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Promotion of classical music: Joshua Bell on OprahLife in general: More info coming in...
You all know Benny Atkinson from this website? Anyway, he went to one of Joshua Bell's concert in Ireland and he asked Josh "Do you really want to be on Oprah?" Josh laughed and said "Of course! I already told Sydney, however, it's not really up to me. If I was asked, I'd do it." There you go. This is what Joshua's agent said when she e-mailed me We are indeed pursuing the Oprah show. I want to rid classical music of false stereotypes and I want to give everyone the opportunity to experience classical music. By e-mailing Oprah, we could help this happen! Thank you.
From Colleen Russo
You know I am behind you 100%! You have come SO far with this, I think more support is what you need... So please people, realize this is something that seriously might happen...she is SO close!!!
Posted on May 25, 2006 at 12:23 PM From Jasmine Lewis
YAY!!!!!!!!!
Posted on May 25, 2006 at 11:04 PM From Pieter Viljoen
For some reason I was watching PBS tonight and they did a 2 hour special of Live from Lincoln Centre...Posted on May 26, 2006 at 07:00 AM Josh got his own little bit. He played a kreisler piece up in the penthouse and I thought you'd be in heaven if you heard... From Sydney Menees
Hehe, I might have that on DVD. I swear, it's not my fault though. I have only bought one CD of his. My parents thought that they were getting 2 for Christmas, but they accidentally got 4, we already had one, and my friend's dad (the CEO of the KC Symphony) gave me the CD/DVD of Romance of the Violin.Posted on May 26, 2006 at 10:52 AM However, this discussion remains about the PROMOTION OF CLASSICAL MUSIC. As much as you'd like to talk about JB... "Smilies" - Ilya G. From Maura Gerety
Wow, this is amazing how close it's getting! :)
Posted on May 26, 2006 at 03:12 PM From Sydney Menees
I think it's getting close! I hope it's getting close! Ergh... Must... ahhhhh... I can't... say what I want to say... Posted on May 26, 2006 at 07:58 PM How do I say this? From Sydney Menees
Here we go:Posted on May 26, 2006 at 08:11 PM I feel so close, but at the same time, I'm feeling dejected because I don't know if it will happen. I'm not excited :-( From Sydney Menees
Haha, remember the ham sandwich thing? Check out Evil Linda's genius.
Posted on July 4, 2006 at 11:56 AM From parmeeta bhogal
Linda,Posted on July 5, 2006 at 10:36 AM am just soooo impressed. Sydeny, are you still in Germany? From Gabriel Kastelle
There. I e-mailed Oprah.
Posted on July 8, 2006 at 06:08 PM From Ray Randall
If he REALLY wanted to be on Oprah he would have his agent make the arrangements. Simple as that.
Posted on July 8, 2006 at 09:02 PM From Sydney Menees
They have tried. He has been pitched to the show in the past, but nothing happened. I think if Oprah went to one of his concerts, she would see, however, they get ticket offers from practically every artist.Posted on July 9, 2006 at 07:20 AM Yes, I'll be in Germany for another few weeks. From Chris Meyer
i heard Bell play the tchaikovsky with the boston symphony and his playing was so out of tune it turned me off to his style forever.
Posted on September 24, 2007 at 12:59 AM From Jim W. Miller
He's not up to your standards yet. He's workin' on it. Give the boy a break.Posted on September 24, 2007 at 03:36 AM From Jude Ziliak
Chris, we must have seen the same performance, and I thought the same thing.Posted on September 24, 2007 at 11:10 AM But then I heard him again-- not by choice, but because he played Bruch with an orchestra I was in-- and was really impressed with his playing. It was extremely well in tune and in reasonably good taste, neither of which were true of that Boston performance. It was really very beautiful, too. From Mara Gerety
To be perfectly honest, his playing is probably the least to my taste of all the big-name violinists currently out there. But to each her own.
Posted on September 24, 2007 at 12:32 PM From Antonello Lofù
I guess Oprah show is crapy and Bell should just to feel ashamed to want to go there.
Posted on September 24, 2007 at 01:17 PM From benny atkinson
Chris Meyer, you might like to watch another Tchaikovsky, the one Joshua Bell played in Verbier on August 5th. Hurry to watch it on line before the end of the month.Posted on September 24, 2007 at 01:30 PM http://www.medici-arts.tv/verbierfestival.html# Then click on the date, 5th August. Hope you can play it to his standard ! BTW I think Joshua Bell would not have time for the Oprah show now, he is too busy! From Pieter Viljoen
benny... people with bigger careers and more busy lives go on her show...
Posted on September 24, 2007 at 02:53 PM From Sydney Menees
Wow. I didn't expect this to be unearthed. I'm still working on it, but slightly more indirectly. Obviously e-mailing for over a year had little if no effect, so I wrote a couple of letters and sent in some articles/CDs/testimonials.Posted on September 24, 2007 at 03:25 PM I am also working more closely with my classmates. I've been burning them CDs (which they like!) and right now, I'm working on taking our high school and middle school orchestras to Joshua Bell's open rehearsal in January. My principal is being rather difficult, i.e., "We would have to hire a sub..." (oh my gosh, we are so poor, we are building a new baseball complex and adding on to the school and spending a rediculous amount on sports... *HUGE eye roll*). Anyway, that's what has been going on. I will continue to pursue Oprah more diligently after all my college applications are in ;-) From kimberlee dray
I think it's a great idea Sydney. I'm proud of you for your efforts to bring classical music to the masses. Whatever anyone wants to say about Oprah, she certainly commands a large audience, as does Bell. Joshua Bell's appearance could only help the violin community.Posted on September 24, 2007 at 05:44 PM To my ears, Joshua Bell's playing is unfailingly honest, technically sound and it's deepened with age. I don't know what more anyone could ask from him, and I'm happy he's done so well. It helps us all. From Ray Randall
If Bell really wanted to be on Oprah all he has to do is tell his agent "do it."
Posted on September 24, 2007 at 04:21 PM From kimberlee dray
Yeah, maybe you're right, Ray. But, I'm sure Mr. Bell thinks it's sweet that his fan base, like Sydney, support him.
Posted on September 24, 2007 at 04:22 PM From Sydney Menees
Hi Ray,Posted on September 24, 2007 at 05:51 PM Bell has been pitched twice for the show to no avail. Therefore, it is not his or his agent's "fault" that he hasn't been on the show yet. :-) I think I've explained this a thousand times, but I'd be happy to do it again: From Pieter Viljoen
Ray... Oprah's producers and she herself chooses who goes on the show. He's up against people who are actually famous in meanstream society, so it would be very hard for him to get on the show.Posted on September 24, 2007 at 05:54 PM That said, he's definately the right one to do it and is the only one who has a chance to get on, besides maybe Perlman, for the human interest aspect of it. From kimberlee dray
I agree with you Pieter, but maybe Yo Yo Ma stands a good chance too.
Posted on September 24, 2007 at 08:02 PM From Mara Gerety
How about Maxim Vengerov? He's at least as crowd-pleasing and charming as JB. :) ...Or is part of the point to get an *American* violinist on the show?
Posted on September 24, 2007 at 08:58 PM From Jay Azneer
Classical music has to fight a battle where rap and rock are now considered no differently than classical music. We are largely the music of choice of a very small segment of society and many consider it rightly or wrongly to be the province of dead white men at least on the composing side. I don't see us winning many converts until we have the equivalent instrumental personality of a Pavarotti or a Bernstein. Until then ....
Posted on September 24, 2007 at 09:02 PM From Jay Azneer
Not to put too fine a point on it, Mara, Vengerov plays better, too.
Posted on September 24, 2007 at 09:01 PM From Jim W. Miller
"Vengerov plays better, too. "Posted on September 25, 2007 at 07:53 AM link --> The Music Olympics From Mara Gerety
Jay--well yes, of course. I was just trying to be diplomatic.
Posted on September 25, 2007 at 05:16 AM From Jim W. Miller
Two violinists is clearly too many, seeing how there's only 145 classical music fans total. This town ain't big enough for the both of us. Draw, Fiddlin' Josh.Posted on September 25, 2007 at 08:10 AM From Sydney Menees
> "Not to put too fine a point on it, Mara, Vengerov plays better, too."Posted on September 25, 2007 at 06:37 PM Well, to each his own, but do you think if any musician appears on Oprah, the average viewer will suddenly be critiquing his playing? ;-) From Mara Gerety
Quite honestly, Syd, I think that if a classical musician went on Oprah and played real classical music (a Brahms sonata or something--no crossover stuff), most of the country would just be scratching their heads in bewilderment. I still think it's a good idea though. :)
Posted on September 25, 2007 at 10:00 PM From Sydney Menees
They don't need to play crossover to get to America - what about Banjo and Fiddle or the theme from Schindler's List? Those aren't long and they are very easy for the audience to get into.
Posted on September 25, 2007 at 11:28 PM From Mara Gerety
Eh. How about whoever gets on Oprah uses the opportunity to introduce average America to some truly great art? I mean, if Oprah's Book Club can read "Anna Karenina," surely Oprah's guest soloist can play a little Brahms or Schumann or solo Bach.
Posted on September 26, 2007 at 02:55 AM From Sydney Menees
Of course! Along with some other, lighter music to "ease them in". See? Small steps, small steps...Posted on September 26, 2007 at 03:16 AM PS - Now we have a Facebook group! All you v.commies join!!! From Jim W. Miller
Mara, could you really handle a Russian introducing "average America" to the finer things in life? How about average Americans topple their empire and introduce them to capitalism. Speaking of Oprah...Posted on September 26, 2007 at 03:26 AM From Mara Gerety
Russia's been capitalist (if not democratic) since 1989, in case you hadn't noticed. And yes, I'd be quite fine with a Russian violinist introducing "average Joes" to Brahms and Beethoven. Why the heck not?
Posted on September 26, 2007 at 03:26 AM From Jim W. Miller
Wow! It already happned and I missed it.Posted on September 26, 2007 at 03:33 AM Classical music on Oprah is a a little like when the Jehovah's Witnesses come knocking. If you aren't already interested, you aren't gonna be because of them. It's not like there hasn't been opportunity before. They always seem unaware of that. They're like if they only knew... From Mara Gerety
If you're stubbornly closed-minded and immune to sublime beauty, I guess. Posted on September 26, 2007 at 03:33 AM (referring to great music...NOT door-to-door missionaries...) From Jim W. Miller
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, fortunately for a lot of us. Mostly I just want to see Guns n Roses smashing stuff up. We need to get Guns n Roses on the classical music station. If you only knew... Posted on September 26, 2007 at 03:39 AM :) From Mara Gerety
...um, if that's your preferred genre, why do you hang around a classical music forum so much? :)
Posted on September 26, 2007 at 03:38 AM From Jim W. Miller
What classical music forum?Posted on September 26, 2007 at 03:42 AM From Pieter Viljoen
I didn't love classical music until Guns N' Roses made me love music.Posted on September 26, 2007 at 03:42 AM I've seen Slash perform twice, and Axl once. Both great experiences. From Jim W. Miller
Holy names. When you spell them, leave the vowels out.Posted on September 26, 2007 at 03:47 AM From Mara Gerety
I didn't love classical music until a week spent on a trip with my swim team listening to the radio blaring Top 40 pop garbage made me realize how much I loved classical music...Posted on September 26, 2007 at 03:50 AM Jim, should that apply to names like Bch, Bthvn and Brtk as well? :) From Jim W. Miller
LOL I thought that's where he was going too.Posted on September 26, 2007 at 03:50 AM From Teresa Boone
Well, we're getting closer.Posted on September 27, 2007 at 09:05 PM Ellen Degeneres is having a hip-hop violinist on her show tomorrow. I think his name is Paul Dateh? From Emily Liz
To be honest, Ellen might be more receptive to this than Oprah, since she tends to have shorter segments and not one-theme shows like Oprah does. Might be another alternative to try.
Posted on September 27, 2007 at 09:31 PM From Scott Hawthorn
Benny posted:Posted on September 28, 2007 at 02:35 PM "Chris Meyer, you might like to watch another Tchaikovsky, the one Joshua Bell played in Verbier on August 5th. Hurry to watch it on line before the end of the month. http://www.medici-arts.tv/verbierfestival.html#" Damn! That was pretty good! From E. Smith
When do you folk get the time to watch all this daytime TV?
Posted on September 29, 2007 at 01:19 AM From Roelof Bijkerk
Maybe Joshua Bell, his managers or someone else who would have the ability to accomplish it, should invite Oprah to narrate Peter and the Woolf somewhere or for a recording.
Posted on September 29, 2007 at 06:53 AM From Stephen Brivati
Greetings,Posted on September 29, 2007 at 07:13 AM how about `Peter and the Wolf note?` Cheers, Buri From Laurie Niles
*groan!*
Posted on September 29, 2007 at 05:45 PM From Jim W. Miller
Think about if this scheme was actually successful. Oprah has the classical music club along side the book club. What would it do to our national psyche? Is it really what we want? The national debate becomes is ASM out of her mind or not, and every question has only a subjective answer driven by personal preference or prejudice...Posted on September 29, 2007 at 06:29 PM From Mara Gerety
Jim, personally I'd much rather have the whole country obsessing over philosophies of musical interpretation that what illicit substance Lindsay Lohan took last week, but maybe that's just me. :)
Posted on September 29, 2007 at 09:47 PM From Jim W. Miller
It doesn't seem like a stable situation. Even if you could somehow get it precariously balanced, all that has to happen is somebody asks what ASM was wearing, and it all crashes back down into what you had before :)Posted on September 29, 2007 at 10:14 PM From E. Smith
Haha, Jim. The Oprahfication of classical music...
Posted on September 30, 2007 at 01:39 AM From Jim W. Miller
We're starting from the ground up here. The jacket liners need say it's ok to obsess about her dress or what pills she takes as long as the obsessing ends up back on rubato or not to rubato.Posted on September 30, 2007 at 04:36 AM From Bill Busen
And after you email Oprah, you can join Sydney's similarly themed Facebook group. (How do we keep synchronized between here and there? Maybe since we spend most of our time online instead of practicing, it isn't actually a problem...)
Posted on September 30, 2007 at 04:50 AM From Roelof Bijkerk
Eye hope eye half awl the spellings of the words correct hear.Posted on September 30, 2007 at 06:08 AM U wood bea sir-prized to no how crazy Joshua Bell can be I think. I donut no if Oprah wood intimidate hymn. Maybe Peter and the Woolf is better for Oprah. (sic) From Sydney Menees
Oh geez. I honestly cannot see my classmates obsessing over what ASM was wearing ;) I think if they did become fond of classical music, their reverance would be more refined. When I discovered classical music I thought of it as more of a sanctuary to get away from all the pop-culture gossip...Posted on September 30, 2007 at 11:08 PM Here's a link to the Facebook group. From Roelof Bijkerk
Eye Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeemayled themPosted on October 4, 2007 at 11:28 AM She sad that Oprah was on the top off there list I donut no Wili want to bea on with her... From Alison S
Would an Oprah Classical Music Club really be such a bad idea? I joined her book club last summer when I read Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, and found the web site to be a very useful resource for background information on the book's characters. Just consider the future possibilities; we on v. com could have conversations with people who had only gained their knowledge from Oprah's website. How disturbing for those who are only prepared to share their love of classical music with those who are worthy enough.Posted on October 4, 2007 at 06:52 PM But despite my proletariat credentials, I realised that I can out-snob anyone on this site while watching the Last Night of the Proms this summer. As Joshua Bell (world class violinist) was interviewed by Alan Titchmarsh (the nations favourite gardening expert), my first thoughts were 'What does Alan Titchmarsh know about Classical Music?'. (He might know more than me; it wouldn’t be difficult). But Titchmarsh and Bell were a good match for one another in an interview setting because both are relaxed, charming and fairly easy on the eye. It might be hard for some to believe, but Titchmarsh is actually a heart throb for middle-aged women in this country. His questions were populist, but still intelligent - 'Does a £2M pound violin sound twice as good as a £1M violin?' On reflection it dawned on me that Alan Titchmarsh is actually a good role model for Joshua Bell, and Joshua Bell is smart enough to know that. Gardening is a very popular hobby in the UK. If Joshua Bell's violin playing became as well loved (or even as mundane) as gardening is for the people of this country, or as popular as Tolstoy is for Russians, the future of classical music would be very bright. Sydney is to be congratulated on taking this initiative. From Roelof Bijkerk
All I really know about Joshua Bell is that he is an uncouth person who wouldn't stop bothering me, even when I called his agents to tell him to stop. Consequently, I am on disability for a severe emotional disturbance he contribued to.
Posted on October 30, 2007 at 10:09 PM From Nate Robinson
???
Posted on October 30, 2007 at 10:37 PM From Stephen Brivati
Greetings,Posted on October 30, 2007 at 10:50 PM I had the same trouble with Sharon Stone until she ran off with Albert. Cheers, Buri From Roelof Bijkerk
Of course it's allPosted on November 3, 2007 at 05:27 PM JUST because David's (Copperfield's) aunt was discusted that He might become A hair dresser... From Sydney Menees
I don't understand...Posted on November 4, 2007 at 04:20 PM (Die, thread. DIE. Come back when I have time to tend to the discussed issue.) From David Russell
Is this an attempt at free-form poetry? Stream of conciousness? I am profoundly confused. Posted on November 4, 2007 at 06:31 PM If it isn't either... ??? From Pieter Viljoen
Mr. Russell,Posted on November 4, 2007 at 06:46 PM "I am profoundly confused.". I think he is too. |
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