Music You Enjoy Watching

[Szykneij]

While listening to the local classical music radio station as I worked on my Sunday morning sudoku, Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Violins and Two Cellos came on the air. Chamber music is my favorite, especially string compositions, and I find this piece incredibly exciting to listen to. A search on youtube turned up a live performance of the concerto by The State Academic Chamber Orchestra of Russia, and watching it being performed added even more to the excitiment. The energy expended by the soloists as they interacted with each other and the ensemble added a visual dimension to the music that increased my enjoyment even more. Are there pieces you particularly enjoy watching as well as listening to?

[brewski]

Watching musicians almost always increases my enjoyment—even clips of them in the studio while making a recording. I am fortunate to live near a lot of live performances, and almost always give the nod to those first. Of course, there are thousands of recordings I love, but there is nothing like the experience of seeing the musicians at work.

YouTube and other services have opened the floodgates, with performances available from all over the world. I regularly watch things from Frankfurt, Helsinki, and elsewhere in Europe. This afternoon the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra will be streaming R. Strauss Death and Transfiguration and Schubert's Unfinished. All of these are free. Then there is the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall, which is well worth the reasonable cost, given the state-of-the-art audio and video. Though an annual subscription is about $150 a year, I just dip in now and then for specific concerts.

A recent favorite is this Mendelssohn Octet with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. It would be excellent even without the video, but it's great to see the musicians having so much fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL1xiQ93L7A

-Bruce

[DavidW]

String quartets, operas and piano concertos.  The visual element is strong in opera.  The other two to see the interplay between the musicians.  There is something really exciting when you see the pianist prepare to come back in, fingers poised on the keyboard.  You just don't get that listening to a cd.

[brewski]

String quartets, operas and piano concertos.  The visual element is strong in opera.  The other two to see the interplay between the musicians.  There is something really exciting when you see the pianist prepare to come back in, fingers poised on the keyboard.  You just don't get that listening to a cd.

Yes to all of this. As I've said a zillion times, I feel incredibly lucky to live in an age of hundreds of thousands of recordings, all available on demand, day or night. (Martha Argerich in the Prokofiev Third Piano Concerto, I'm looking at you. ) But watching it happen is magic.

-Bruce

[Mapman]

I was fortunate to attend a few performances of George Crumb's music, including one of the American Songbooks. It's fascinating watching the percussionists with their dozens of instruments.

I also highly recommend that everyone sits in the choir seats behind an orchestra at least once. The sound might be less balanced, but the view (especially of the conductor) is incredible.

[prémont]

Yes, watching musicians "at work" may be interesting and sometimes entertaining, but in my view it always distracts from the musical experience. The only exception is opera, which per se includes action from the singers..

[vandermolen]

Definitely Shostakovich's 11th Symphony when I was sitting directly behind the percussion! It was so exciting when the players stood up just before the great tumult of the final section. Also Shostakovich's 4th Symphony.

[Florestan]

While listening to the local classical music radio station as I worked on my Sunday morning sudoku, Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Violins and Two Cellos came on the air. Chamber music is my favorite, especially string compositions, and I find this piece incredibly exciting to listen to. A search on youtube turned up a live performance of the concerto by The State Academic Chamber Orchestra of Russia, and watching it being performed added even more to the excitiment. The energy expended by the soloists as they interacted with each other and the ensemble added a visual dimension to the music that increased my enjoyment even more. Are there pieces you particularly enjoy watching as well as listening to?

Speaking of Vivaldi, watch this:

I'm sure premont will enjoy the visual performance. 

[prémont]

I'm sure premont will enjoy the visual performance. 

And you are right. The gestures of the cellist are spontaneous, a bit overdone and indeed entertaining. But if I want to enjoy the musical performance fully I have to close my eyes.

[Florestan]

And you are right. The gestures of the cellist are spontaneous, a bit overdone and indeed entertaining. But if I want to enjoy the musical performance fully I have to close my eyes.

I've seen him live in Venice. They were playing The Seasons so he wasn't even in the spotlight yet his gestures were the same. Needless to say, he stole the show from the violinist.  

[Szykneij]

But if I want to enjoy the musical performance fully I have to close my eyes.

It's interesting to note that, from watching the video, Amadio seems to agree. 

[Szykneij]

Speaking of Vivaldi, watch this:

Thanks for posting that. Very exciting performance. Interesting bow grip by Amadio, who certainly commands attention. The bass player to his left also has some terrific chops.

[j winter]

By far my preferred method of enjoying opera is on blu-ray with subtitles, at least when getting to know a work.  It's so much better than trying to follow along with a libretto.  Also good for most choral music, at least for me.

If I can vent for a moment... there's a classical streaming channel on Amazon Prime in the US (probably available other places too) call Stingray Classica.  I tried it for a few months, they had lots of videos of concerts, ballets, etc., which I quite enjoyed... but they have zero options for sub-titles    Boo!  They had quite a few operas that I might have given a try otherwise... I know, first-world problems, but I really don't feel like dealing with a video screen and a book while listening, particularly with bifocals... grrr.....  

[Brian]

A recent favorite is this Mendelssohn Octet with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. It would be excellent even without the video, but it's great to see the musicians having so much fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL1xiQ93L7A

Thank you so much for posting this! What really stands out about watching a performance like this is that the visual cue of seeing someone play can tune your ears to listen to them, specifically, and then you hear a wealth of detail you've never noticed before. Watching this Mendelssohn Octet is a great example. I'm seeing all sorts of intricacy to the parts I never noticed before, marveling at how a 16-year-old gave all eight musicians such interesting, independent parts.

By the way, to answer the question: my favorite symphonic music to enjoy watching is stuff where the percussionists have to run around from instrument to instrument 

[Szykneij]

Thank you so much for posting this! What really stands out about watching a performance like this is that the visual cue of seeing someone play can tune your ears to listen to them, specifically, and then you hear a wealth of detail you've never noticed before. Watching this Mendelssohn Octet is a great example. I'm seeing all sorts of intricacy to the parts I never noticed before, marveling at how a 16-year-old gave all eight musicians such interesting, independent parts.

Yes, I enjoyed the video also. The semi-circle arrangement is perfect for eye-to-eye contact between the players and standing instead of sitting allows for increased physical and communication freedom. I think I've mentioned ths before, but I don't think I could function reading sheet music from a tablet as these players are.

[Florestan]

I never ever close my eyes during a live concert. If anything, visuals of any sort, from overdone performers bodily movements to female performers good looking, they only enhance my enjoyment of music.


Heinrich Heine and Schumann both made a formal point: close your eyes and half of Paganini's or Liszt's magic is gone.

 

[LKB]

Definitely Shostakovich's 11th Symphony when I was sitting directly behind the percussion! It was so exciting when the players stood up just before the great tumult of the final section. Also Shostakovich's 4th Symphony.

For the most part, transitioning to the oboe left no lingering regrets after a decade spent on the various percussion instruments, mostly on timpani.

But yeah, if l had my druthers in an orchestra performing that work, I'd be back on the timps. 

[Florestan]

Forget Amadio... here's the real thing...

[brewski]

Thank you so much for posting this! What really stands out about watching a performance like this is that the visual cue of seeing someone play can tune your ears to listen to them, specifically, and then you hear a wealth of detail you've never noticed before. Watching this Mendelssohn Octet is a great example. I'm seeing all sorts of intricacy to the parts I never noticed before, marveling at how a 16-year-old gave all eight musicians such interesting, independent parts.

By the way, to answer the question: my favorite symphonic music to enjoy watching is stuff where the percussionists have to run around from instrument to instrument 

Yes to all.

I will say, the subject of body language with musicians is a fair topic of discussion. Personally, I enjoy seeing musicians who are clearly moved by what they are playing. That said, then you have people who go overboard (L*ng L*ng, I'm looking at you ) and their movements are genuinely distracting. Some artists, I fear, seem to think that "increasing movement makes things more exciting," which of course, is not always the case.

If the joy, pain, humor, stress, and other things are genuine, I like seeing all of those on display. 

-Bruce

[prémont]

Forget Amadio... here's the real thing...

Funny enough one gets the feeling that she isn't too comfortable with the instrument.