Boyce Lancaster talks with Maestro Albert-George Schram, former staff conductor of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, about making music that lasts. Schram confesses that what he thinks is profound music may not correspond to audiences' expectations, and that sometimes orchestras need to supply escapism. [audio src="http://wosu.org/audio/classical/2006/MakingMusicthatLasts2.mp3"]
Highlights From This Interview:
Albert-George: "It's not any easier than it was to make an 80-piece orchestra very viable for the community in which it lives, because communities have changed to the degree that (orchestras) are not part of a culture that it once was." Boyce: "And it is no better pointed out that when you go to a pops performances, whether it is Picnic With Pops, or any pops performances by an orchestra: they're always the most heavily-attended, because I think people are looking for ways to get away from the reality of their lives and go and have a little fun for awhile. So sitting out on the lawn and having a bottle of wine and a couple of sandwiches and listening to The Four Tops come in and sing with the symphony - it's escapism. That's entertainment." Albert-George: "What I'm learning is you never know exactly what touches the soul of the people that listen to you. Just because I have big opinions, and I can talk about them for an hour, it's not necessarily the stuff that's going to touch the soul. It's not necessarily going to be Mahler or Beethoven. It could be Barber's Adagio for Strings, or the Marche au supplice by Berlioz, or, for that matter, some John Williams.