IN CONCERT
What: Symphonie Fantastique featuring Christian Kluxen (conductor) and Paul Rissman (animateur)
Where: Royal Theatre
When: Sunday March 24 (2:30 p.m.) and Monday March 25 (8 p.m.)
Tickets: $36-$86 through the Royal McPherson box office, by phone at 250-386-6121, or online at rmts.bc.ca
The Victoria Symphony is taking a new, interactive approach to its performances on Sunday and Monday, one it hopes audiences will find invigorating.
The performances will split the difference between what is known about French composer Hector Berlioz’s iconic Symphonie Fantastique — parts of which were written when Berlioz was under the influence of opium — and what has yet to be discovered.
The Symphony’s rock-star-in-residence, conductor Christian Kluxen, a fast-rising maestro in the classical world, will be joined on the voyage by British composer-“animateur” Paul Rissman.
The resident of London, who was born on Scotland’s Isle of Bute, is bringing a version of the Naked Classics program he made famous in Britain to the Royal Theatre, the latest in a long line of intercontinental collaborations with Kluxen.
The two have worked together with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, and it was Kluxen who suggested that Rissman bring his inventive, explanatory program — something along the lines of Classical Music 101 or Classical Music For Dummies — to Victoria audiences.
“The first half of the show, we’re exploring the music, uncovering the secrets in the score, chatting to the players on stage, with visuals on the screen. It’s interactive,” Rissman said. “In the second half, it’s a completely conventional concert, where the audience gets to sit back and listen to everything all the way through.”
With guidance from Rissman, the event serves to educate both professionals and public. “Even the most experienced players, who have played the piece a million times, always comment on how different it felt playing the piece, having gone through that exploration. There’s a benefit for everyone in the room, not just the audience.”
Naked Classics began in the United Kingdom as family programming — Young People’s Concerts — and has tackled everything from Mozart’s Don Giovanni to wild pieces of contemporary music since it debuted in 2007.
The secret of his success, according to Rissman, is making music more understandable, in a way that feels real for the audience.
“It’s about exploding that myth that this music is elitist and musicians are elitist,” Rissman said. “That’s not the world I’m from. I’m just an average guy, but I have this real passion for music.”
He now splits his time between writing music as a highly accomplished composer and talking about it as a presenter. “On the back of the work I was doing with young people, which was very, very focused and very, very targeted, orchestras started to invite me to create and perform music for adults. I was finding a new way to reach and engage audiences, both existing and people who were curious about the orchestra and its repertoire, but had never attended before.”
Many have attempted to describe in a single word what Rissman does on stage during Naked Classics. Kluxen wanted to use the word “animateur,” one of many terms used to describe Rissman’s role.
“A lot of the creative engagement work I do, where I’m going out and meeting people and getting them to make music, for some reason has got this rather grand title of animateur, which is not one that most people are familiar with,” Rissman said. “But it’s so commonplace in the U.K. I’m basically your host for the evening or afternoon, though I will not be drawing any pictures.”
His multi-media presentation will likely catch some symphony supporters off-guard. Rissman, whose work has been recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, hopes to find a way to engage both experienced and inexperienced listeners.
“I don’t shy away from delving into the score and exploring the music, but I do it in a way that’s accessible and fun and entertaining enough that people who don’t have degrees in music can have a good time.
“There is something completely brilliant about having the time and the space to stand back and listen from a different angle. What does this music sound like if we take away all the woodwind instruments. How would that piece be? What if the strings play at completely the wrong volume? It’s about playing with the score, in a way, to help the audience receive it in a completely different way.”
