“American symphony orchestras are emerging from lockdown, adopting a variety of approaches to live performance,” writes Barbara Jepson in Friday’s (10/9) Wall Street Journal (subscription required). “Soccer stadiums, ballparks and streets have been pressed into service as safe outdoor venues for socially distanced audiences. Orchestras in states like Florida and Utah are allowing limited audiences inside their auditoriums, but most have opted to make music in their empty concert halls. Some events are filmed before broadcast; others are livestreamed. Players and conductors wear face masks, except for the woodwinds and brass…. Several ongoing series at last give more attention to African-American composers, and nearly every concert includes a contemporary work—two welcome developments. Compositions for strings are abundant. Shorter-than-usual events of 30 to 60 minutes utilizing up to 40 instrumentalists (versus more typical forces of 70 to 100) are the norm, mainly to reduce health risks.” The article reports on recent performances by the Houston Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra. “All were technically polished despite the challenges of socially distanced seating or nontraditional settings. Yet these performances had the feel of earnest, occasionally inspired, experimentation—useful steps on the road back to full live performance.”
Change font size
