BY MIRANDA ILCHEF
Nicholas Bochner has always found his spark by getting involved in “musical projects that get us closer to the audience – those that involve communication or education or interactivity”.
“It’s always been a passion of mine,” the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Head of Learning and Engagement says. The MSO series Ears Wide Open, initially founded by the illustrious conductor and educator Richard Gill, aims to do exactly that — bring classical music to an audience that may not be familiar with the genre.
In this event format, short excerpts are taken from a beloved piece and interspersed with commentary and explanation. In August, it will feature Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi, the Four Seasons — a work that premiered in 2012 and is based upon music from the 18th Century.
“Older European music can still be relevant in this country – but that is something you need to continually reinvestigate and rediscover. As society changes, you need to think about why it is still relevant.”
When presenting, Nicholas finds the human element is often particularly relevant for the audience.
“You can see threads that connect an older composition to modern society. That may be a composer who has been going through something entirely human that we still go through today — you can look back and it will connect people through history.”
There will always be a place for this music, but the challenge will be to reevaluate, reassess, and recreate
Nicholas has found there is still a great love amongst the wider community for orchestral music, as many people access it through film, television, and video game music. There is an appetite from people who want to dig a little deeper and understand the origins of orchestral music.
“Ears Wide Open provides a great entry point. It’s an earlier and shorter concert, which is inherently less formal. It can be a little more appealing and less intimidating than a full-length symphonic concert.”
Recomposed by Max Richter has proven to be enormously popular with audiences time and time again: it is performed regularly across the world, and features in many TV and film soundtracks. Nicholas has spent some time considering what makes this work such a hit.
“The original Four Seasons are so endlessly popular, despite Vivaldi having written hundreds of other violin concertos. I think the reason for that is the storytelling aspect and the innovation in the work itself.
“To some extent, Max Richter wrote his version because the brilliance of the original work had worn off a little for him due to overexposure. He took some elements and reworked them so he could enjoy them again.
“He has created that perfect balance of retaining the essence of the original while reframing it using compositional language that is more broadly understood.”
Richter creates this “conversation between the higher and the vernacular” so perfectly, and in almost the same manner as the philosophy that underpins the Ears Wide Open series. Like any great composer, he uses the musical language of the modern era (in this case, electronics), and blends it with tradition (acoustic string instruments).
Nicholas is hopeful for the future of traditional classical music, and that events like Ears Wide Open will keep the spark alive.
“The value of older music is the opportunity to think about where we’ve come from so we can see our position in history. There will always be a place for this music, but the challenge will be to reevaluate, reassess, and recreate.”
Nicholas Bochner will present Ears Wide Open: Max Richter with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at 6.30pm August 5 in Melbourne Recital Centre.
You can also hear Max Richter: The Four Seasons Recomposed, part of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Metropolis series, at 7.30pm August 9 and 10 in Hamer Hall.
Images supplied.
