“Let’s blame the Internet for everything. That’s always a fun thing to do,” laughs Ronald Vermeulen, Director of Artistic Planning for the MSO. “Everything these days is now available at a mouse click. You don’t have to leave your house, you can live in a virtual world if you want to. The behavioural patterns of how people engage in the arts has changed. There is a much a wider variety of arts that people are interested in. People are more open to other art forms.”
Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis
In recent years the MSO have entered a new artistic era under the leadership of Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis, who began the role in January 2013. This era has seen the orchestra combine both archetypal and classical programming alongside dynamic contemporary works. Whether it be collaborating with the likes of Detroit techno icon Jeff Mills (of which the only show sold out well in advance), performing live scores of “cult classics” such as Back To The Future (of which two extra shows were added to meet demand), or the implementation of their Muso program (an initiative that offers $30 tickets to a range of classical concerts for those aged 18 to 35), the MSO have been able to introduce orchestral music to a younger audience, while the old guard have still been treated to favourites such as Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Verdi’s Messa de Requiem.
Most recently, the MSO announced a collaboration with electronic duo Flight Facilities to take place as part of the 2015 Melbourne Festival at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. All 12,000 tickets to the single show sold out within two hours. To put it in perspective, that equates to almost 10% of the entire amount of tickets that were sold in their 2010 season – one that featured 157 performances.
The Godfather Live In Concert
“The range of our repertoire and the projects that we’re doing range from the hardcore classical to the more commercial and contemporary,” says Vermeulen. “The scope is immense and I believe that’s the only way that a modern orchestra can and should operate. For us one of the most important things is that we are not an elitist organisation. We are not just there for the happy few who love their Wagner or their Mahler. We are an orchestra who plays for everybody in Melbourne who wants to come and listen.”
Vermeulen is one of the most respected artistic administrators in the world. With over 15 years experience he has held roles at many of the world’s leading orchestras, including The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra Amsterdam, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and the Residentie Orchestra in The Hague. Most recently he served four years as the Head of Programming at the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.
Vermeulen took to his post at the MSO in November last year. “When given this role I thought that this was a really interesting orchestra,” he says. “That it was an extremely modern orchestra that is spot-on 21st Century, more so than many of the European orchestras. I feel that this orchestra is at the forefront of new developments.”
This ideology is vividly noticeable when reading through the 2016 season, which features a kaleidoscopic range of productions from all ends of the musical spectrum. In February the orchestra will fill Hamer Hall with some of the most suspenseful music and iconic cinematic imagery of the 20th Century with Hitchcock & Herrmann, which will feature music, images and footage from seven of the films worked on by revered director Alfred Hitchcock and US composer Bernard Herrmann (including Vertigo, The Trouble with Harry, North By Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Wrong Man and of course, Psycho) all played by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the MSO Chorus.
Psycho – Hitchcock & Herrmann
In March and April, Justin Freer will conduct a performance of Nita Rota’s score of Coppola’s The Godfather; and in July Cirque de la Symphonie will see the orchestra perform alongside international circus performers including aerial flyers, jugglers, strongmen, contortionists and more. These are just some of the contemporary highlights in the 2016 program, with several more to be revealed within the coming months. Classical fans will be well-looked after, too: Sir Andrew Davis will conduct Strauss’ An Alpine Symphony; Benjamin Northey will conduct Holst’s The Planets; Beethoven lovers are in for a great year, with English pianist Paul Lewis set to play a cycle of his Piano Concertos conducted by Douglas Boyd (who conducted the Beethoven Symphonies with the MSO in 2011); and 2016 will also mark the third year of the MSO’s Mahler odyssey, and will see the performance of two of his grandest works, the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies.
“I come from an orchestra where it was very normal to play contemporary music. That’s not the case here,” Vermeulen says. “We have to take audiences by the hand and tell them, ‘Hey, trust us’. You’re not going to die from listening to 20 minutes of a score that’s completely unfamiliar, but you may find something really beautiful in it.
“People are creatures of comfort, audiences are creatures of comfort. We do have to be careful, and I do worry about it, but it’s just a matter of carefully balancing things when crafting a program. At the end of the day we are in the arts business, and the arts business has to renew itself. Either you have to create new work, or create settings where older pieces are being seen and heard in a new light.”
Cirque de la Symphonie
It’s not just their seasoned programming that is kicking goals, with the MSO’s recognition of the need to reach the youth spreading far further than just the concert hall. Their Secret Symphony program takes classical music to contemporary locations such as the Melbourne Aquarium and Platform One (under Flinders’ Street Station), with venues announced only hours before the event. Their beloved free summer outdoor concerts expose classical music to thousands of new audience members every year, and their Muso initiative is an enticing way to showcase classical music to youths at affordable prices, alongside providing invites to special members-only events such as Beerhoven, which sees beer and wine tastings matched to classical music pieces performed by MSO musicians in unique spaces.
“There will always be an audience who want to experience symphonic music in a concert hall, but you need to do more. You need to do things that appeal to different audiences. For people who go to Secret Symphony or Beerhoven, we’re working on a product for them to go to next. I can imagine that someone who may go to a Secret Symphony would love to see the orchestra, but not necessarily in a two-hour concert in Hamer Hall.
“What we’re doing a lot more of now is looking at the population and our potential audiences and finding out how they want to enjoy music – how can we cater for them and how do we develop that? It’s an illusion to think that just because you go to a Secret Symphony that we can give you a ticket to see a Bruckner symphony in Hamer Hall and you’ll enjoy it straight away. I can’t imagine that adding up.
“We’re looking at new ways to showcase the value of orchestral music. It’s a great experience. Beethoven still has something to tell a contemporary audience, but perhaps not in a normal concert atmosphere, but in a different way. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony sounds different if it’s performed in a factory, and it’s a different experience. We’re looking for those kind of links.”
Associate Conductor Benjamin Northey
With escalating box office figures, an ever-growing international footprint, Vermeulen at the helm and the recent announcement that Sir Andrew Davis has extended his contract as Chief Conductor until 2019, the future of this 109-year-old orchestra looks brighter than ever.
“I’m already working on our 2017 season, and there are so many ideas coming in. We’re planning to diversify a lot more with our more commercial projects, the films and our alternative offerings. We’re building on the ideas that we’ve already laid down and taking them even further, trying new things and taking another step. We want to do this every year. We want to reach out much, much more than ever before. Every season we will see how far we can go on our journey.”
BY TYSON WRAY
Lead photo by Matt Irwin
