John Mayer - a modern day Johannes Brahms?

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 by Scott Harrison
When Stella Artois Happy Hour at the Symphony returns on March 18, the program turns to music by John Mayer and a John of an older generation - Johannes Brahms.  Crazy as it may seem, these two musicians actually share more than just a first name. 

While many of us are stuck with the image of the old, bearded Brahms in our minds, in his younger days, Johannes (right) was quite the looker and probably attracted his fair share of female attention, just like John Mayer. 
 















But Brahms was more than just good looks.  This guy had soul.  Brahms was a throwback, looking to the music of Bach to write truly heartfelt music in an era where contemporaries like Liszt, Wagner and Mahler were revolutionaries out to discover the music of the future.  In an era where vocal hooks and sampled beats reign supreme, John Mayer also looks to the old masters, writing guitar-driven pop inspired by blues legends like B.B. King and rock gods like Jimi Hendrix.

And the similarities just keep on coming. . .
  1. Brahms wrote four symphonies.  Mayer has released four albums.  (There are also four Happy Hour concerts this season.  Try to explain that coincidence!)
  2. Both men pursued secondary instruments in their youth.  Can you imagine Brahms as a cellist or John Mayer with a clarinet in his hands?  They both also started touring as teenagers.  At one point, Brahms' teacher wanted to send him to America to earn that big paycheck.  His parents declined, probably sparing Brahms future anonymity as a washed-up child star.
  3. Speaking of the clarinet, John Mayer's first instrument, Brahms took up an interest in the reedy instrument late in life.  He came out of his self-imposed retirement to write some of his most moving music, all featuring the clarinet.  Do you think Mayer ever tried his hand at the Brahms' Clarinet Quintet?
The greatest coincidence of all?

Both men shared an interest in older women.  John Mayer famously dated Jennifer Aniston, eight years his senior.  Brahms spent most of his adult life pining after Clara Schumann, 14 years his elder and the widow of the man who helped launch his career, Robert Schumann.  While Mayer was never too shy to share the most intimate details of his relationship via Twitter, Brahms was not as forthcoming.  While many scholars believe the relationship with Clara was never consummated, there isn't definitive proof either way.

For the full story on Brahms, check out Jan Swafford's fun biography.  (Or get the lightning round in this article.)

As for Mayer?  Well, there's always @johncmayer.

(Thanks to Alyson Ahrns for research and writing assistance.)
    

A Ticket Order is Worth 1,000 Words

Wednesday, January 6, 2010 by Scott Harrison

Everyone thinks marketers are all about numbers, charts and strange acronyms.  It's true, ROI is crucial. (That’s Return On Investment, or, was the cost of the ad worth the money it generated?) And, yes, we've got to hit our revenue goals.  But I certainly don't work in marketing at the ISO because I love graphs and spreadsheets.  I work at the ISO because I love music, and I’m in marketing because I’m a people person. At the end of the day, I’m here to connect people more closely to our music.

 

Others might look at a ticket order and see a sale; I look at that ticket order and see a person and a story. In the case of our $20.10 sale, there are a lot of orders. That’s means a lot of stories and I’d like to share one of them with you.

 

The promotion began with a two day pre-sale for our subscribers and donors. One of the first orders was from Rebecca. She’s a current donor to the ISO, but it’s been about five years since her last concert. That worries me. While her financial support is most welcome, the longer someone goes without attending concerts, the less likely she is to attend in the future and continue that support. 

 

Rebecca used the $20.10 sale to purchase two upcoming Classical concerts (Scheherazade and Fauré’s Requiem) and two upcoming Pops concerts (Marvin Hamlisch and Classically Cinematic). In other words, she went from 0 to 4 in just one order. Rebecca is now going to rediscover what she always loved about the ISO and, hopefully, start coming to concerts on a regular basis for years to come. That’s good for the ISO, but it’s also good for Rebecca. For me, it’s extremely gratifying to know that one order spurred by one special offer can create that difference in someone’s life. 

 

So that’s Rebecca’s story. Now I want to know yours! Don’t worry, you don’t have to write anything down or call me. All you have to do is visit IndianapolisSymphony.org and place your order. I’ll be able to read between the lines.

 

By the way, for those who don’t know, now through January 9, $20.10 gets you any ticket to any remaining Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Classical, Pops or Symphonic Hits concert at the Hilbert Circle Theatre.

Whaddya say?

Saturday, October 17, 2009 by Scott Harrison
Did you make it to our premiere Symphonic Hits powered by Lilly?  What did you think?  Did you come early for Sound Off?  Stay late to meet the musicians at Reverb?

Did you enjoy the Shostakovich, the Chopin, the Tchaikovsky?

Comment below and tell us what you thought.  We'd love to hear from you!

And if you're coming to future Symphonic Hits let us know what you're wondering and your questions might make it into Sound Off. 

(Plus, check out what the Indy Star had to say.)


And now for a word from our winner . . .

Friday, October 2, 2009 by Scott Harrison

Our contest winner Lauren (and 1750 of her closest friends) had an unbelievable time at the concert last night. Lauren even had a chance to meet Yo-Yo after the concert! (See the picture to the right for proof.)

Here's what she had to say about the evening:


Dearest ISO Bloggers,

Last NIGHT . . .the concert, the Man, the experience. . . was the most incendiary night of my life!!!  Its impact had, and will continue to leave, an indelible impression on my spirit.

Yo-Yo Ma's notes floated, danced, and kissed the air around me when he performed Dvorák's famous Concerto in B minor.  I was AWED!  His performance was so beautiful and moving, mesmerizing the entire audience at every note!All I know is that when he moved, I moved, and when he made an expression, I felt what he felt. After the concerto, Yo-Yo played an encore, the Sarabande from Bach’s Suite No. 6 in D Major. This was so special, and personal to me because I am learning one of Bach’s Sarabandes, and the way he captivated his audience with just a solo cello is inspiring to any person. Yo-Yo Ma is an extraordinary being and is able to compel any audience, and allow them to feel what he feels.

The most special part of the experience for me personally was the post-concert reception and the opportunity to meet this phenomenal man.  we had a brief conversation about music, and how we have both personally experienced its healing powers. Meeting Yo-Yo gave me much inspiration as an aspiring cellist, and without a doubt, I will never cease playing the cello, nor stop striving to show the world the mysterious power music can have over ones soul. Never underestimate anything, and never give up, no matter what, as long as it means something to YOU.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to participate in this experience.

Warmest Regards,

Lauren Alayza


Read more about the concert at IndyStar.com or check out their photo gallery below:

 


View this gallery at The Indianapolis Star: Yo-Yo Ma concert

And we have a winner!

Thursday, October 1, 2009 by Scott Harrison

After much deliberation, we have chosen a winner.  Congratulations to . . .

(Imagine the drum roll . . .)

LAUREN ALAYZA!

Here's what she had to say:
 

Dear ISO, My name is Lauren Alayza, and I am a seventeen-year-old aspiring cellist. It is my dream to become a fine cellist, (as fine as Yo-Yo Ma!) and to play chamber music professionally someday. I have only been playing about five years, but I try my hardest to make it seem as if I have been studying much longer. I am not like most student musicians, in fact, I believe someone with my situation is rare and unusual to come by. A few years after I began playing cello, I was diagnosed with a debilitating rare condition, that is not completely diagnosed yet. It has been a great four-year struggle to deal with the infinite debilitating symptoms, including arthritis which is difficult to deal with for any musician. Despite my pain, extreme fatigue, and occasional depression, I make it to all my lessons and rehearsals every week, and I have noticed an intriguing ongoing pattern. After every cello lesson, I leave feeling the best I have felt that day. Cello lessons quickly became a sort of distraction therapy, an escape, if you will, to my other life; my feeble reality. When I practice and play my cello, I am quickly engulfed in music and concentration to produce the best sound I possibly can, and voila, before I even know it, I have forgotten all of my aches and pains! Because of this epiphany I have had with music and its healing powers, I have vowed to dedicate my efforts of cello playing and practicing to someday help others experience this wonderful phenomenon we call music. I want to see (and meet!) Yo-Yo Ma at the Hilbert Theatre this Thursday because Yo-Yo Ma gives me inspiration as a musician, and as a cellist. I have followed his music from Sesame Street, to the Inauguration of President Obama, to duets with some of my favorite rising musicians, like Andrew Bird. Yo-yo Ma is inspiring to me because he is so open-minded to: different genres of music, collaborating with new and rising musicians, and I am sure he would be open-minded about exploring the healing possibilities music can offer to the world today.


Enjoy the concert Lauren!  We hope it brings you much joy and inspiration.

We also have an honorable mention.  Because of his very clever poem, we're giving Matt and his wife two free tickets to attend Joshua Bell on November 13-14.  (That concert's also approaching a sell-out.)  Here's the poem:
 

There was once Matt trying to impress his mate,
He was quite the average fellow,
So he planned this fantastic date,
To see his wife drool over some dude on a cello.
Little did he know it was the Yo-Yo Ma show,
An evening at the Indianapolis Symphony,
And tickets are sold out! “On No!"
So please help Matt through your empathy.
Two tickets would surely make my night.
Hearing the Dvorák’s Cello Concerto in B Minor,
From Yo-Yo Ma would be quite the sight,
And would really make my date finer.


And finally we have great news for everyone who submitted a comment.  We're going to give you all a pair of free tickets to the premiere performance of Symphonic Hits on October 16-17 featuring Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony and piano powerhouse Garrick Ohlsson.  We'll email you all in a few days with the details.

Thanks to everyone who participated and keep on reading our blog!



 


Contest Alert: Win 2 tickets to Yo-Yo Ma!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 by Scott Harrison

Yo-Yo.  Who else?Tomorrow night, Yo-Yo Ma, one of the most famous musicians in the world, returns to Indianapolis for his first concert with the ISO in over a decade.

This one-night only Special Event has been sold out for weeks, but your friends in the ISO marketing department have been hiding a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky person.

All you have to do to win is leave a comment below telling us why we should give you the tickets.  The most unique and compelling answer wins.

We'll post the winner right here tomorrow at 1pm, so check back then to see if it's you.

Good luck and See you at the Symphony!



***

In the meantime, enjoy this classic performance:


Sounds of Silence

Friday, September 25, 2009 by Scott Harrison
Shush!  I can't hear the silence.If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a pause is worth a thousand notes.  

There's something almost magical about the way that perfectly placed moment of silence can stop us dead in our tracks and make us yearn that much more for the music we're about to hear.

My favorite pause in music occurs right before the final iteration of the theme in the "Great Gate of Kiev" from Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.  This swaggering theme makes its final appearance after a a flurry of furious notes in the strings build up a well of tension. That brief moment of relief has a way of just capturing all that nervous energy and transforming the final turn of the main theme into the most exhilarating and empowering melody you've ever heard. 

While a great composer can write the perfect pause, it still requires a gifted conductor to pull it off with devastating effect.

The best I've ever heard that Mussorgsky pause performed is in a recording by Eduardo Mata and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.  Mata was a dashing and eclectic conductor who brought a unique, but always intriguing, vision to everything he conducted.   (Unfortunately, his life was cut short in a tragic plane crash sixteen years ago.)  I can't find a mp3 of that recording to post here because it's out of print, but there are a few copies available through Amazon.com.  

For more great examples of the use of silence in music, check out this article by the always entertaining Jan Swafford at Slate.com.  The first example in Jan's article is perhaps the most famous pause in music - the pause at the end of the "Hallelujah" Chorus from Handel's Messiah.  But don't take Jan's word for it.  Hear that moment live.  The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra performs Handel's Messiah on December 20 at Clowes Memorial Hall, the second of our two Christmas concerts on the classical side.

 

On the page it looked nothing . . .

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 by Scott Harrison

This weekend we're performing two concerts of Mozart at Conner Prairie, our summer home just a few miles up the road from Indianapolis.  In honor of the Wolfie, here's my favorite scene from Amadeus, which also happens to be one of my favorite movie scenes period:



It's barely longer than a minute, but it's quite possibly the best summation of why Mozart specifically, and music in general, is just so powerful.  Because an old man, reduced to a shadow of his former self, forgotten in his self-imposed exile in a senior home, with his best days behind him, can still recall, to the note, the most beautiful melody he's ever heard.  And when he recalls it, he smiles uncontrollably, lighting up like a man a quarter his age. He doesn't really know why, but this phrase - this song - touched him all those years ago and never left him.

The music featured in this scene is from Mozart's Gran Partita, a beautiful work for wind orchestra and I'll be in the Chicago Burbs this Sunday to hear the Chicago Symphony perform it at Ravinia. 

So stay tuned for a report on that!

(And another cool connection - the man playing Salieri, the old man in that scene, is Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham.  And he narrates the Lincoln Portrait with the ISO at our Opening Night Gala on September 26!)