Re: last month's column ... So true about the classical recording labels snatching up young "eye candy" performers for their CD covers and sales. Have you noticed this trend where they're dressed for a night at the Oscars, but have bare feet? How can performers concentrate on making music when they're groomed to sell "cool"? I grew up on Luciano Pavarotti and James Levine's Met Opera recordings. I guess they were grandfathered in, before the supermodel requirement. I'm not saying these young beauties shouldn't get a chance, but really, do my ears care how thin and young they are?
I hope not, Leslie. Your ears should care how well they play, and do they ever! The labels can't risk signing someone who would tarnish their reputation. On the lighter side, yes, I did notice the barefoot trend! Don't you see? The young beauties are trying to stay grounded, like Pavarotti, but they need all the help they can get with only 12 percent body fat. Your beloved Luciano's countrymen, by the way, will be filling the air during "Our Favorite Italians," the KING FM Classic Weekend at the end of this month, in honor of Seattle's Festa Italiana (http://www.festaseattle.com/entertainment.htm). Among the festival's entertainers, tenor Aaron Caruso - no relation to the legendary Enrico, though it's convenient - and diva Julie Cascioppo will be singing Italian favorites. As if to illustrate your point, it won't matter how they sound to those who leave their ears at home. Let's just say that the appeal of these entertainers ... intersects ... with a sightseeing program.
Maybe that's the conceit of the major classical labels. "So your ears can't be persuaded to roam? Then roving eyes, this is for you. Our Escada-draped nubilesque lounges for your delight, and bares her sensuously groomed feet. Are you shocked by the unshod? No shame on us: she shoulders a Stradivarius."
Take courage, Leslie. A Strad-wielder who has bared no feet for a CD cover is an honored guest this month in Seattle. This much-loved artist will tune up our Classic KING FM Weekend Sept. 15-17, and fill Benaroya Hall for Seattle Symphony's gala opening night on Sept. 15. Yo-Yo Ma is back in town, with his Stradivarius cello and some seriously sensible shoes.
What makes Yo-Yo so loved around the world? I've talked to many performing musicians over the years, and somehow they've all played with Yo-Yo Ma. And get this: they all report that the cellist took time to sit down with them and make music. Either an informal reading of some chamber music, or sheer improvisation. A private jam session with a multiple Grammy-winner. And they all report that Yo-Yo had a blast. Wouldn't that make you a fan for life?
Experimentation and collaboration define Ma's career. There seems to be no music he won't try. Even more impressive is his attitude about performance practice. He's willing to drop the technique he's mastered and try a new approach, even if it means starting at zero.
For a Baroque recording project, he had a John Wayne swagger while he adjusted to a side effect of playing 18th-century style, with his reverse-engineered cello squeezed between his legs. He had removed the modern end pin that keeps the cello off the floor. He had replaced steel strings with gut. Without familiar crutches, his sound changed, and he liked it. So did his recording label when they saw the reviews and got the receipts.
Yo-Yo's cello is back to modern now, and for his Seattle appearance he'll be playing Saint-Saëns' first Cello Concerto and Fauré's Elegy for Cello and Orchestra. Maestro Gerard Schwarz will make his friend feel nostalgic for his city of birth, with Gershwin's "An American in Paris." Yes, American Yo-Yo Ma is Paris-born, to Chinese parents. The cultural mixing for which he is famous has some grounding. The Symphony's French program rounds out with pieces by Ravel. For one, the orchestra's lone snare drummer must deliver a perfect 10 in Ravel's most film-famous, and most ... hmmm, ... linear ... piece of music. If you want to know more, come to the pre-concert lecture I'm giving for that night, Leslie. Stop and say hi. And go to king.org to hear my recent interview with another globe-conquering player who keeps his shoes on, Joshua Bell.
Sean MacLean can be heard weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. on king.org and 98.1 KING-FM. Send your questions to SeanM@King.org
Find earlier articles by Sean MacLean by clicking Here.
