A daring orchestral experiment on 22nd Street

Volume Number 1 Issue Number 3 | October 13 - 19, 2006

Music

Chelsea Symphony
Performing works by Strauss, Mozart,
Prokofiev, Debussy and Tchaikovsky
St. Paul’s Church
315 W. 22nd Street
Saturday, October 14 at 8 pm and Sunday at 7 pm
Requested $10 donation; reservations recommended
(212-874-3891; chelseasymphony.org)

The Chelsea Symphony in May, at the Church of St. Paul’s.

A daring orchestral experiment on 22nd Street

By Michael Clive

You probably haven’t heard the Chelsea Symphony yet. But if you care about classical music, it’s not too soon to rejoice about the Chelsea Symphony’s inaugural season.

The intrepid, imaginative musicians of the Chelsea Symphony are actually doing something about the dearth of resident music in Lower Manhattan, and the result — one of the most noteworthy classical experiments in recent memory — will be available for your evaluation this Saturday and Sunday at St. Paul’s Church on 22nd Street.

What makes the Chelsea Symphony different from any other ensemble is the multitasking of its members. The orchestra was founded in November 2005 by Miguel Campos Neto and Yaniv Segal, and allows members to function as section players and soloists, to conduct, and to present their own compositions.

If all goes according to plan, each season will provide a kind of musical round-robin: every conductor will lead a complete symphonic program with the group; each composer will have the opportunity for performance of a new work by the full orchestra; and each soloist will perform a featured piece. The planned repertoire and performance standards are ambitious.

The goal is to provide a working environment that brings often disparate musical functions together in close working relationships. “Each musician performs double, triple or even quadruple duty,” according to the Chelsea Symphony website. Most are young professionals who are happy to be part of a larger group in which they can showcase and hone their individual talents; all have conservatory-level training or the equivalent.

With 39 members, the Chelsea Symphony is only about half the size of most major orchestras; full orchestral scoring in our post-Romantic world is usually pegged at about 70 players, and Wagnerian-level scorings can call for 100 or even more. But while Baroque and Classical works typically require no more than 35 players, the Chelsea is also big enough to cover every scored part of ambitious later works. When an arrangement or reduction is necessary to adapt to the orchestra’s resources — for example, this weekend’s arrangement of Richard Strauss’s opulent, spectacularly virtuosic tone poem “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks” — the changes are by a member of the orchestra. With fewer instruments covering most parts, listeners in the lively yet intimate acoustic environment of St. Paul’s Church will hear every detail of the score revealed more fully than in the typical big-orchestra concert hall.

So far, the Chelsea Symphony’s way of doing things flies in the face of symphonic tradition. After all, no organization is more rigidly hierarchical than the typical orchestra. Usually there’s just one permanent conductor who is also artistic director and all-around boss. Within instrumental sections, players’ duties — their parts, their status, even their seats — are constrained by narrow job descriptions. By breaking down barriers between instrumentalist, conductor and composer, the Chelsea Symphony could enrich listeners’ as well as players’ musical experience.

Without question, it’s a bold experiment. Even relying on time-tested techniques, managing an orchestra is notoriously difficult. Will the Chelsea Symphony self-destruct? Or will it fulfill its promise as a dynamic team of artists with a fresh approach for both players and listeners?

This Saturday and Sunday provide an ideal opportunity to find out, with brilliant stylistic challenges for ensemble and soloists. In “Till Eulenspiegel”, listen for the daring mischief represented by the solo trombone. The first two movements of the Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1 are an interpretive and technical banquet for any violinist. Works by Mozart, Debussy and Tchaikovsky are also on the program. Upcoming concerts by the Symphony this season will showcase all four Brahms symphonies.