On December 1, 2008, Google, owner of the web phenomenon YouTube, presented a challenge to the classical musical world. Amateur and professional musicians were given the chance to audition for the first YouTube Symphony Orchestra. In typical internet fashion, performers shared their online audition for all viewers of the YouTube community as well as for a standard orchestral jury with representatives from the Berlin Philharmonic and the London Symphony. From a short list of finalists, the YouTube audience helped to choose the winners.
With over 3,000 applicants vying for the 96 spots, the results of this unique endeavor were seen and heard at Carnegie Hall last week. Composer Tan Dun was selected to write and conduct a new piece for this momentous event. His Internet Symphony #1 subtitled "Eroica", used some of the themes from Beethoven's Symphony #3 as a true internet mash-up with raucous results.
San Francisco Symphony conductor Michael Tilson Thomas directed the rest of the program which consisted of excerpts and glimpses from a wide variety of pieces. New York Times reviewer Anthony Tommasini expressed his frustration with this concept and bemoaned the lack of a complete reading of literature from the standard repertoire. In all fairness, the young musicians, their conductor and the soloists only had two days of rehearsal time before their debut.
I hope that the team at Google who conceived this experiment will repeat it as a way to promote classical music.
