Why do musicians in philharmonic orchestras wear tuxedos with tails and white ties? Why don’t they wear black ties?
White tie > black tieIn the gradation of dress, tuxedos are only semi-formal. White tie with tailcoat is a step up from that, the very peak of formality. Today, white tie is reserved for only the most ritzy, expensive events, such as a state dinner. If you're not dining with the President or the Queen, you'll almost certainly never need one; it tops out at black tie. The uber-wealthy wear them to events where they're meeting the other uber-wealthy, such as a charity fundraiser, but at this point it's more of an affectation than a real dress code: that's how they "dress up".A century ago, the ultra-wealthy wore this for real. As Yvonne Caruthers points out, Downton Abbey is the most familiar example: a tuxedo (black tie) is what you wore during the day, for just bumming around. When you go to "dress for dinner", you get out of your slum-wear and get into your truly ritzy duds, the white tie and tails. There was also a morning coat in the morning, and for truly dressing down there was the "sack suit" that evolved into today's three-piece suit (which nearly always omits the vest today). If you were a woman, there were even more gradations, and you could almost literally spend all day changing clothes.Servants were always required to wear the appropriate formal wear. Musicians are servants. They are wearing the evening dress (since orchestra performances like this are for the evening) of the servants of a century ago. A full orchestral performance was very expensive, and these concerts would be attended by the very wealthy; the musicians dressed to match.They continued this tradition even as the overall level of formality decreased. Practically nobody wears white tie, even the very wealthy. The practice is maintained only for the most excruciatingly diplomatic events. It mostly tops out at tie. The musicians, however, enjoy the tradition. The classical music style is itself a piece of history; they are commemorating that. A pops orchestra won't generally wear the white tie; modern music needs a more modern dress scheme. And an afternoon concert really should have black tie rather than white tie, though so few people really remember all this protocol that it wouldn't surprise me if the white tie is worn anyway.
Which are the best symphony orchestras in the world?
If you’re in the USA, you’ll have no trouble finding a world class orchestra in virtually EVERY STATE. I have 700+ compact discs. Many of the BEST recordings and performances are from American Orchestras, American Chamber groups, American Chorus companies and the like.You’ll also find true, that local bands and regional “smaller” orchestras LOVE to give larger and well funded Philharmonic organizations a real “run-for-their-money”. Many Universities, State Colleges and community colleges have SUPERB orchestral resources. Don’t get into any silly circular debates about “what’s best” - support your local arts; you’ll never regret it.
Are there any other sites similar to the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall?
Medici.tv is similar to the Digital Concert Hall, except that it is not affiliated exclusively with one orchestra. Instead, it streams notable performances from all over Europe, including the Summer Festivals like Verbier and Lucerne.The Detroit Symphony Orchestra streams some of its performances and I believe it is free. They have world class soloists and performers.If you can keep track of them, some symphonies broadcast some of their performances for viewing in movie theaters (buy a ticket).In the UK, BBC-TV also broadcasts the Proms and other London Symphony performances.And some US locations have BBC cable channels that broadcast same.In addition, many big city American orchestras rebroadcast their performances over their local PBS station, sound only and usually with a delay - sometimes months later.These local PBS stations in the US are also on-line and you can stream these American concerts from the PBS sites — sound only — free.France makes performances available on TV or cable, I think.I am searching now for streaming info for other Europeans countries and Japan. Japan is included by many touring soloists and has an excellent orchestras.In no time at all, you can compile a list of performances that is more than you can handle.
How do I find a person in Berlin, Germany?
Email me her details and I will try my luck. @@@ Strangerbarry - If you knew anything about Germany aside the word Hausfrau then you would know that: 1) Bratwurst is rarely cooked at home. 2) This "ain't" America, the ladies over here take care of themselves, rarely get "fat", and look gooood! No 300-pound cheeseburger eating whales over here. And thank God for that.
What is the best orchestra in the world?
As usual, you have to ask… best for what? Each orchestra is somewhat specialised in its repertoire; they more or less all play the core repertoire, but then have their own take on what else is important.So for example, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra are the undoubted experts on Samuel Barber, Sibelius and New Zealand’s own Douglas Lilburn. In fact, I’ve never heard an orchestra from outside NZ get Lilburn right at all, although the Helsinki orchestra got close… it helps to have the right kind of concert hall to play it in. The NZSO with Hilary Hahn were absolutely spinechilling playing the Sibelius Violin Concerto, I can’t imagine a better performance. Different, maybe, but not better.Whereas, the Berlin Philharmonic are the Beethoven orchestra, and the Academy of Ancient Music in London are the Bach orchestra. I once heard the Boston Symphony give an astounding Shostakovich 5.And so on.
What is the greatest symphony orchestra today?
One reason that this question is hard to answer quickly is the difference between halls (alluded to by David). To a degree, the hall shapes the orchestra but that also makes the orchestra's quality hard to translate to a common frame of reference. For one thing, orchestras often sound better on tour, where they have the luxury of a well-rehearsed program and audiences who are delighted to hear them for the first time. I read one online commentator (a professional conductor) say that the New Orleans Philharmonic could, on tour, edge out the Chicago Symphony on one of its decent/good days at home. And everyone knows of youth orchestras who give professional-quality performances on their summer tours. This was a big PR problem for the New York Phil in the 50s-- Boston and Philadelphia routinely sent their orchestras for one-night shows with their best programs, along with every other great orchestra in the world. The NYPSO was there several nights a week, with the usual variation in quality that you'd expect. Many New Yorkers came to think that the local band wasn't as good as it actually was.On the other hand, orchestras used to one kind of hall don't always adapt easily to another. I heard the Philadelphia Orchestra sound coarse and ragged beyond belief at the beginning of a concert in Boston's Symphony Hall. Their own halls in Philly (especially the Academy of Music) allowed and encouraged a certain amount of overplaying--- which is absolute death at Symphony. In contrast to Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall gracefully handles a little too much sound, which may explain some of how the Fabulous Philadelphians earned their reputation in the 20s and 30s-- playing regularly as they did in front of New York audiences after rehearsing the programs in Philadelphia.
What instrument do most orchestra conductors play?
Violin and piano seem to be the instruments most commonly studied by orchestral conductors. Two of the first career conductors in the history of European music, Louis Spohr and Felix Mendelssohn, are representative: the former was a violinist, and the latter a pianist. At present, the principal conductors of the New York Philharmonic (Gilbert) and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Dudamel) are violinists; the principal conductors of the Chicago Symphony (Muti) and the San Francisco Symphony (Tilson Thomas) are pianists. Ludovic Morlot of the Seattle Symphony is a violinist, and Andris Nelsons of the Boston Symphony is a trumpeter who also plays the piano. Valery Gergiev of the London Symphony had early training as a pianist, and Sir Simon Rattle of the Berlin Philharmonic studied piano and violin, and played percussion in orchestras.Choral conductors are often trained singers, though this certainly isn't always the case. They also tend to have proficiency at the keyboard, if only for practical reasons. I have known a few great ones who were brass players instead. In some churches, notably the Church of England and the Episcopal Church, the roles of organist and choirmaster are often covered by the same individual.Wind band conductors may play piano, but more usually specialize in a wind instrument or in percussion, simply because there is a high likelihood that a band conductor will have grown up playing in wind bands at a reasonably high level. (Thanks for the A2A!)