The Planets was out of this world

Monday evening, I had the pleasure of conducting Gustav Holst's masterpiece, The Planets. Orchestra Kentucky played the multi-movement suite for large orchestra, while sychronized animation and planetary photos from NASA's Hubble telescope played on a 25 foot screen overhead.

This was a milestone for the orchestra. It was the first time we had 85 professional musicians on stage. And, it was the first time that a season opener of classical music sold out: 1,035 seats, to be exact. This all begs the question: was it the music that drew the crowds or was it the music AND the video? I think it was the later.

Good or bad, we are a visual society. Ever since Star Wars hit the movie theatres in the '70s, we want ALL of our senses engaged in order to be entertained. Star Wars gave us one of the first memorable experiences of hearing great symphonic music, accompanying a visually stimulating film. Now, many of us are not content to simply listen to great music and watch the musicians on stage. We want our orchestra concerts to include the eye candy found in films.

Is this need for visuals a bad thing? It's bad in that it adds to the cost of producing a concert: $6,000 in the case of Monday's concert. But overall, I don't think things have changed much over the years. Ever since Leonard Bernstein, conductors must be worth watching from behind. They must be graceful, inspiring, etc. Gone are the days of "boring" conductors, like Fritz Reiner or Eugene Ormandy, who foolishly thought their job was to make great music--not to put on a show for the audience. (Note my sarcasm.) Even in the '80s (the 1880s, that is), audiences craved the grand spectacles of Wagner's operas, which included elaborate sets, costumes AND a gargantuan orchestra and singing cast.

No, things aren't really different these days. It's just the type of eye candy that has changed.