Ludwig van Beethoven’s landmark Symphony No.5.
“It’s important because people are hungry for it,” said Kahane, who undertook similar programs during his just-completed 10-year tenure as music director of the Santa Rosa (Calif.) Symphony.
“That’s something I have always believed was the case and I’ve had it borne out particularly in Santa Rosa,” he said. “There’s just been a sort of startling and exponential growth in the number of people who come to these kinds of events.”
Because listeners receive little if any education in classical music in school anymore and have little time for self-study as adults, many are eager to learn more about the genre.
“I also think that people are fascinated by what a performer has to say about a piece of music,” he said.
“I think people want to know: What is like for you? What is it like on the inside? What do you think about this music? What does this music mean to you? Why do you care about it so much?”
Other performers and presenters have undertaken such explorations, including the late composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. He led the way from 1958-1973 with his series of televised “Young People’s Concerts,” illuminating the works of Aaron Copland and others.
More recently, pianist and composer Rob Kapilow has a made a career of his popular “What Makes It Great?” programs across the country. And Marin Alsop, the Colorado Symphony’s former music director, led a series of multimedia culturalConvergence concerts and offered considerable commentary as part of her Johannes Brahms festival in January.
What sets this week’s presentation apart is its unusual inclusion on the symphony’s Masterworks subscription series and its repetition. Most orchestras offer such programs as special, one-time events.
If this week’s concerts prove successful – and the orchestra had sold 2,450 tickets as of Thursday – Kahane hopes the concept will grow to three such pairs of concerts each season with a common theme.
At first blush, it might seem more sensible to highlight a work that most listeners don’t know rather than what Kahane describes as the most famous and frequently performed symphony of all time.
“To be perfectly honest, if I did one of these on the work of (Pierre) Boulez, as much as I would be really interested myself in doing that, ticket sales might be a little rough,” he said.
At the same time, he said, the Fifth Symphony is a masterpiece precisely because people can return to it again and again. Even the most seasoned listeners can always discover new things in it.
This week’s program will open with a one-hour lecture on the Fifth Symphony, which will be illustrated by excerpts from it and some of the composer’s other works, including his Violin Sonata No.7 in C minor.
“A big part of the lecture is going to be about the importance of the C minor key in Beethoven’s output,” Kahane said. “In every single major genre, he wrote at least one piece in that key, starting with Op.1 all the way to his last piano sonata, Op.111, and beyond.
“I’m going to talk about why that is. What do these pieces have in common? What do we know right from the start when he writes in the key of C minor? And why that opposed to another key?”
The program will conclude with a complete performance of the Fifth Symphony and time afterward for questions. Whatever else happens, Kahane promises the evening won’t be dull.
“I don’t want to mislead anyone,” he said. “This is an educational experience, but it’s not like a Harvard lecture, and I can also say in fairness it’s not going to be anything like any preconcert lecture or talkback anyone has ever done.”
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-820-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
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Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
Colorado Symphony program with commentary by conductor Jeffrey Kahane|Boettcher Concert Hall, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets; 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday|$15-$65 |303-623-7876 or
coloradosymphony.org.
