Before delving into the interviews, I wanted to offer a chance to listen to Varese's Ameriques:
This piece was written around 1920 by French-born composer Edgard Varese. It is inspired by the city of New York when he moved there. Thus, it is meant to sound chaotic, colorful, and grand. It is scored for a very large orchestra eleven percussionists and includes the sounds of police sirens. It also includes quotes of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, to which it is often compared. He wrote two versions: one for very very large orchestra and a revised version for very large orchestra so that it could be more easily performed. The La Jolla Symphony performed the second version.
First interview: "E" came because his flute teacher Rachel Beetz was performing the Varese and encouraged him to come. It was a lifetime event, she said, because it is rare for such a huge piece to be performed. She also claimed that it was "better than the Rite of Spring." He agreed that it was a big piece, but it was ultimately too intense for his tastes. He liked the Strauss (Richard Strauss's Horn Concerto NO. 2) because it was predictable - he said being able to predict the music is comforting, which the Varese definitely did not offer. In addition to classical music (particularly Baroque and Romantic), he enjoys pop music (esp. of the TOP 40 variety). The only concerts he attends, however, are classical - mainly out of convenience of being a UCSD music student.
"People go to pop and classical concerts for different reasons. For pop, you go to sing and dance along - it's a party! In Classical, you sit quietly because it is more intellectual and you need to pay attention."
Second interview: "S" is an undergraduate voice performance major at UCSD. She listens to opera music and indie pop. She came for a concert report for her music history class that required a 20th century piece. She also likes free concerts.
"I wish people weren't so serious...but not obnoxious either (in classical concerts). Indie pop concerts are much more chill and there's freedom."
She liked the Strauss and was especially surprised at how tonal it was. Regarding the Varese:
"It was really big - I can't imagine it with a larger orchestra (referring to the first version). I feel like the audience would go deaf," she said while laughing. "I liked most of it, but some of it was a bit much."
Third interview: "B" is an undergraduate mechanical engineering major who came to write a concert report for one of his music classes. He felt that the Chou was the most interesting as it incorporated Asian sounds which is not commonly heard in symphony concerts. He thought the Strauss was "just okay-it's nice but kind of boring" and the Varese was "weird. It was hard to follow and didn't make any sense to me." He would not have attended this concert had it not been for the concert report. He does normally enjoy attending rock concerts, however, as he thinks the atmosphere is full of energy and a lot of fun - something you don't get when you just listen to recordings. On the other hand, he thinks that classical music is better to listen through recordings because you can use it to study but you can only sit there quietly when watching a live performance.
Fourth and Fifth interviews were combined as they were sitting near each other. One was Michael, but I didn't catch the other's name. They both came to watch their friends who were members of the orchestra. Michael said that his friend had a lot of trouble conceptually grasping the Varese so he invited Michael to see what he thinks. He is a non-musician who believes that he has a deep relationship with music, but does not regularly attend concerts of any kind. While his favorite genre is classic rock, he was able to appreciate the Strauss and rather enjoyed it. Still, it is not something that he would watch on his own volition had his friend not been performing. With regards to the Varese he said, "I can see where my friend was coming from. It's really not my style. I think the piece is too disharmonious and caused a lot of anxiety which is not something I listen to music for."
The other man agreed that it is not something he necessarily enjoyed listening to, but he was still impressed. "It sounds so difficult to put together and the sound is so huge. The conductor also made it engaging by dancing to it."
This week I had the opportunity to interview flutist Rachel Beetz who is a DMA student at UCSD studying with John Fonville. She is the teacher of "E" who had encouraged him to attend the concert. She played the flute solos in Ameriques. I would like to get some more perspectives and go over this interview later this week.
My interviews with the audience at the concert and with Rachel basically told me so far that most people in the UCSD community only attend classical concerts to support their friends. I would like to talk to those who attend more popular concerts such as Camera Lucida to hopefully get a different picture since Prof. Charles Curtis definitely doesn't need my support! On the other hand, they are drawn to concerts of the popular styles because it's fun.
On that note, I would like to talk to people who attended Sungod - a very different concert atmosphere, but one that is important to UCSD culture.
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