It’s not just that Paul Rissmann knows his music and has the ability to explain what he knows in the style of a good teacher - but he has extraordinary computer graphics skills also. From his Apple laptop in front of him on the stage, everything on its tiny screen was projected onto the huge screen at the back of stage above the players. And it’s not that he had to press a button to keep it all moving - it was programmed to move along on its own with merely a glance every so often to check all was well.
This meant that the Royal Scottish National Orchestra’s newly appointed Principal Guest Conductor, 42 year old Thomas Søndergård, had the Orchestra play a few bars of the music and then another and so on, on time and with no hesitation to demonstrate our music lesson on Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.
Paul Rissmann took ten movements from Prokofiev’s ballet music based on Shakespeare's greatest love story, and after a while was interviewing the Conductor on his views on the movement called Romeo and Juliet. That finished Rachael Clegg, the evening’s Guest Principal Oboist had come forward to play a bit from the Dance movement.
When it came to the Death of Tybalt Paul Rissmann really was in his element having the audience follow the music on the screen and clapping their thighs to time, and shortly afterwards firstly with a trial run stamping with their feet. His interactive composition Bamboozled for orchestra and audience has been performed by over 45,000 people throughout the world - so he knew what he was doing with us.
The Orchestra’s Leader, Maya Iwabuchi, gave a very firm and unexpected ‘no’ to something she was asked, and shortly afterwards the Conductor was reminiscing about the piece. Let’s hope he will enjoy addressing the audience when we watch him conduct three times a year.
After the interval the ten movements were played all the way through. The applause was probably the longest achieved by the RSNO in the Usher Hall this season. Nothing more needs to be said.
Event: Friday 17 February 2012 7.30pm