Saturday (10/31) on The New York Times online, Michael Gordon writes, “What is the hottest thing in music right now? A pair of video games—Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Anyone can play. The games allow you to become a member of the band. … So, why not Orchestra Hero? What if I could ‘play’ the horn solo in ‘Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks’ on a ‘controller horn’ or the bassoon solo at the opening of ‘The Rite of Spring’ on a ‘controller bassoon’? What if I could bang out the timpani part in the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony or the clarinet solo at the beginning of ‘Rhapsody in Blue’? What if I could stand in front of the entire orchestra and conduct Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, or sit in the brass section for a rendition of Janáček’s ‘Sinfonietta’? The possibilities are astounding. And the good news is that Rock Band will soon be opening its format to classical music.”
Posted November 2, 2009
