On July 11, I went into a concert with the slight trepidation of having no idea what I was getting myself into. The program was a conglomeration of two famously complex and wildly different artists: Johannes Brahms, and Radiohead.
As I entered the hall, with nose-bleed tickets in the right corner of the third tier, there seemed to be an even mix of both younger and older generations. This is common with the exciting new concerts that introduce popular music as played by the orchestra, and is, in my opinion, an extremely positive indicator of the continuing success of the symphony. I also noticed that, somewhat more uncommonly, the entire hall was completely full, even up in the nosebleeds.
This is apparently what you get when you showcase two superstars from different spheres of the music world.
Joining the orchestra on stage were three vocalists: Andrew Lipke, Bill Prokopow and Kéren Tayar. Almost immediately, Lipke launched in with Radiohead's "Airbag", with a clear, carrying tenor voice.
Without missing a beat, the orchestra transitioned from "Airbag" straight into the Brahms' 1st movement, not an easy task considering that the symphony begins with a thundering timpani heart-beat and long, dramatic chords from the strings. My ears instantly adjusted to the symphony I have by now memorized.
After the exposition, they transitioned into "Paranoid Android", which was a bit jarring to me as my expectations of the natural progression of the 1st movement were suddenly interrupted. It took a minute for me to say to myself, "Wait a moment, drop your addiction to the familiar. Open up, consider the possibilities." Once I made this mental shift, it became much easier to appreciate the painstakingly crafted blend of Brahms into Radiohead, and vice versa.
Ending movement 1 of the symphony was a transition into "Subterranean Homesick Alien", with Tayar's haunting, keening vocals, and a sudden breakout into three-part harmony of all three vocalists which raised the hairs on the back of my neck. The song instantly became one of my favorites.
As the music progressed, the songs became more and more part of the actual symphony, with harmonies carefully constructed to fit the existing harmonies of the symphony. I found this especially impressive since, as since I mentioned before, both of these works of music are incredibly complex. Whereas many of the earlier classical (Haydn, Mozart) symphonies maintain standard chord progressions such as I-IV-V-I at regular beats in the music, Brahms is anything but regular. His seamless transition from tonal center to tonal center and definitive shifts from triple meter to double meter and back stretch the bounds of tonal classical music. Similarly, Radiohead utilizes modality, chromaticism, and other hyper-tonal techniques in their arrangements. To marry the two is a beautiful accomplishment.
For example, my favorite Radiohead song turned out to be "Exit Music (For A Film)", in the middle of which it became apparent that the music was going in a completely different harmonic direction from the section of Movement IV which was playing simultaneously. The tension created by the impending harmonic crash condensed into one terrifying moment where no one knew what would happen. Suddenly, all three singers broke out into three perfect tones of an even diminished chord which had me astounded with the accuracy of the dissonant harmony.
In less tense moments, the singers utilized satisfying suspensions, not only against the orchestra, but also against each other. Somehow, everything resolved correctly.
Another part of the genius of Hackman's arrangement was inserting various motifs from the Brahms into the Radiohead songs. A couple of instances of this technique stood out to me in particular.
First, anyone familiar with the Brahms' symphony will recognize the violin solo played towards the end of the 2nd movement. Not content with letting this gem remain embedded in the classical world, Hackman gave it another prominent statement in, ironically, "No Surprises". The reminder of the movement, now passed, was a particularly contemplative moment.
Second, in the last song of the night, "Electioneering", the famed horn solo from the 4th movement of the symphony interjected - in minor! The cleverness of this moment was extremely satisfying for those in the audience who recognized what was going on.
Which leads me to my question of the evening: The concert was clearly enjoyable for any classical music lover who knows the intricate inner working of a musical composition - the harmonies, melodic and motivic development, structure and orchestration. But what of the audience mainly familiar with the Radiohead pieces? Were they able to appreciate the concert to the same capacity?
My question seemed to answer itself with the final, bombastic brass chords of the symphony's fourth movements. The entire packed hall immediately raised to their feet and started applauding as loudly as possible. The singers left the stage and re-entered; as Lipke bowed, everyone started screaming as if they were at a rock concert. Hackman entered; the screams got even louder. By the time he acknowledged the orchestra behind him, the audience was going crazy, and kept it up for a good five minutes.
With this level of craft, consideration, and attention to details, along with stellar orchestration, it seems impossible that anyone could turn their nose up at the "pop music" that had sold out the symphony. The integration of classical and popular ended up a wild success that did not sacrifice musicality and artistry.
After all, according to Steve Hackman: "Ultimately, when you distill them, they are made of the same twelve notes."
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