“Call it orchestral punk. At classical concerts, musicians have always worn variations of penguin suits for men and black gowns for women, with only the occasional attempt at something less dressy,” writes Dalya Alberge in Saturday’s (8/17) Observer (London). “That was until the London Contemporary Orchestra (LCO) decided to link up with the fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood for a concert this week. As a result, at least one musician will take to the stage for a performance of music by Karlheinz Stockhausen wearing a ‘decadent goat coat,’ resembling an extravagant feather boa. ‘We’re all very comfortable with what we’re wearing,’ said Robert Ames, a violist and the co-artistic director of the LCO. ‘All-black instantly alienates the musicians from the audience.… It’s extremely boring and outdated,’ he said…. At the annual conference of the Association of British Orchestras, Max Hole, the head of Universal Music’s classical music division, called on musicians ‘to think about the way they dress’ to engage more with young audiences…. In America, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has experimented with make-overs for its musicians,” with Integrated Design, a pilot partnership with Parsons the New School for Design. “Marin Alsop, its music director … [argued] that rethinking performance attire is only 200 years overdue.”
Posted August 19, 2013
