Concerts in lockdown
Leading classical musicians explain to us how they have faced up to the coronavirus lockdown by shifting the concert stage to their own living rooms
We talk to the musicians streaming from home
With concert engagements and recording sessions cancelled, and forced to share their own company at home, classical musicians have had their normal existences brought to a shuddering, unwelcome halt by coronavirus. In many cases, however, this has by no means meant giving up and doing nothing.
Faced with the challenge of enforced lockdown, performers across the globe have been hugely inventive in finding ways of sharing their talents with audiences via the internet. New repertoire has been learned, skills in filming and multitracking have been finely honed and, in some instances, composers have even been commissioned for the occasion. Here, we present some of the best examples, described by the musicians themselves.
Fenella Humphreys violinist
When every email that came through was another concert cancellation, it became clear I was going to have to adapt. I don’t teach, so I had nothing to fall back on. Instead, I started experimenting with livestreams and video recordings. Although you don’t have a physical audience, you still get the rollercoaster of emotions and the engagement with listeners, which I’ve realised I need: it’s an integral part of who I am.
I would never have imagined that I’d be spending so much time reading articles on filmmaking and sound production. The first concert was recorded through my laptop and the quality was appalling. I’m really grateful that I managed to get some funding to allow me to buy some lights, as I wasn’t able to read my music!
I’m doing new music on Wednesdays and then a more varied programme on Sundays, and lots of composers have been sending me short pieces they’ve written during lockdown. The hardest part has been not being able to play with others. I’m lucky, though, to have previously recorded an album of unaccompanied violin music, because I spent about a year playing a lot of solo music and learnt how to exist as a violinist without anyone onstage with me to bounce off.
Elena Urioste violinist
Tom Poster pianist
Elena: We had this idea that we wanted to create a virtual jukebox, based on the old jukebox machines. For our Uripostejukebox, we asked our followers on social media to send in requests. They started off quite conservative and traditional – Mozart and Beethoven sonatas and so on – but then Tom mentioned that the pieces didn’t actually have to be originally for violin and piano and that he was happy to arrange things. At that point, the requests got rapidly stranger, which we were delighted by!
I would never have imagined spending so much time reading articles on filmmaking
Tom: Inevitably, the things we’ve chosen to perform have reflected our own personal tastes, but we have tried to get as wide a cross-section as we can. We’re very proud of our multiinstrument performance of Glenn Miller’s Moonlight Serenade and a ‘diva medley’ that re-enacted Celine Dion, Beyoncé and Vanessamae, but on a more serious note, commissioning and premiering six new works has been both a real highlight and incredibly moving.
Elena: We’re currently staying at my parents’ house in Maryland, US, which has a lot of wardrobe space. I have a lot of her own clothes here and, while Tom didn’t bring much over with him, he has been able to raid my parents’ wardrobes. So, we’ve been able to wear a lot of fun costumes while we play!
George Fu pianist
(with Tamsin Waley-cohen, violinist, and
Freya Waley-cohen, composer)
Knowing the lockdown was impending, we decided to isolate together so we could have chamber music partners. We started the Living Room Live website because we wanted not only to livestream ourselves playing, but also to create a hub where we could offer a platform to friends and colleagues.
Everyone’s having to innovate out of necessity. I’ve learnt how much of our virtual capability is currently untapped by our industry. It’s been a steep learning curve, as we’re used to working with audio engineers: we play and they take care of the rest. We’ve now created a guide for artists who are interested in playing on our platform so they know what equipment to use, because although everyone is a fantastic performer, we want to capture professional sound and have a consistent standard.
It’s demonstrated to us why we make music and how much of it is to do with sharing the experience with other people. As human beings, creating and consuming art is not just a thing we do for fun: it’s a basic human need. We’re hoping to expand the platform to include interviews with artists and produce more content to
connect with audiences. There’s no reason why we can’t continue with Living Room Live after the lockdown.
Louise Alder soprano
I’ve always loved close-harmony singing – I used to do bits and bobs of it for fun while I was at university – but it’s not something that an opera singer gets to do, ever! So, when the crisis started, I threw myself into creating The Louloubelles.
I saw something that was done using an a cappella app and I had a few arrangements, so wondered if I could do one for fun. I brainstormed ideas, from opera to Britney Spears, with some jazz numbers in between. Some of them I arrange myself, like the opera ones. For the Wagner I had to re-arrange 12 solo lines, four chorus lady lines and the orchestral accompaniment into six tracks, which was an interesting challenge. Luckily I knew the piece very well.
I sit on my bathroom floor with my phone in selfie mode and one earphone in (which I try to hide under my hair or a hat). I then have to record each voice part in one go and if there’s something wrong I re-do it. Depending on how many voice parts there are and how well I know the piece it takes a number of hours, and that’s not including the arranging.
Gautier Capuçon cellist
Three days before the lockdown, I returned to my Paris apartment from the US, opened my cello case and started to play the Prelude from Bach’s Suite No. 1. I just needed to play the cello and had no idea why I was doing it. I needed to express my sadness for all those lost concerts. But I was kind of lost, too. So I put my mobile on the music stand and posted the Bach online. I was very touched by all the messages and reactions from people on social media, so I carried on working my way through the cello suites as well as music by other composers.
I wanted to give something to all the lonely people, the suffering families, the people who have lost loved ones and our health workers working day and night. This was my way of showing I was thinking of them and that I was in communion with them.
But then on 11 May I stopped – I played originally for free to give people joy, but we also need to remember that artists live by music and that the piper needs to be paid in order to live.
So I want to be in solidarity, too, with all the professional musicians out there.
Christina Lawrie pianist
(with Marcus Barcham-stevens, violinist)
We did the first #Concertfromourlivingroom on Mother’s Day, the day before the official lockdown began in the UK. By that time our own concerts had been cancelled and the thing that really motivated us to start playing was the loss of community for music lovers. I do lots of concerts at music clubs in quite remote places and for the members it’s a really important aspect of their lives.
We play uplifting repertoire; we’ve done
Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Franck and music about nature. If we can take people’s minds off of what’s happening and give them something to raise their spirits then we’re doing our job. We’re benefitting from that as well; people send messages and the outpouring of communication has been lovely.
Mastering the technology has been a challenge, though; I’m new to Twitter, new to Youtube and new to video recording, but it has all been fun. In fact, it feels like we’ve been doing this forever now. Doing this has brightened our lives immeasurably and it has been a joy to be able to collaborate together. It’s really lifting our spirits to have a reason to keep practising; and we have to, because there will be life after coronavirus.
‘‘ This was my way of showing that I was thinking of people and was in communion with them ’’