Sounds and sweet airs
We spent the morning at the Purcell School of music watching Sir Simon Rattle produce the most magnificent performance of the 3rd and 4th movements of Brahms Second Symphony from the senior orchestra, none of whom is aged over 18.
Before the performance we sat through an hour's rehearsal. If only every workforce had the benefit of the boss's undivided attention, explaining to each and every member what is expected of them and how to get the most out of their work.
More often the chairman is busy speaking to analysts or trying to flog the company, caring little about its products or services or the people who do the work. Asked to identify with their staff, a lot of them would be hard put to speak the same language.
But Rattle was different, working with this talented group of players, and concentrating more on interpretation than on technical issues. It's difficult for orchestra members to strike the right balance between the technical requirements of the music, their individual contributions to the overall sound, and the passion that must be invested to ensure that the composition is delivered with feeling.
Sir Simon quoted Brahms who once advised his own students to practice "one hour a day less and read one more good book."
"You must make your own stories and tell your own stories so you don't get in to the idea that music is something you do as a profession. The moment we think it's a profession we're lost," said Rattle.
Here was an artist painting music with people. In a typical interruption he told the orchestra: "I don't get the feeling that means anything apart from a crochet and F-sharp major. You have to make it mean something." And, you know, they did.
When it came to performing the piece just a quarter of an hour after the rehearsal, the difference was astonishing - measured yet vibrant. It wasn't a group of kids performing out there but a finely tuned and practised orchestra.
Ten minutes later, performance over, they were teenagers again, milling around the school grounds, joshing among themselves. There are some stars of the future in this school, and a few who are stars right now.
The Purcell is one of just four dedicated music secondary schools in England. Children come from all over the world to study here. But music shouldn't be confined to select schools. It should be up there, majoring on the national curriculum. Every child should be learning an instrument from the day they enter education.
Geography, Chemistry, History: why are they more important than music? We struggle in the UK to learn languages but music is international. It speaks to the world.
Before the performance we sat through an hour's rehearsal. If only every workforce had the benefit of the boss's undivided attention, explaining to each and every member what is expected of them and how to get the most out of their work.
More often the chairman is busy speaking to analysts or trying to flog the company, caring little about its products or services or the people who do the work. Asked to identify with their staff, a lot of them would be hard put to speak the same language.
But Rattle was different, working with this talented group of players, and concentrating more on interpretation than on technical issues. It's difficult for orchestra members to strike the right balance between the technical requirements of the music, their individual contributions to the overall sound, and the passion that must be invested to ensure that the composition is delivered with feeling.
Sir Simon quoted Brahms who once advised his own students to practice "one hour a day less and read one more good book."
"You must make your own stories and tell your own stories so you don't get in to the idea that music is something you do as a profession. The moment we think it's a profession we're lost," said Rattle.
Here was an artist painting music with people. In a typical interruption he told the orchestra: "I don't get the feeling that means anything apart from a crochet and F-sharp major. You have to make it mean something." And, you know, they did.
When it came to performing the piece just a quarter of an hour after the rehearsal, the difference was astonishing - measured yet vibrant. It wasn't a group of kids performing out there but a finely tuned and practised orchestra.
Ten minutes later, performance over, they were teenagers again, milling around the school grounds, joshing among themselves. There are some stars of the future in this school, and a few who are stars right now.
The Purcell is one of just four dedicated music secondary schools in England. Children come from all over the world to study here. But music shouldn't be confined to select schools. It should be up there, majoring on the national curriculum. Every child should be learning an instrument from the day they enter education.
Geography, Chemistry, History: why are they more important than music? We struggle in the UK to learn languages but music is international. It speaks to the world.
Labels: Brahms, national curriculum, Purcell School, Sir Simon Rattle
posted by Richard Donkin at
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