The Short End of the Stick

Nov 26 2007
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JoAnn Falletta
JoAnn Falletta

Few artists are as important to the fabric of their communities as JoAnn Falletta. Acclaimed by The New York Times as “one of the finest conductors of her generation”, she serves as the Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Falletta has been invited to guest conduct many of the world’s finest symphony orchestras. Highlights of her recent and upcoming guest conducting appearances include her debuts with the Orchestra National de Belgique, the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester, the Dallas Symphony, the Orchestre National De Lyon, the Northwest German Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Lisbon Metropolitan Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony and the Seoul Philharmonic, and return engagements with the Seattle, Utah, San Antonio, Louisville and Colorado Symphony Orchestras, the Orchestra of Asturias (Spain), the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (Japan), and the Rotterdam Philharmonic. She has guest conducted over 100 orchestras in North America. Highlights of her recent North American guest conducting appearances include the orchestras of Philadelphia, Montreal, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, Detroit, St. Louis, Milwaukee and Indianapolis, and the National Symphony.

Ms. Falletta is the recipient of many of the most prestigious conducting awards, including the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award for exceptionally gifted American conductors, the coveted Stokowski Competition, and the Toscanini, Ditson and Bruno Walter Awards for conducting. She is an ardent champion of music of our time, introducing over 400 works by American composers, including more than 80 world premieres, and has received nine awards from ASCAP for creative programming, as well as the American Symphony Orchestra League’s prestigious John S. Edwards Award.

Maestro Falletta’s 2007/08 season with the Buffalo Philharmonic will be a prolific recording period, with the Orchestra recording four CDs and releasing two new discs on the Naxos label, including a world premiere recording of John Corigliano’s [i]Mr. Tambourine Man[/i] and the international release of a disc of the works of Ottorino Respighi. Continuing to raise the BPO’s national and international prominence, Ms. Falletta will once again lead the orchestra in a number of concerts to be broadcast nationally on NPR’s Performance Today and SymphonyCast, and international broadcasts through the European Broadcasting Union. This season will see the release of two new recordings by the Virginia Symphony: the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with Norman Krieger, and Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy and Massenet’s Meditation with violinist Michael Ludwig.

Maestro Falletta’s growing discography, which includes over 40 titles, consists of recordings with the London Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Virginia Symphony, the English Chamber Orchestra, the New Zealand Symphony, the Long Beach Symphony, the Czech National Symphony, the Philadelphia Philharmonia and the Women’s Philharmonic, among others. In addition to her upcoming releases with the BPO and the VSO, Ms. Falletta’s current projects include her first recording with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for the Naxos label, featuring the violin concertos of Dohnanyi. Other upcoming releases for this season include a world premiere recording of the orchestral music of Kenneth Fuchs with the London Symphony to be released on the Naxos label, and a recording of the music of Paul Schoenfield with the Prague Philharmonia. This summer, the Virginia Arts Festival released [i]Borrowed Treasures[/i], Ms. Falletta’s third disc of chamber music for guitar, featuring Ms. Falletta as guitarist.

Together with English Horn soloist Thomas Stacy and the London Symphony Orchestra, Falletta received a 2006 Grammy nomination for Eventide (Concerto for English Horn, Percussion, Harp, Celesta and String Orchestra) by Kenneth Fuchs, from the CD An American Place (Naxos American Classics).

Ms. Falletta received her undergraduate degree from the Mannes School of Music in New York, and her master’s and doctorate degrees from The Juilliard School.

For more information on Ms. Falletta, visit her website at www.joannfalletta.com.

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Thank you for inviting me to participate, and for the interesting questions.

For me the most important thing about conducting is being keenly aware that the orchestra itself is actually making the music, not the baton! I firmly believe that each performance comes from the collective hearts, brains and spirit of the musicians who are involved, and that because of that, each orchestra’s performance will be unique. I can’t speak for other conductors, but I know that for me it is critical to come to the music with a strong interpretation and understanding of the piece, but that is only the beginning – I draw much inspiration from the orchestra itself. It is very important to leave a great deal of room for the “orchestra’s interpretation” – individually and as a group. Within the framework of my understanding of the structure, harmonic fabric and propulsion of the work, I like to be flexible in allowing the orchestra to play a major role in informing the performance, revealing their own strengths and personality. Does the orchestra’s hall enable them to play refined and varied dynamics? The conductor should allow that to happen! Do the woodwind players revel in their individuality of approaches? So should the conductor! Does the orchestra enjoy rhythmic flexibility and rubato? Does the string section have a unified approach to articulation and bow stroke? Does the brass section exemplify brilliance or warmth in their artistic approach? Each orchestra has its own sound that can either shine with the help of the conductor, or be subjugated to an imagined sound that exists only in the head of the maestro. To me it is a delight that each orchestra I conduct can sound quite unique in exactly the same repertoire – and what a shame it would be to try to make each orchestra sound exactly alike!

I strongly encourage musicians in an orchestra NOT to abdicate artistic responsibility – rather, to listen to each other intently, to respond to what they are hearing, to play chamber music on a grand scale, to take risks. For my part, I must listen to all of them at every moment – to understand their musical personality, to support their artistic spirit, to highlight their talents, to provide a framework in which they can excel, to make music in a completely personal way with each performance and each group of musicians.

This “active” listening is key – for both the musicians and myself. I find that orchestras are very open to experimentation and new ideas, if their personality and musical ideas are respected as well. The result is a rich and interesting mixture of interpretive elements – a blend of what the orchestra has done before (together and individually) and the different experiences and background of the conductor. Music is fluid – always changing, evolving, holding discoveries for all of us, in each performance. The orchestral experience can be one of amazement, joy and unexpected realizations.

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JoAnn Falletta
JoAnn Falletta

Few artists are as important to the fabric of their communities as JoAnn Falletta. Acclaimed by The New York Times as “one of the finest conductors of her generation”, she serves as the Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Falletta has been invited to guest conduct many of the world’s finest symphony orchestras. Highlights of her recent and upcoming guest conducting appearances include her debuts with the Orchestra National de Belgique, the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester, the Dallas Symphony, the Orchestre National De Lyon, the Northwest German Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Lisbon Metropolitan Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony and the Seoul Philharmonic, and return engagements with the Seattle, Utah, San Antonio, Louisville and Colorado Symphony Orchestras, the Orchestra of Asturias (Spain), the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (Japan), and the Rotterdam Philharmonic. She has guest conducted over 100 orchestras in North America. Highlights of her recent North American guest conducting appearances include the orchestras of Philadelphia, Montreal, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, Detroit, St. Louis, Milwaukee and Indianapolis, and the National Symphony.

Ms. Falletta is the recipient of many of the most prestigious conducting awards, including the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award for exceptionally gifted American conductors, the coveted Stokowski Competition, and the Toscanini, Ditson and Bruno Walter Awards for conducting. She is an ardent champion of music of our time, introducing over 400 works by American composers, including more than 80 world premieres, and has received nine awards from ASCAP for creative programming, as well as the American Symphony Orchestra League’s prestigious John S. Edwards Award.

Maestro Falletta’s 2007/08 season with the Buffalo Philharmonic will be a prolific recording period, with the Orchestra recording four CDs and releasing two new discs on the Naxos label, including a world premiere recording of John Corigliano’s [i]Mr. Tambourine Man[/i] and the international release of a disc of the works of Ottorino Respighi. Continuing to raise the BPO’s national and international prominence, Ms. Falletta will once again lead the orchestra in a number of concerts to be broadcast nationally on NPR’s Performance Today and SymphonyCast, and international broadcasts through the European Broadcasting Union. This season will see the release of two new recordings by the Virginia Symphony: the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with Norman Krieger, and Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy and Massenet’s Meditation with violinist Michael Ludwig.

Maestro Falletta’s growing discography, which includes over 40 titles, consists of recordings with the London Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Virginia Symphony, the English Chamber Orchestra, the New Zealand Symphony, the Long Beach Symphony, the Czech National Symphony, the Philadelphia Philharmonia and the Women’s Philharmonic, among others. In addition to her upcoming releases with the BPO and the VSO, Ms. Falletta’s current projects include her first recording with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for the Naxos label, featuring the violin concertos of Dohnanyi. Other upcoming releases for this season include a world premiere recording of the orchestral music of Kenneth Fuchs with the London Symphony to be released on the Naxos label, and a recording of the music of Paul Schoenfield with the Prague Philharmonia. This summer, the Virginia Arts Festival released [i]Borrowed Treasures[/i], Ms. Falletta’s third disc of chamber music for guitar, featuring Ms. Falletta as guitarist.

Together with English Horn soloist Thomas Stacy and the London Symphony Orchestra, Falletta received a 2006 Grammy nomination for Eventide (Concerto for English Horn, Percussion, Harp, Celesta and String Orchestra) by Kenneth Fuchs, from the CD An American Place (Naxos American Classics).

Ms. Falletta received her undergraduate degree from the Mannes School of Music in New York, and her master’s and doctorate degrees from The Juilliard School.

For more information on Ms. Falletta, visit her website at www.joannfalletta.com.

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