Virtual concert joins greats on Awards List

xena

I found the following article rather intriguing and a real "sign of the times" so to speak. But it got me wondering what other members here think about the hypothetical possibilities of such "virtual" concerts being performed by Classical X artists? I have very mixed feelings personally, as in one sense it would certainly allow people from around the world or in difficult circumstances the chance to "attend" concerts otherwise unattainable to them. But for me actually experiencing the concert is a huge part of the draw too and I strongly doubt that a virtual concert could ever truly rival the sheer thrill, buzz and atmosphere of really seeing, hearing and feeling your chosen artist or band in action.

What are your thoughts? Look forward to hearing your views! Very Happy

Virtual concert joins greats on Awards List

An innovative attempt to create an orchestral performance in cyberspace by Royal Philharmonic Society has been nominated for one of the most respected awards in classical music.

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s performance within the virtual world of online game Second Life has been shortlisted for the audience development award – supported by Classic FM – at the RPS Music Awards. The experimental production is up against the Birmingham Opera Company’s Traviata in the shortlist which was announced on March 27.

RLPO conductor Vasily Petrenko has further reason for celebration after also being nominated for the best conductor title against Royal Scottish National Orchestra’s Stéphane Denève, English National Opera’s Edward Gardner and John Wilson. The winners of the awards – the UK’s only live classical music awards - will be announced at a ceremony on May 15 at the Dorchester Hotel in London.

Distinguished artists have a strong showing, with a heavyweight shortlist for the best singer award with Christine Brewer, Natalie Dessay and John Tomlinson - a late replacement for Bryn Terfel as Wotan in the Royal Opera House’s Ring Cycle - in the running.

The annual awards honour outstanding work in thirteen categories and are largely decided by independent panels from the music industry.

The instrumentalist award nominations feature the distinguished British pianist Imogen Cooper, Canadian violinist James Ehnes and former BBC Young Musician of the Year, French horn virtuoso David Pyatt, another Briton.

Graham Sheffield, chairman of the Royal Philharmonic Society said: “I am especially proud to present this list, which, due to the awards’ independence, is a valuable reflection of what’s really happening in the UK’s live classical music scene: it demonstrates the countrywide appeal of classical music, it demonstrates our international appeal for the world’s best musicians, but it also shows the wealth of talent that the UK itself is producing and developing.”

Full list of nominees:

:: Audience development - Birmingham Opera Company’s La Traviata – Verona to Birmingham; RLPO – Second Life performance.
:: Chamber music - Carducci Quartet; International Musicians’ Seminar Prussia Cove; Maria Joao Pires & Friends Schubert Residency.
:: Chamber-scale composition - Gerald Barry: Lisbon; Diana Burrell: Paragraph; Rebecca Saunders: Stirrings Still.
:: Concert series and festivals - Lichfield Festival; RNCM International Cello Festival; New Crowned Hope (Barbican); Opera Holland Park.
:: Conductor - Stéphane Denève; Edward Gardner; Vasily Petrenko; John Wilson.
:: Creative communication - George Caird - Britten: Six Metamorphoses After Ovid Op.49 Anatomy of a Masterpiece; Classic Britannia - Sixty Years of British Classical Music; Radio 3’s Discovering Music; Tony Palmer - Oh Thou Transcendent: The Life of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
:: Education - BBC Proms Brass Day; Beautiful Beginnings (South Bank); Land Sea Sky Trilogy (WNO Max).
:: Ensemble - National Youth Orchestra; Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; Psappha.
:: Instrumentalist - Imogen Cooper, piano; James Ehnes, violin; David Pyatt, horn.
:: Large-scale composition - Thomas Adès: Tevót; James MacMillan: The Sacrifice; Peter Wiegold: He Is Armour'd Without.
:: Opera and music theatre - Aldeburgh Festival: Death in Venice; English National Opera: Satyagraha; Opera North: The Adventures of Pinocchio; James Macmillan: The Sacrifice (Welsh National Opera).
:: Singer - Christine Brewer; Natalie Dessay; John Tomlinson.
:: Young artists - Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Alina Ibragimova, violin; Elizabeth Watts, soprano.

(The Radio 3 listeners award will also be presented).

Source: ClassicFM
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