This was my favorite bit of the relatively brief article from the London Telegraph:
“We have this strange situation where the period ensembles have taken over the really early music, say up to Mozart,” he says. “And on the other side you have new music ensembles who play only that. The standard orchestras find that their repertoire is always shrinking. In the future the orchestra will have to think in a different way – it can’t forever be this rigid formation of 100 players fixed in one role.”
3 replies on “ivan fischer on orchestras today”
It shouldn’t be that way. I think by and large, the West Coast orchestra (OSO included) have done a pretty good job at avoiding that trap — or trying to, at least.
However, it doesn’t mean that all early music must be done the way period ensembles play it. Many think that other approaches are just as legitimate.
Robert – I think he’s getting at the fact that modern orchestras should have the flexibility to do different things at different times – not just having all members playing as many concerts as possible. I think that the trend of the ‘big’ orchestras returning to doing the major works of JS Bach, for example, is very welcome – we shouldn’t be deprived of doing these amazing masterworks from our own point of view.