Concerts combine symphonies, science, history
By Maryia Krivoruchko
Nov. 27, 2007 9:01 p.m.
A science lecture is one of the last things you’d expect to hear at an orchestra concert.
The UCLA Philharmonia, however, is bridging the gap between North and South campuses with two concerts that combine symphony with science and history.
The performances provide an extramusical perspective, with lectures preceding the music.
“We want to give a look behind the music and an explanation as to why it is so great,” said Neal Stulberg, UCLA visiting director of orchestral studies.
The first concert, “Messiaen’s Birds: The Greatest Musicians” showcases Olivier Messiaen’s “bird symphony,” in which musical instruments represent different birdcalls.
“Messiaen was an avid bird-watcher and ornithologist, as well as musician. He actually transcribed birdsong into music,” Stulberg said.
The symphony “Oiseaux Exotiques” presents the calls of 47 different birds, complemented with Greek and Hindu percussion rhythms, woodwinds, brass and piano solo.
The program will complement this musical look at birdcalls with a scientific one, presenting a talk about the field of ornithology ““ the study of birds. Doctoral candidate Neil Losin, from the UCLA Department of Ecology and Environmental Biology, will give a presentation on the latest birdsong research and its relationship to linguistics, biology and even neuroscience.
The following night the ensemble from the bird symphony will join the full UCLA Orchestra for “Seeking Fantastique,” a two-part multimedia event and presentation of Hector Berlioz’s revolutionary “Symphonie Fantastique.”
The first half of the program is a multimedia sound exploration giving the history and background to the unusual piece, providing a deeper understand of the music.
After intermission, the full orchestra will perform “Symphonie Fantastique” in its entirety.
Robert Winter, who has performed this event all over the world, urges students not to be deterred by the educational experience.
“The first half of the program is anything but a boring speech,” Winter said.
The symphony is a tale of a young artist’s visions while on an opium overdose. He goes on a vivid search to find the woman he is obsessed with, eventually marching to his own execution.
“Symphonie Fantastique” is one of the first pieces in the Romantic period. Unlike the previous Viennese classicists, Romantic composers regarded music as a way of telling a story and conveying human emotion. The Romantic musical styling is complex and colorful with greater dissonance.
The orchestra members are excited about performing the complicated musical story.
“It is musical genius,” said Isaac Melamed, principal cellist of the philharmonia. “Berlioz uses the orchestra as a vessel for conveying his dream. The piece itself is very difficult, but we very much enjoy it.”
