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Scandal rocks the classical world!


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Hot Air and Simple Fraud  

48 members have voted

  1. 1. Was the performance of 'Air and Simple Gifts' at Obama's inauguration appropriately handled?

    • Yes, unequivocally.
      31
    • Yes and no. It's OK that they used a pre-existing recording, but they should have made that public knowledge beforehand.
      6
    • No, but what else could they have done?
      7
    • No, what was perpetrated upon us was an utter sham and an indelible stain on the record of all involved.
      4


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It fooled me.

It's a live event though, it's understandable that they take some precautions. It also means there's a recorded version somewhere that sounds exactly like what we heard!

But they said there was a danger of strings/instruments breaking from the cold - if that had happened, a pre-recorded track isn't going to hide that, and the TV cameras would've seen it even if most of the audience didn't. I guess they just didn't want the music to stop if the worst happened?

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:)

But in all seriousness it's been done before. The 2004 Winter Olympics also come to mind. And I believe it is common to record a version to have as a standby in case the weather or any other technical glitches cause problems.

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And people wonder why the hell our economy is in shambles!

Fraud! Loaning out air to each other!

Actually speaking of fraud and air....all of a sudden "Air and Simple Gifts" takes on a new meaning. :)

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They had better prerecorded (precorded?) the oath as well, and have the chief justice lip sync.

But I wouldn't know what would be wrong with playing the recorded music in these circumstances.

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If you read the article in question it was basically the performers who decided to go with the pre-recorded version due to the weather.

I have no problem with it.

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:)

But in all seriousness it's been done before. The 2004 Winter Olympics also come to mind. And I believe it is common to record a version to have as a standby in case the weather or any other technical glitches cause problems.

Happens all the time. No big deal. Have to admit, they faked it pretty well. They may have even actually "played", but I have no problems with it. When you're playing $3,000,000.00 Stradivarius violin, you have every reason to worry what the cold will do.

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I doesn't bother me at all, in fact I'm sure they did the right thing.

While watching the performance I did wonder how their instruments stayed in tune exposed to cold weather...

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Did any major newspaper like it? Or are people only posting the ones that didn't?

Well, this was about the "performance" itself, not the piece. With regard to the piece, I believe the NYT was the only major paper that had a positive review of Williams's composition.

Elsewhere, Yo-Yo Ma weighs in for NPR.

Inauguration Day was so cold, musician Yo-Yo Ma and others recorded their performance two days earlier and played along during Tuesday's ceremony. It was feared the frigid temperatures would crack instruments and break strings. Ma discusses what happened.

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WHHHHAAAAATTT????!!!!

I read this thread just now. How did this come out?

Anyway, it doesn't bother me that much. If JW had been there to conduct the musicians playing nothing, THEN it might have bothered me... but only a little. And I don't think it was Williams' or Perlman's or Ma's decision.

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If JW had been there to conduct the musicians playing nothing, THEN it might have bothered me...

So you were bothered by the 2002 Winter Olympics performance.

No, because the choir was real, at least.

The musicians weren't playing then, either??? ;)

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No they weren't.

I really don't see what's the big point. In the popular music world it's completely normal to do this. People are talking like the oath was prerecorded or something (in this case that wouldn't have been a bad idea btw).

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No they weren't.

I really don't see what's the big point. In the popular music world it's completely normal to do this. People are talking like the oath was prerecorded or something (in this case that wouldn't have been a bad idea btw).

No. It made it more fun (as Obama himself said).

Well, I don't mind at all. I just wish the recording quality of the album (CotC) was a bit better.

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So am I right if i say that those standing next to the quartett was hearing the live performance?

Ohh BOY!! that must have sounded really bad!!

I just look at the hands of the pianist who semms to miss many wrong and miss many correct notes...

in one part you hear playing octaves, but she isn't able to hit them exactly on the keyboard.

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So am I right if i say that those standing next to the quartett was hearing the live performance?

Ohh BOY!! that must have sounded really bad!!

I just look at the hands of the pianist who semms to miss many wrong and miss many correct notes...

in one part you hear playing octaves, but she isn't able to hit them exactly on the keyboard.

Weren't they encased in bullet-proof glass or something? Or was that just Obama? :D

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I wonder what President Ford would say. As for the music, Aaron Copland must be still spinning in his grave.

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A sham and a stain I'm afraid. I've always objected to bands miming to a prerecorded track during TV performances. It's much worse that these four great musicians felt that's the way they had to go. Pathetic.

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anyone who has performed in rotten weather knows this was the only route to go. As if Williams and co. wanted to usher in the new President with a rendition that would be out of tune... I'm sure Ma and Pearlman were not even playing their million dollar strads either.

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In my time I have played violin in several "wedding" quartets. I can't count the number of times we've had to play outdoors in cold and windy conditions. Occasionally in rainy conditions too. AND we got paid a couple of hundred bucks between the four of us, which (and I'm just guessing here) is probably slightly less than Ma et al received...

I hope they all feel slightly uncomfortable and embarassed about the whole thing. :D

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A sham and a stain I'm afraid. I've always objected to bands miming to a prerecorded track during TV performances. It's much worse that these four great musicians felt that's the way they had to go. Pathetic.

There was a question not just of tuning but of damaging the instruments.

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