We delightedly report that the giant screens that made an appearance at the Louisville Orchestra’s Fanfara and two nights later at Bob Bernhardt’s 25th Anniversary Bash are here to stay. Two years ago I was told by management that it was an impractical idea. But no idea whose time has come can slip past the entrepreneurial thrust of Brad Broecker, who was recently upgraded from interim to full-time general manager of the orchestra. The idea is simple: Discreet and (on recent showing) skillfully directed cameras pick out individual instruments in their solos, feature front and side views of the conductor’s face and occasionally pan back to show the force of a great ensemble in the climaxes. They relay the images to two large screens suspended high up on the proscenium arch. Opposed, naturally, by the critic of the Courier-Journal, they will do for orchestral music what supertitles — translations projected above the stage — have done for opera. (The Kentucky Opera was only the second American opera company to introduce supertitles after the New York City Opera. Critics grumbled, but they have revolutionized operagoing the world over.) No one is claiming the screens will make concert-going a rave notion for the Gen-Xers, but very probably they will help reverse or slow the downward tr/files/storyimages/in audiences.
The reason for my enthusiasm is that they are so profoundly musical. The screens vastly enhance one’s enjoyment of the music. Orchestral music is densely written and the wave of sound that sweeps over the listener can be daunting. By singling out instruments, a clever camera director can focus attention on, say, a single melodic line. And what you see you also hear. Watching a recent concert on KET and noticing how easily eye and ear combine to enhance the musical experience convinced me that the Louisville Orchestra’s bold experiment, is a keeper. Indeed, if I have a comment it is that management needs to be bolder: The screens could be bigger and should be lower so all can appreciate them and to hell with offending the reactionary element.
A superb brace of concerts on Thursday, Nov. 16 (Coffee Concert at 10:30 a.m.), and Saturday, Nov. 18 (at 8 p.m.), offers a not-to-be-missed chance to experience this new technology. Why? Because the programs feature marvelous music, and the dense scoring of the later Romantic period is exactly the sort of music that will best benefit from the projected images. Skipping over the Mozart Linz Symphony, which opens the program, we have a performance of the Piano Concerto No. 1 of Dimitri Shostakovich, who turns 100 this year — albeit in absentia. This is a dazzlingly percussive work full of rich melody and funky rhythms and will be performed by Wendy Chen "under the baton," as the cliche goes, of Federico Cortese. Old-style concertgoers used to vie to sit audience left — "concerto side" — for the advantage of seeing the pianist’s hands. Now everyone can experience this, and close-up, with the projected screens. Finally, if dense, richly Romantic orchestral textures are your thing, stick around for the glorious Symphony No. 5 of Jean Sibelius, a composer revered in Europe, especially northern Europe, and only lately catching on in the U.S. This music is a miracle and a revelation. Number to call is 587-8681 or see www.louisvilleorchestra.com.
A Whelan Homecoming
The Louisville Ballet’s season is rich in premieres, which is exciting in an art form that is as tradition-minded as its sister arts. The big "story" ballets are not neglected, but it is a wonder to anticipate a program on Nov. 3 and 4 where three out of the four works are company premieres — meaning they have been done elsewhere but are first-time local events. Add to this the appearance of possibly the hottest ballerina on the American scene, Wendy Whelan (who also happens to be a Louisvillian), and the good citizenry of Louisville should be storming the box office. She will dance with Albert Evans in Agon, a work born of the wondrous collaboration of two 20th-century titans, Balanchine and Stravinsky; and in Christopher Wheeldon’s Liturgy. I am especially intrigued by the first of the three local premieres, as it is choreographed by the very creative Twyla Tharp and entitled Nine Sinatra Songs. The tunes, given Ol’ Blue Eyes’ penchant for melodic grace, likely will be memorable and we are promised fantastic costumes in a setting of exhibition/ballroom dances.Tickets may be ordered at 584-7777.
Final Thought
Businessman and general good soul about town Tyler Allen, the co-brain behind 8664.org, has more than elevated highways on his mind. He is chair of the Mayor’s Public Art Committee and a major wheel in the Greater Louisville Pride Foundation. Those organizations are responsible, through Allen and his USA Image Technology business, for the vast murals of famous Louisvillians that enhance the sides of buildings and feature local celebs like Muhammad Ali, Diane Sawyer and others. Allen’s company also does those all-over advertising paint jobs called bus wraps, proving that none of us is perfect. Now the Public Art Committee is working with artist Jarel Tidwell and Sean Griffin on a massive graffiti wall to be located at the I-65 overpass on Market Street. Graffiti artists are said to be longing for large and legal spaces to practice their art and Louisville is responding by providing one. The artwork may change frequently, which could add a dynamic dimension to the city’s public art.
