When I was a pianist, I often had a simple question about stage costumes - as a Japanese guy.

Europe is the cradle of the classical music. No Asian people linked to the music must have been in its early history. Now there are a lot of Asian musicians in the filed of classical music and some of them are acknowledged as world class artists.

However, what do people from Europe think about an Asian musician with his tuxedo or her dress, which is not traditional Asian cloth like Kimono, on the stage playing musical instruments from Europe?

I am simply talking about the appearance. When I see 'La Japonaise' by Monet, I find myself feeling that I am looking at something new of idea to wear a Kimono. I can't help staring at the woman with blond garbed in the beautiful red Kimono since I don't get used to see a white woman with Kimono. For example, do you think of it looking natural when a Japanese pianist plays the piano with Kimono?

Here is a season program of Singapore Symphony Orchestra. The guy sitting on the sixteenth note is Lan Shui, the music director of the orchestra, and the picture below is a page where he describes 'etiquette' at the concert for audience who might have no idea how to do. I have not seen this sort of announcement in a concert program before, and this is a good idea to let people know what they should do and shouldn't do as audience. I think the classical music is not that popular yet in Singapore and there must be quite a few audiences who need a guide explaining a proper behaviour in concert attending.Yes, western cultures are still new somehow in Asian countries.
Lan Shui looks very nice in his tuxedo, by the way. I don't feel any odd to see Asian people wear western clothing.

But, how about you?

clipped from www.warwickcourier.co.uk Orchestra learns How to Look Good Naked over funding Cuts in funding have taken the clothes off the back of Stratford's Orchestra of the Swan. Five of its musicians will perfoming nude on fashion programme How To Look Good Naked next month. Only their instruments will protect the modesty of artistic director David Curtis, viola player Vanessa Murby, percussionist Tim Farmer, oboist Louise Braithwaite and French horn player Kai Hoffman. "We've all got a great deal of respect for one another, and don't have anything you wouldn't see on a beach in Brighton on a sunny day." The unusual decision to take part in the hit Channel 4 show came after it emerged Arts Council England was to withdraw funding for the group. Mr Curtis said: "The Arts Council cut our funding which has had a serious impact on us, making us increasingly reliant on corporate sponsorship. "This is a lighthearted way to highlight a serious issue, as well as raise our profile nationally.

Labeque sisters are world class concert pianists performing over the world. Not only are they awesome on the piano skills, the way of their acting on the stage, wearing the dresses, and expressing their passions are more than attractive. And I love their smile, too!

 I don't want to be a classical music geek so I won't say much about their feat, but just let me attach two movies from You Tube. The first one is the final part of  'The carnival of animals' by Saint-Saens, and in the second one, Madonna (yes, THE Madonna) introduces Labeque sisters to her friends.

Hope you enjoy it!

I was not familiar with worldwide SNSs that much although I was a member of some Japanese SNSs. I noticed VOX had a useful function to show my outside accounts belonging to other social networking websites at the column 'ABOUT ME'. I currently have four outside accounts there and those accounts were selected from the list in the page 'Contact Info' of your VOX. There are lot of messaging, social networking and personal websites elsewhere to choose, which is set by default.

It was fun to explore new social networking websites I didn't know, and I have got one website looking good: 'Upcoming.org'. This is a social event calendar website bought up by Yahoo! in 2005. You will see tons of events over the world that can be organized on your list in the website.  It would be also good to skim through to check what events are coming soon around your area. You can even bring in an event that is not on the website yet to introduce others.

There seems  no major SNS for classical music lovers. Hope to be opened a special SNS for classical music.

Oops, no pictures today!

I know I have been posting pictures of many booklets on my blog issued by classical music organizations I experienced in the past. The organizations are the places I visited while I lived in Newcastle and Glasgow in 2006/7 as a university student.

I will put some pictures of Berliner Philharmoniker's bimonthly magazine on today. Yes, this is also free like their great annual program.

There are many orchestras in the world but I have never known any orchestras issuing a real magazine free of charge  (if you know about that, enlighten me please) although some orchestras make a thin news paper. No doubt Berlin Philharmonic gives anything for spreading classical music in the society.
This magazine have a lot of articles about classical music - the music, musicians, musical instruments, history, and composers, and even pages for children. Early education on music is one of essential matters for audience development.
I just love the ads of Deutsche Bank, which must provide a huge support for the orchestra. That's the ad for a bank but only musicians or musical instruments are focused on.
  No design is more fascinatingly surprising than the giraffe made from the parts of musical instruments, btw.

An annual program of Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is quite unique.

At first glance, you may well think it might be a paper book to read when you see the books stored on the shelves in Philharmonie which is the concert hall for Berlin Pilharmonic.

Turning pages, you will find the contents are wide-ranging: Preface by Music Director, Deutshe Bank, and Mayor of Berlin, About the orchestra, Overview of the concerts in the Philhamonie, Overview of the concerts in Chamber Music Hall, Focuses the season. Then finally, you will reach concert programs of the year that should be the first thing you want to know. The looking of this main category is absolutely beautiful. After that, other contents are still following: Education program, Orchestra Academy, Society of Friends of the Berliner Philharmonie,,,,,,,,.

Other pages are also nice.

I think it is unusual to issue such a 192-page heavy book for a program. But, this program is absolutely excellent with high quality!! (See? Good quality gets you trapped, again. haha.) It is worth going through trouble to carry it back home. I would even say the value of this yellow free program is as same as academic written materials that should be stored in a library. You will know how much Berlin values the classical music and puts effort in enlightening it for people when the program is taken a look at.

Not only the program booklet, but also its design of Philharmonie surprises me. You find it more rugged  than you thought at the website of Berliner Philharmoniker, and will know why the yellow color is used on the booklet.

This is the inside of Philharmonie. You can see that some of audiences are taking seats right back the orchestra having a ringside view of performances. They even could touch the musical instruments during a performance. And the next is the foyer of Philharmonie. It is interesting, isn't it?

Berlin, an amazing classical music city. I love it!

I always think attending opera production is not easy.

Price. The image you think of a ticket price of an opera production is absolutely correct: it is really expensive. What if you could not enjoy the production when you watch it? You must feel like you did not get a return on your investment.

Preknowledge. Many operas are sung in Italian, German, or French. Without prep, you will never catch on a story very well although you might enjoy its elaboration and beauty. But do you really want to bother 'studying' to go to a theater?

This is a souvenir booklet of Scottish Opera telling about its synopsis and composer of Erwartung. (I know this production is not popular at all. I don't even know how to pronounce the title correctly.) Usually, you can get this kind of booklet at the opera house or concert hall when you go to the production, but I don't think you have enough time to read the booklet to ready to appreciate when you are totally new to the production.
I love some opera productions like Carmen, Madam Butterfly, La Boheme,,,,,but most of them are blockbuster.

What would be the good starters for taking an interest in opera? I wonder if there are any good ways to make people turn their head to face opera.

Visual attraction is one of the most important factors for advertisement of classical music since nobody can experience the 'product' until the performance is staged. How could customers be willing to buy a ticket without any guarantees the quality of the concert? If you are familiar with classical music, you could easily pick up a concert out of enormous numbers by counting on the name of a performer. But, if you are a beginner?

These are free booklets of season programs showing what Royal Opera House is playing at the season. The texture of papers is smooth and strong enough, and all pages are color printed. Yes, the first stage is passed: good quality gets you trapped. Look at the picture of front covers. A person and nature back. I don't pick up the real meaning of the design, but it is certain people might want to reach the eye-catching booklets.

'mmm, what is this for? looks beautiful, it might be interesting. I will take a look at it,,,,,'

Gotcha!

How about its inside? This is a back cover of the Spring Season 2007. I can tell this is taken at the back door of the building of Royal Opera House. A man on leather wear for a motorbike rider is sitting on the black box with wheels. This idea is not traditional and conservative for advertisement of classical music, but I love it!
Main contents showing each production are arranged in the same way: two-page spread for one production, a picture on the left and synopsis on the right. I bet creating those booklets are pretty costly, yet Royal Opera House concludes it is worth spending a lot of money for it. Its effect?

Royal Opera House made me spend 250 pounds for an opera and two ballet productions in 2007.

How do you keep something given away? Do you put it on a shelf and forget eventually? Do you rather store it in a safe place so as not to get scratched?

It of course depends on what you are given away, but how would you do when you could have chance to get something free of charge which looks cool and even premium with a high-class image? You provably might want to feel like taking good care of it. 

Here is a free booklet issued by The Sage Gateshead, the concert hall with unique-shape appearance in North England, UK. I would say it looks like a dinosaur egg. This cool looking booklet of A4 size was created in celebration of the opening year of The Sage and in order to show what they are to let people know.


I was amazed by the quality of the booklet - all the colored glossy 50 pages, sophisticated pictures, simple but enough contents to expose who they are,,,,it's like a page-turner!

The Sage Gatehead is supported by both the government and private sectors so there are also advertisements in the booklet and the design of which never spoils other contents.

I fell into The Sage's trap: I put the booklet in an envelop and it has been kept in my shelf carefully so as not to be left with my fingerprints.

Bruxelles is a tiny but beautiful city with atmosphere.

At De Munt La Monnaie in Bruxells on Feb 30th, 2007, I attended The Fiery Angel by Prokofiev directed by a Japanese conductor Kazushi Ono. The production, having too avant-garde sound of music with sensual and demonic contents, had been banned from performing at opera houses in Russia. Even now, the number of the performance of The Fiery Angel is much fewer than that of other blockbuster productions like Carmen or Aida.

Ono said at the interview with me after the production the reason why he chose such an esoteric production which was even sung in Russian language on regular basis during the season 2007 in Belgium. "Music works with valuable quality to appreciate should be performed even though they were not popular yet and people weren’t interested in them, but spreading unknown great music works is totally my job”.

I might want to add something to his comment: Ono could choose The Fiery Angel because it was in Bruxelles. There is an interesting history: music works that could not be performed because of political reason (banned by a government) or artistic reasons (too avant-garde,etc) had been freely staged in Belgium. Also, De Munt La Monnaie has put an effort into “audience development” to make people take more interests in music. Yes, people in Bruxelles have been ready to accept and even absorb something new.

 

“putting the right production among the right people”

 

The marketing of classical music is the same as other business.