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Barry

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  1. Hello MichelleS Thank you for your wonderful post. I am thrilled to discover how much support there is for the work the orchestra and I are doing to support the company. I must also correct a mistake I just made in my reply to Bill. It is of course not the Balanchine Trust, but the Robbins Trust, and on discussing this with Rob I discover that it was they who asked for the piano to be elevated to the height we have, and they who said that no way should the pianist be asked to play to a monitor screen. Best Wishes Barry
  2. Hello Bill, This is a thorny problem, and you can well imagine the lengthy discussions we have had about this. It seems we have two irreconcilable problems here. Rob has to be able to see the stage, and not just the front, the back as well, in order to pick up certain cues. That means he has to be elevated, which by the way is also very good for the sound. He also has to see his music and the keyboard so he has to have a light which of course is the more evident because of the white pages of the music which reflect the light. All of which is rather distracing for those on the far left of the theatre. Stage management and the Balanchine Trust Production Team were convinced that we had arrived at the best possible compromise. I am very sorry it has been an annoying distraction, but none of us can think of a better solution. Barry
  3. Thank you for your welcome Sim. I really do hope it is interesting and useful for everyone to hear the musicians perspective. The more understanding there is the better for all of us. Balletomane has highlighted another feature of our auditorium........the orchestral sound is indeed very different from place to place in the auditorium, both in terms of balance and ensemble. Perhaps the Science of Acoustics wasn't so well understood when this theatre was built. My favourite seat is at the rear of the stalls, or the front of the amphitheatre. The sound is generally well focused there, and it has a glorious bloom on it. Best Wishes to everyone for 2013. Barry Wordsworth
  4. Dear Mrs BBB, Thank you for telling me what was troubling you, and for your warm appreciation of the orchestra's part in the performance. We play the original orchestration of Firebird to match the production, so there are more than 80 players in the pit. It is very crowded, and we even have to open up the areas at either side under the stalls circle in order to accomodate all the players. The Trumpets and Trombones sit on my far right, and the Horns sit on my far left, as far apart as they could be in fact, and they play across the pit (In the concert Hall they would sit along the back wall and play facing toward the audience, but the pit is not deep enough to allow us to do that ) They cannot hear each other when they start to play, and if they are a fraction of a second out in passages where they double each other's themes ( as in The Infernal Dance) you get that sort of ricochet effect which I agree is very disturbing. We have tried different seating arrangements but all have their own drawbacks. I mention all this to try to explain why this happens from time to time. It is honestly absolutely not a question of anyone having an "off" day, and to be frank given the circumstances it is only the players expertise that stops this from happening far more often.
  5. PS........ We are also very concerned about the ammount of noise during Stravinsky's magnificent Prelude to Firebird. It would help if members of the audience could stifle their coughs, with a hand or even a handkerchief. Barry Wordsworth Music Director
  6. I am totally mystified I thought the orchestra and I gave a fine performance on Saturday afternoon, perhaps Mrs BBB and Balletomane can explain what the problems were. Oh and Happy New Year everyone.
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