Conductor Breaks Down Orchestra Scenes From Movies & TV | WIRED

[Music] start practicing harder you guys can really play hi everybody i'm marinelle sub marin began conducting in 1980 she's currently the chief conductor of the vienna radio symphony orchestra today i'll be breaking down clips from movies and tv about orchestras technique mr holland's opus [Music] when he starts the piece it looks as though it's going to be a very quiet opening certainly not in the drums you really have to set up the drums in a much bigger way [Music] another big issue i have with this clip is that i can't imagine any student orchestra playing at this level the high trumpets the horns the articulation this is way way way beyond a high school orchestra could possibly play the character of mr holland he's basically just beating time it's a very robotic approach to conducting with both arms doing the exact same thing and this is one of the basic conducting issues that we try to discourage our students from doing we're not here to impress each other conducting is all about separating your hands so that you can create two different worlds the right hand controls the pulse the beat and has to be in a pattern a four pattern two three four a three pattern one two three or two pattern and the left hand is all about emotion about gesture about dynamics this is getting louder this is getting softer there's a lot that the musicians read from our faces but mostly it's working on this independence of hands which he doesn't exhibit whatsoever in this clip we know that this is a sort of a very empowering and emotional scene [Music] but from watching his gestures we really wouldn't know that a little error there lingo amadeus come let's begin a minor confrontation the lingo used here is a combination of two things one is the text for the requiem mass and this is from the latin text for the mass and the section that they're working on is the confutates [Music] so that's actually the lyric that mozart is composing at that moment yes yes yes yes yes yes yes go on boka may soto voce write that down soto voce yes yes when mozart asks salieri to please write in sota voce that's an italian instruction that composers use to describe the quality of the sound and soto voce means under voice so it's almost like whispering and yes and underneath just violins arpeggios or the other term arpeggio that's when the orchestration outlines the triads outlines the notes descending scale in eighth notes and then back to the astanato again and that's it that's an arpeggio listen to me i don't understand listen when salieri says i don't understand i don't think that's realistic he would have definitely understood i don't understand the director is trying to point out how advanced mozart was yes yes yes yes yes go on i absolutely love this movie it's historically not 100 accurate it's not to be believed but it so captures the immense talent of mozart thank you and the sense that he knew what he wanted to write and he could just put it right into the full score just out of his head as if he were just taking dictation music already finished in his head motivation whiplash [Music] were you rushing or were you dragging you know i can barely discern that he's rushing ever so slightly but you know often musicians they need a little bit of runway to get into the groove of a piece especially young musicians the teacher has absolutely no tolerance for any kind of imperfection start counting five six seven four damn it look at me one two three four one two i think this kind of approach you know where you break where a teacher breaks a student and then re-mold them and rebuild them in in kind of in their image it's a very self-centered narcissistic way of teaching [Music] it can be effective because it's terrifying but i don't think people learn out of fear start practicing harder neiman whiplash bar 125. the music business is highly competitive it's not unusual in a student setting to have competitions for the first chair so you know this can be either an extremely productive and positive experience or it can be like it is in whiplash it can be a competition almost to the death why are you still sitting there get the out novice conductor mr bean when i start the opening of beethoven's fifth symphony always have to be very careful not to make a gesture before that opening gesture because somebody will play and that's what's so cute about this it makes me laugh out loud he just moves the baton and he gets a cord [Music] as a first time conductor i definitely give him high marks he understands the idea of body language and response that's what comes across so clearly in this little clip conducting a choir sister act [Music] first of all i have to say i love her enthusiasm [Music] you'll notice in this clip and and it's quite realistic that whoopi doesn't use any baton she uses just her hands this is quite typical of choir conductors it's more about dictating what's happening and really describing it with your with both hands as opposed to very elaborate patterns and trying to give cues to everyone this is a much more visceral kind of approach to conducting and i find that with choirs it really works well [Music] i absolutely adore whoopi goldberg i think she's phenomenal in this role we can rock this place there's so much heart in it and i think as a conductor that's really what we're trying to do we're trying to inspire others to be the best they can be that's our goal [Music] rehearsal unorthodox okay the thing that i love about this clip is that the orchestra is really playing the dvorak string serenade the level that they're playing at is a level that would be consistent with a student orchestra [Music] dasia where are you today i was playing the wrong boys that's not exactly what a young violinist would say they would say i was on the wrong bow or i was doing the wrong bowings in essence what it means is that someone is out of sync where are you today when one player in a section is going in opposition it can really upset the look of the section and the ensemble too because string sections are accustomed to doing the same bowings at the same time what we're seeing is the main character trying to imagine herself in this setting but what i loved about this series is that it didn't pretend to suddenly make a virtuoso out of someone who couldn't possibly have achieved that level yet there are singers who are born with beautiful voices but no one comes out of brooklyn after a few lessons on the piano ready to play the philharmonie instead it was much more realistic about whether she could get into this conservatory and if so on what instrument not on the piano not ever i'm sorry imitation copying beethoven we see the premiere of beethoven's final symphony his monumental ninth symphony and by this time in his life he was almost entirely deaf [Music] he's following the conducting of the actress in front of him and really imitating her gestures because of course he can't hear the orchestra and can't react to it [Music] it's not an easy thing to do to do the exact opposite of what you normally do i actually have played in an orchestra where someone who didn't read music was taught to conduct in this way it was a very odd thing to experience but it was quite fascinating in a way to see this kind of symbiotic conducting [Music] experience the premiere of beethoven's ninth symphony could not have possibly sounded this good the piece was incredibly hard for the orchestra of that day they only had one day of rehearsal i want to say while i enjoy this clip so much i think that the playing is far too good you must experience these works of mine conducting dancers mozart in the jungle [Music] we don't even know where this music is coming from [Music] but this whole scene plays into this maestro mythology you know the idea of the conductor as this magician this inaccessible and talented creature it's very mysterious that somehow can conjure up music from thin air i mean of course i don't believe this for a second this is not really an instance of dancers reacting to the conductor because they clearly have their own choreography and their own movements i think this whole series mozart in the jungle has been absolutely wonderful for classical music in terms of bringing it into our homes and demystifying it but it also is a bit unrealistic relationships meeting venus members of the orchestra work according to a schedule agreed between the union and the management so it was pointless to have a real soul yesterday and it will be equally pointless to talk about my ideas today i think this is a fascinating clip because it really gives you some insight into the hierarchy of you know who's who's really in charge i beg you to let me work please when we see conductors with orchestras they are clearly you know in the alpha role but when we see conductors in the opera house the conductor has to contend of course with the musicians will you be here i don't know i haven't looked that much have you you have a diva like glenn close cory may i introduce to you maestro santo you have to deal with that the conductor is definitely on the bottom of this hierarchy that is not something that would normally happen the soloist speaks with the conductor and says what's our plan what shall we do and then the conductor would ask the orchestra please let's turn to this arya i have great empathy for the character santos the conductor in this clip we didn't agree to anything maya's maestro we weren't even here yesterday there have been situations that i've been in where oh people don't show up or someone's ill and i've gone to an upper performance and i have a different cast in the evening from what i had at the rehearsal you have to somehow manage all of these catastrophes do you see what i have to put up with all the time can you shut them up switching genres school of rock in this scene jack black discovers that his students are really proficient at classical music you guys can really play why didn't anyone tell me now he wants to introduce them to rock music and make a really fantastic band one two three four yes classical musicians that go into rock i think have a really fun time letting loose i think when rock musicians come over to classical music sometimes they're shocked by the rigidity of this style of music nothing could be harder what i absolutely love about this scene and about this whole movie is jack black's enthusiasm [Music] he's just dying to share his passion with us yes all right let's go i think that is the number one criteria for being a conductor is to want and really insist on sharing one's passion for the music it's really about capturing the groove for everything that's ultimately the conductor's main job is capturing that groove so i love it all right practice the orchestra rehearsal [Music] it's clear that no one's playing an instrument their bows are going all which ways they're playing at different times he's conducting on the wrong beat at the bar so there's a sense of [Music] chaos when the conductor is speaking while you're playing you can't hear what he's saying or she is saying i've certainly never had musicians disrobe down to the skin in rehearsals he's trying to catch someone out and really reprimand them in front of the entire orchestra which i think is is inappropriate under any circumstance i think there's no turning back for this conductor at this point the point of this film is the individual characters and it's the idea of the individual revolting against the establishment which is represented by the conductor this isn't a highly political film and it's about much more than an orchestra rehearsal [Applause] wrong note hannibal red dragon and hannibal goes to the concert hall and listens to a performance of mendelson's midsummer night's dream [Music] and he notices a few problems in the orchestra people make mistakes and i think it's important as the conductor to notice it of course but how the conductor reacts can really impact the the entire piece from there on [Music] as soon as you start to kind of reprimand with your face all the musicians start to go down this path it can be like a domino effect that everyone starts playing wrong notes or everyone starts having errors i think if i were a musician in the orchestra and i looked out and i saw hannibal sitting in the audience i would have a bad day and play wrong notes too conclusion this was a wonderful experience to look at all of these clips and analyze them it made me realize what a metaphor music is and and how much we connect with it on so many levels

Channel: WIRED

Views: 506,097

Rating: 4.965313 out of 5

Keywords: orchestra, technique critique, technique critique orchestea, technique critique orchestra, conducting scenes, conductor scenes, wired conductor, marin alsop, marin alsop conductor, vienna radio symphony orchestra, vienna radio symphony orchestra wired, conductor breaks down orchestra scenes, mr hollands opus, conductor movie scenes, mr hollands opus reaction, whiplash reaction, whiplash review, conductor reviews orchestra scenes, condutor reviews orchestra, wired

Id: c2z9zFBcZKU

Length: 20min 39sec (1239 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 26 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/beets_bears_bubblegm]

MARIN, THE LEGEND AND ICON! This makes me so happy

[u/redsandrevolt]

They forgot bugs bunny - a night at the opera.

[u/iscreamuscreamweall]

marin alsop is the real deal

[u/Purple-Paper]

Learned a lot. Interesting.

[u/Petricoral]

So many iconic scenes!

[u/16note]

I love Maestra Alsop, she’s is a true treasure!

[u/zach8vb]

Man, she was supposed to come conduct the Colorado Symphony in March playing a wicked cool program. Fuckin Rona...

[u/tayfree423]

Fascinating interview and insight. It's a shame her microphone kept clipping out, you think this Wired group would know what they're doing by now. Either way good stuff.