Restructuring Classical Music

Summary:

Classical music has become marginalized in America. The flagship classical music ensembles that provide the bulk of performance employment – symphony orchestras – continue to struggle or fail. This risks the loss of professional performances of the great orchestral works of the classical music canon.  Restructuring Classical Music argues for a shift away from a focus on symphony orchestras that put a financially straining 80 – 108 musicians on a stage. As an alternative, it calls for a move towards more stable, enduring, less labor intensive and less expensive chamber orchestras, thereby rightsizing orchestras to the needs and funding capacities of their communities.

It also calls for expanding the reach of the Canon by transcribing some of these great works for chamber orchestra and proves the viability of this process by presenting three masterworks from the German, French, and Russian schools, representing almost 1000 pages of scores and parts.  Extreme Transcription enumerates the methodologies and modalities developed for achieving this transcription process with both audio and score examples.

Further, Restructuring Classical Music eschews the focus on the geographical centralization of orchestras in downtown concert halls, as well as the failed outreach activities used by U.S. orchestras to acquire new patrons. It instead presents and documents a model that orchestras can use for systematically capturing the essence of their communities by learning the lessons of the brilliant model developed by the Brooklyn Philharmonic in 2011-13 through The Brooklyn Model. By combining classical music with the culture and music of their chosen communities, professional orchestras as well as classical ensembles of any size can regain relevance in American society while preserving the canon.  It is a significant work that will be published as a book with a foreword by a major U.S. conductor.

Given that there are implications to making changes to the classical music masterworks examined in Extreme Transcription, there are further issues discussed in Thoughts. Some argue against changing something that is already perfect and the composer’s intention. Others aver that the sharing of the classical music canon in any form is justifiable if it emotionally moves people. Who is right? Only time and the marketplace will tell.

Performances of the Transcribed Works

In December 8-10, 2021, Michael Drapkin flew to the Czech Republic to oversee the recording of the full works that he transcribed for chamber orchestra with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava.  The orchestra did a fantastic job, and it was led by his dear friend and conductor Mark Laycock, who has conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra and many others.  During those sessions, they recorded 1000 pages of scores and parts.

Subsequently, two record labels vied to release these as recordings, and he chose to go with the Pro Organo label from Zarex Corporation.  Zarex is led by Frederick Hohman, who also engineered the post production on his Ostrava Recordings.  These recordings have been released on Naxos, as well as on Spotify and Apple Music.

Naxos submitted the Strauss recording below to NARAS for Grammy consideration.

These works have since been performed by professional orchestras on three continents.

In 2023, The Venice Symphony in Florida commissioned Drapkin to transcribe the entire Nutcracker Ballet from full symphony orchestra to 26 instruments – 1500 pages of scores and parts. It was premiered by the Venice Symphony at the Venice Performing Arts Center in December, 2023.

Below are videos from the recording sessions, with the final mixed audio, and interspersed with images from the Czech recording sessions.

Richard Strauss:  Salome’s Dance, Op. 54 (1904-1905)

Transcribed for Chamber Orchestra by Michael Drapkin

Nikolai Rimsky Koraskov: Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34 (1887)

Transcribed for Chamber Orchestra by Michael Drapkin

Hector Berlioz:  Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14 (1830)

Transcribed for Chamber Orchestra by Michael Drapkin

Berlioz Movement I: Reveries – Passions

Berlioz Movement II: A Ball

Berlioz Movement III: Scene in the Country

Berlioz Movement IV: March to the Gallows

Berlioz Movement V: Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath

The Brooklyn Model: A model for orchestras to capture the essence of their communities, combining classical music with their culture and music, and regaining relevance in American society.

The Brooklyn Model will be published as a book with a major U.S. conductor writing the foreword.

The Brooklyn Model eschews the geographical centralization of orchestras in downtown concert halls, as well as the failed outreach activities used by U.S. orchestras to acquire new patrons.  It instead provides and documents a model that orchestras can use for systematically capturing the essence of their communities by learning the lessons of the brilliant model developed by the Brooklyn Philharmonic in 2011-13 through The Brooklyn Model  By combining classical music with the culture and music of their chosen communities, professional orchestras as well as classical ensembles of any size can regain relevance in American society while preserving the Canon.

 

Thoughts About Restructuring Classical Music: The implications to making changes to canonical symphony orchestra masterworks.

Given that there are implications to making changes to classical music masterworks using the Extreme Transcription methodologies, there are also aesthetic and ethical issues.  Some argue against changing something that is already perfect and the composer’s intention.  Others aver that the sharing of the classical music canon in any form is justifiable if it emotionally moves people.  Who is right?  Only time and the marketplace will tell.

Below will appear a series of essays on these subjects.