Classical Life

6 comments

Do you want to comment?

Comments RSS and TrackBack URI

1. 
   Deborah

   That’s a fascinating bit of video, or mainly audio! The sound of the audience is more noticeable than I thought it would be, mainly because I too experienced the quake that particular evening — while seated and stationary at home, no less. But the motion wasn’t strong enough to make me do much more than (slightly) raise an eyebrow. I wonder if many of the people in that crowd are newbies to California, unaccustomed to earth tremors?

   The video is riveting to me in another way: It illustrates the very nice quality of the acoustics surrounding the LA Phil. Just about any recording of any composition, from A to Z, automatically becomes more compelling, more appealing, if it involves a performance held in Disney Hall.

   Permalink, Reply

   April 8, 2014 1:23 am
   • 
     MarK

     The earthquake certainly sounded gorgeously inside of the WDCH, and, without a doubt, the strong shaking of the building’s massive walls contributed to the beautiful vibrations. But since i have never experienced earthquakes in any other concert halls, i, strangely enough, do not consider myself qualified to make comparisons. What i can say with confidence, however, is that being inside of the WDCH at that moment was very uncomfortable and unsettling for even such long-time Southern Californians as yours truly, and i can assure you that “newbies” had absolutely nothing to do with it.

     Permalink, Reply

     April 8, 2014 11:31 pm
     • 
       CK Dexter Haven

       “A member of the orchestra tells me: “It was pretty scary for a few seconds. But the Maestro was impressively unflappable.” ”

       I’m sure that if Maestro Dutoit had flinched while on the podium when the shaking occurred, everyone else’s reaction (on and off stage) would have been very different.

       Permalink, Reply

       April 12, 2014 12:35 pm
     • 
       MarK

       If you were there, CK, then how would you describe the audience’s reaction and how you think it would be different if the conductor “had flinched”?

       Permalink, Reply

       April 12, 2014 8:05 pm
2. 
   CK Dexter Haven

   I wasn’t there, so I’m judging strictly by what I heard on the “video.” But if the audible reactions were present for an “unflappable” maestro, I’d be willing to bet serious $$$ that there would have been even more reaction if the maestro were “flappable” instead. At a minimum, if he stopped conducting, the orchestra would have stopped playing, and there’d be no cool video to go viral on the interwebs.

   Permalink, Reply

   April 14, 2014 1:49 pm
   • 
     MarK

     You are probably right about the orchestra, which is why my question to you was about the audience’s reaction only, since in your previous comment you mentioned “off stage”. It is easy to “bet serious $$$” in a hypothetical situation because such a bet has no meaningful value. As someone who was there i believe that if the Maestro stopped conducting and then resumed immediately when the shaking stopped, there would simply not be enough time for audience’s reaction to develop into something much stronger than what it was in the event. But of course I cannot prove it just like you cannot prove the opposite. The way this particular case turned out, however, Maestro has definitely made the right decision.

     Permalink, Reply

     April 14, 2014 8:37 pm

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.