I have no idea what people will or will not want to go see. Therefore, I'm not spending time trying to figure that out. And I certainly don't want to have to deal with more unnecessary technology (like a giant screen). We do know that people routinely go watch a single musician on a stage, like a pianist, where more than 80% of the audience can't see what the pianist is doing with their fingers. So, the assumption that people won't go see a single musician on a stage is misguided. They do that all the time.
Also, I have been to concerts where no one is on stage at all and there is no screen, just speakers playing pre-recorded orchestral music. Daniel Kellog's doctoral recital at Yale was a recent example. So, while that sort of "concet" is most unusual and presented as sub-optimal, it nonetheless did happen ... and the audience did, in fact, applaud ... even after having been told not to do so. But playing recordings in a concert hall does not unlock the hall's potential to enable a great musical experience.
More important than the question of what people will or will not want to see, to me, is the musical result that can come from performing live in a concert hall. Look how much effort one puts into fashioning recordings with stereo imaging, "stage" placement, sampled reverbs, etc., often without knowing what the ultimate playback device will be (iPod, kitchen, or car stereo, for example). Contrast this with a concert hall. The hall is like a big instrument. You can play it, or the sounds produced in it, by modulating one's tempo, emphases, balance, loudness, articulation, etc. To what end? Well, that's the crux of the whole matter.
For me, as a performing musician, using a concert hall is the most direct way to create the conditions under which a great musical experience might occur. Not only is it the most direct, it's the easiest way. As a musician that's what I'm trying to accomplish. I'm not concerned with "what will people watch." I'm concerned with "can we create these conditions where something great MIGHT happen?" The only way to get an answer is to try. And that's what I'm going to do.
If people want to come to the hall and see if I'm succeeding, great. They're certainly welcome. So, if you're in New York City in early November you're welcome to come to my public concert at Barge Music, where the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and I will successively perform the same work. There you'll have a chance to hear a live orchestra and a digital one in a head-to-head comparison. My good friend Markand Thakar will conduct the live orchestra. I'll conduct the Fauxharmonic, using exclusively VSL's Vienna Instruments, of course!
Also, I have been to concerts where no one is on stage at all and there is no screen, just speakers playing pre-recorded orchestral music. Daniel Kellog's doctoral recital at Yale was a recent example. So, while that sort of "concet" is most unusual and presented as sub-optimal, it nonetheless did happen ... and the audience did, in fact, applaud ... even after having been told not to do so. But playing recordings in a concert hall does not unlock the hall's potential to enable a great musical experience.
More important than the question of what people will or will not want to see, to me, is the musical result that can come from performing live in a concert hall. Look how much effort one puts into fashioning recordings with stereo imaging, "stage" placement, sampled reverbs, etc., often without knowing what the ultimate playback device will be (iPod, kitchen, or car stereo, for example). Contrast this with a concert hall. The hall is like a big instrument. You can play it, or the sounds produced in it, by modulating one's tempo, emphases, balance, loudness, articulation, etc. To what end? Well, that's the crux of the whole matter.
For me, as a performing musician, using a concert hall is the most direct way to create the conditions under which a great musical experience might occur. Not only is it the most direct, it's the easiest way. As a musician that's what I'm trying to accomplish. I'm not concerned with "what will people watch." I'm concerned with "can we create these conditions where something great MIGHT happen?" The only way to get an answer is to try. And that's what I'm going to do.
If people want to come to the hall and see if I'm succeeding, great. They're certainly welcome. So, if you're in New York City in early November you're welcome to come to my public concert at Barge Music, where the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and I will successively perform the same work. There you'll have a chance to hear a live orchestra and a digital one in a head-to-head comparison. My good friend Markand Thakar will conduct the live orchestra. I'll conduct the Fauxharmonic, using exclusively VSL's Vienna Instruments, of course!