The Gustav Mahler Orchestra took place in Europe during one of the summer classical music festivals. The orchestra took place in 2013. The orchestra’s performers are young people under twenty-six years of age. This paper discusses the venue, performers, as well as audience.
Firstly, the architects of the hall where the orchestra performed have well-thought-out seating arrangements for both performers and spectators. A part of the audience had the opportunity to watch the orchestra from the balcony. In addition, the farthest row was higher than all the other rows, which made it possible to observe the performance of young musicians freely. On the one hand, such an arrangement of the audience made musicians feel the audience’s presence from all sides and were the center of attention. On the other hand, it was inconvenient for viewers sitting behind the performers. However, this did not prevent all the audience from listening to the performance and feeling each instrument. Musicians arranged themselves in a semicircle to see the conductor’s commands. Performers of stringed instruments were located in the front, closer to the conductor, and speakers with wind and percussion instruments were behind.
Secondly, musical performers and their conductor have demonstrated their outstanding professionalism. The conductor is in the very heart of the hall and enthusiastically sets the rhythm to his orchestra. Seeing a large hall full of people, some excitement about what kind of responsibility all the musicians of the orchestra and the conductor himself take on appears. Their unrest was noticeable at the beginning of the performance when they were preparing and waiting for their moment (“BBC Proms, Wagner, Ravel, Shostakovich”, 00:01:19 – 00:01:23). However, the professionalism of the conductor struck; he walked into the hall in a relaxed manner, greeted the audience, looked at his performers, and nodded to them, making sure they were ready and at the same time giving them a sign that everything should go well. During the performance, the conductor merged into his performance and seemed to be in the world of music playing with his young musicians (“BBC Proms, Wagner, Ravel, Shostakovich”, 01:37:48 – 01:37:51). It confirmed that the audience is faced with professionals who put their heart into their performances.
Thirdly, the audience watched the orchestra with interest throughout the performance and were pleasantly impressed. The spectators were dominated mainly by people over forty or fifty. As it is noticeable, the audience consisted more of men than women. Also, in the hall, a group of the younger generation was watching the orchestra musicians with interest. Judging by the fact that most of the audience was sitting with glasses and watches on their wrists, the audience consisted of groups of people with education. They were dressed in simple, comfortable clothes, but everyone looked neat. Furthermore, spectators applauded each performance vigorously and shared their impressions with a smile on their faces, the audience was not visiting the orchestra for the first time, and they had something to discuss with other viewers (“BBC Proms, Wagner, Ravel, Shostakovich”, 01:38:50 – 01:38:57). However, it was also possible to discern those who were probably bored and want to sleep during the performance (“BBC Proms, Wagner, Ravel, Shostakovich”, 01: 39:34 – 01:39:36). Nevertheless, most of the audience sat and watched with interest the playing of the notes.
Finally, the performance of young musicians’ orchestra was successful, as the concert hall was favorable and convenient for the audience. The performers were organized and united under the conductor’s guidance and could convey the music’s beauty. Meanwhile, the audience was delighted with the performance and applauded, standing up without hiding their admiration.
Work Cited
“BBC Proms 2013, Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, Jordan, Thibaudet / Wagner, Ravel, Shostakovich.” YouTube, uploaded by client85, 2013.