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REINVENTING  CLASSICAL  MUSIC

posted  December  28,  2012  /  No  Comments

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When  I  first  started  going  to  orchestral
concerts  I  noticed  that  the  music  was
BRITISH  COMPOSER  AWARDS
2013  WINNERS
presented  without  any  real  explanation.
posted  December  24,  2013  /  No  Comments
Unless  you’d  studied  the  history  of  music  you
might  not  really  understand  the  significance
IN  SESSION:  ANNA  MEREDITH
of  whichever  Beethoven  symphony  you posted  December  20,  2013  /  No  Comments
happened  to  be  listening  to.  It  felt  like
classical  concerts  were  an  exclusive  club
and  unless  you  were  involved  in  orchestral BIRMINGHAM  CONSERVATOIRE
music  you  were  on  the  outside. CELEBRATES  THE  VIOLA
posted  December  20,  2013  /  No  Comments
When  I  was  going  through  university  and
music  college  I  spent  a  lot  of  time  composing INTERVIEW:  EDWARD  GREGSON
for  theatre  and,  after  graduating,  started  working  in  film.  There  is  a  lot  that  goes  on  in  those  worlds  that  I  think posted  December  11,  2013  /  No  Comments

classical  music  can  learn  from.  Both  disciplines  use  visual  and  aural  media  to  enhance  your  experience  of  an
evening.  That  can  apply  to  an  orchestral  concert  too.  You  go  to  the  Royal  Shakespeare  Company  to  watch  old
literature  being  performed  in  the  most  fantastic  three  dimensional  way  and  browse  an  art  gallery  while  listening  on WHAT'S  HAPPENING
a  pair  of  headphones  to  biographical  details  and  interesting  stories  about  the  artwork.  I’m  experimenting  with  some
JAN
all-day Eurosonic Nooderslag 2014
of  those  methods  in  orchestral  concerts.
15 @ Various venues
Let’s  create  and  promote  orchestral  experiences  where  we  assume  no  prior  knowledge  from  audience  members;; Wed

where  they  don’t  need  to  do  anything  before  they  walk  through  the  door  because  we  will  deliver  a  complete JAN
all-day Independent Venue Week
concert  experience.
28 2014
Tue
Cross-­arts  performance  is  a  real  buzz  phrase  at  the  moment.  One  thing  I’m  very  keen  to  do  is  make  sure  we’re  not
dumbing  things  down.  Whatever  you’re  doing,  whether  its  serious  or  light  hearted  repertoire,  you  should  treat  it FE B
all-day midem 2014 @ Various
with  same  level  of  engagement.  You  need  to  offer  a  point  of  entry  for  audiences.  If  you  are  performing  one  of 1 venues
Beethoven’s  nine  symphonies,  why  have  you  chosen  that  one?  What  is  it  about  that  one  which  makes  it  different? Sat

What  was  Beethoven  doing  at  the  time  of  writing  it?  Who  commissioned  it?  You  can  take  those  facts  and  treat  them
FE B
8:00
PM
Music + Sound Awards
in  an  artistic  way,  without  losing  any  element  of  finesse  and  precision  to  the  musical  performance.
27 2014 @ The Troxy
Thu
There  is  always  demand  for  ‘pure’  musical  performance;;  undiluted,  undisturbed,  traditional.  But  I  do  believe  there
is  a  place  for  both  types  of  concert.  As  a  musician,  I  love  going  to  hear  London’s  finest  musicians  performing,  to FE B
all-day Belfast Nashville @ Various
shut  my  eyes  and  just  listen.  But  at  the  same  time  there  are  people  who  find  that  particular  concert  environment
28 venues
intimidating  or  dull.  We  need  to  change  this  perception.  We  should  be  aiming  to  attract  as  many  people  as Fri
9:00
AM
Westminster Media Forum
possible.  At  the  moment,  orchestras  generally  do  one  performance  of  a  particular  programme.  That’s  due  to  lack  of
Keynote Seminar
demand.  We  should  create  demand  by  creating  more  performances  that  are  engaging  to  more  people.  It’s  about
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encouraging  a  wider  cross  section  of  society  to  enjoy  classical  music  as  an  experience.  At  the  moment  its
polarised;;  you  either  have  Classical  Spectacular  with  canons  or  uninterrupted  Mahler  Symphony  without  one ALSO  IN  THIS  SECTION
single  word  spoken.
ALISON  WENHAM:  ‘THE
A  way  of  engaging  people  is  by  playing  more  recently  composed  and  culturally  relevant  music.  London  Arts
FUTURE’S  BRIGHT,  THE
FUTURE’S  INDIE’
Orchestra  just  performed  the  War  Horse  suite  by  Adrian  Sutton;;  a  fantastic  piece  of  orchestral  music  rearranged posted  December  23,  2013  /  No  Comments
from  the  score  to  the  sell  out  National  Theatre  production.  Playing  new  music  is  a  fantastic  way  of  getting  people
into  orchestral  music  as  an  art  form. COMMENT:  MIKE  WEATHERLEY
MP,  INTELLECTUAL  PROPERTY
I  think  there  are  two  types  of  composer  that  come  out  of  the  music  college  education  system  in  this  country;;  those ADVISOR
that  take  the  artistic  route  and  those  that  take  the  commercial  route.  When  I  talk  to  my  friends  they  tell  me  of  all  the posted  December  18,  2013  /  No  Comments

millions  of  people  who  have  listened  to  the  film  score  they  have  produced.  Then  I  talk  to  the  classical  composers
COMMENT:  LEEE  JOHN
and  they  tell  me  how  two  hundred  people  attended  their  one  premiere  performance.  Of  course,  the  numbers  alone posted  September  24,  2013  /  No  Comments
don’t  mean  everything,  but  I  do  think  more  can  be  done  to  take  an  amazing  art  form  to  more  people.  We  live  in  a
world  where  more  people  listen  to  orchestral  music  than  ever  before  –  through  its  use  in  film  and  videogames  –  but
we  must  bring  that  audience  to  the  concert  hall.  We  shouldn’t  just  accept  that  classical  music  is  a  niche  art  and THE  MUSICAL  GENDER  GAP
posted  September  9,  2013  /  No  Comments
think  that  it’s  OK  that  only  a  few  people  understand  it  and  go  to  the  concerts.

It  takes  two  to  tango.  It’s  about  the  orchestras  taking  a  brave  approach  to  programming  and  actively  looking  for
pieces  by  current  composers  that  will  engage  audiences.  It’s  also  about  the  composers;;  there  are  some  for  whom
the  number  of  people  in  the  audience  just  isn’t  a  consideration.  Many  create  music  that  can  seem  academic  and
impenetrable,  which  is  fine,  but  if  the  result  is  that  it  only  gets  one  performance  in  their  lifetime,  is  it  really  worth  the
effort?

More  of  the  composers  on  the  commercial  side  in  theatre  and  cinema  need  to  be  looking  at  the  orchestral  scene  in
Britain  –  all  the  fantastic  new  orchestras  being  created  alongside  the  old  orchestras  –  and  writing  music  for  the
 
concert  stage.  I  often  think,  ‘What  would  Mozart  be  doing  if  he  was  alive  now?’  He’d  probably  be  writing  film  music!
But  I’m  sure  he’d  also  be  finding  opportunities  for  his  music  to  be  performed  on  a  concert  platform.  So  much
amazing  music  is  written  for  films  and  then  just  disappears.  People  should  hear  that,  and  hear  it  as  music  that  isn’t
drowned  in  sound  effects.  It  would  be  great  for  composers  to  also  think  about  the  performance  as  a  reason  to
compose.  Writing  pieces  that  include  a  narrative  or  scene  setting  is  certainly  nothing  new,  but  it’s  a  tried  and  tested
method  of  reaching  many  more  people  through  music.

I  am  perhaps  caught  between  two  worlds  –  that  of  the  traditional  musician  addicted  to  the  buzz  of  high  level
musical  performance,  and  that  of  the  cross-­arts  enthusiast  who  understands  the  exciting  relationship  between
music  and  storytelling.  Whatever  the  mix  may  be,  I  hope  contemporary  composers  and  performers  continue  to  look
beyond  the  status  quo  because  it  will  enliven  and  enrich  orchestral  music  in  Britain.

Edward  Farmer  is  a  British  conductor,  composer  and  co-­founder  of  the  London  Arts  Orchestra.  Since  it’s
formation  in  2009,  the  orchestra  has  experimented  with  visual  media  and  theatre  to  create  inventive  concert
experiences.  Previously,  he  was  a  member  of  a  Royal  Opera  House  composer  scheme  to  develop  music  with
its  singers  and  musicians.  He  has  also  written  music  for  short  films,  documentaries  and  theatre  shows.

After  first  studying  as  a  pianist  and  double  bassist,  Edward  attended  the  composition  class  of  the  Royal
College  of  Music  with  the  support  of  a  Constant  and  Kit  Lambert  Scholarship,  the  Kit  and  John  Gander  Award
and  the  Worshipful  Company  of  Musicians.

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