Comments on: Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in Sydney 2008 – 1

By: SSO - Kirill Gerstein « Stumbling on melons

SSO - Kirill Gerstein « Stumbling on melons — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:33:22 +0000

[...] heard KG twice (1, 2) a little over a week ago when he played with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, so I had [...]

By: marcellous

marcellous — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:56:53 +0000

As to the timing of The Australian’s article: always, always. The problem is that they like to report news (their mindset is: what has happened) but the orchestra needs publicity (what is going to happen). The press want people to pay for that.
Peter McCallum has been attending and dutifully scribbling away but on present performance by the SSO a review may appear on Tues or even Wednesday next, if at all, and these days for some reason rarely on the web.

By: Thom

Thom — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:05:46 +0000

The Australian’s Review today includes a prominent editorial piece on Sebastian Lang-Lessing. Seems a little late to me – something like that should have appeared last weekend.

By: Thom

Thom — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:03:52 +0000

True Rob. Although offering free tickets to music students always seems like an easy and/or obvious option to marketing departments, most of the people in marketing departments have never been tertiary music students themselves! I’m ashamed now of the number of opportunities to hear free concerts that I turned down in my day, but that’s how it was. A mix of youthful jadedness and a kind of arrogance, which most if not all grow out of, eventually.

By: Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in Sydney 2009 - 2 « Stumbling on melons

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in Sydney 2009 - 2 « Stumbling on melons — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:57:49 +0000

[...] couldn’t give away tickets to this concert, or so it seems from a comment to my post on Thursday night’s concert. Tickets were being given away to Con students, though [...]

By: Rob

Rob — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:04:42 +0000

Sydney Con students have been offered 2 comps each for tonight’s and Saturday’s show. The email came around today in, what I can only assume to be, response to the shocking numbers last night.
I’m going on Saturday, but I don’t imagine very many of us will go see. Most con students seem repulsed by the idea of going to a concert of the music that they study & play themselves – just take a look at the appalling attendance at the weekly free concerts at the con.
Bitter? no…

By: marcellous

marcellous — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:13:25 +0000

Don’t get me started on the bloody parking! Parking for 7 pm concerts is out of the question, whereas for Angel Place at 8pm it is normally a breeze. I wonder if the management at Angel Place push these 7pm concerts for their own reasons – they save money if they don’t have to keep their box office open so long and can send their staff home earlier.

By: Thom

Thom — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:08:22 +0000

Thursday is always bad in my view – it competes with any need or urge to participate in late-night shopping, and for those who drive the parking becomes worse than usual.

By: marcellous

marcellous — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:59:02 +0000

But did you go, Thom?

Maybe I was too harsh about their efforts. Maybe things will be better for later nights. Maybe the pricing was too high. I expect it shows just why orchestras etc work so hard to foster their direct relationship with their particular public and that mere advertising cannot do the job. I really think the TSO’s only chance is to tap onto a local orchestra’s (jealously-guarded, I suspect) list. I said what I wanted to say about that last year. and when I reread my post from their first concert then things don’t seem to have changed much. Isn’t that around about when you first turned up here?

By: Thom

Thom — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:34:44 +0000

I saw what I assumed to be an expensive ad placement on the back cover of Limelight magazine, and a 1/5th page colour ad in the Spectrum just past. Didn’t notice any editorial coverage this week or last (although that doesn’t necessarily mean there wasn’t any), but if I remember correctly they bought themselves the cover story for the 2MBS Fine Music magazine in the September issue. So it would appear that money was spent, but perhaps not enough was done to create genuine buzz about the concerts. Or perhaps a great deal was done to create genuine buzz, but it just didn’t work. At least the timing was better this year, with the visit falling during a period when the SSO is on tour in Italy and the ACO in Japan. I’m fond of the TSO, but perhaps fondness isn’t a feeling that brings out Sydney audiences in droves.