William Ford | 26 DEC 2024
Today, we’re excited to bring you a conversation with the legendary conductor JoAnn Falletta. With over 135 recordings to her name, Maestra Falletta is one of the most celebrated classical artists of our time. She’s a two-time Grammy winner with six nominations and the long-time conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Recognized by Gramophone as one of the world’s top conductors, her influence on the classical music world is unmatched.
In his interview, William Ford catches up with JoAnn to discuss her brand-new release of three stunning recordings (see video). The excerpt below features a conversation about audience differences across the world, as well as the difficulties of recording in the U.S.
The full video interview is embedded below the excerpt.
William Ford: You’ve been traveling pretty much globally?
JoAnn Falletta: I’ve started to. Since the pandemic ended, a lot of things that were canceled were rescheduled. So I have been traveling. I have been traveling a lot. And now I’ll do more global traveling too.
WF: I assume that’s a real perk for you?
JF: You know, I enjoy very much being in other countries. But the traveling part is… I can’t say it’s a perk. I mean, the traveling is difficult. It takes a lot of time, and it’s very tiring. But being in a different country, working with musicians that are, you know, not your friends that you see every day, is really a wonderful experience. I learn a lot from that.
WF: You’ve been to what we call the Far East a fair amount?
JF: I have, though not as much as others. I’ve been to Japan, I’ve been to Korea, and I’ve been to China. And I’ve been to Taiwan too. I guess that’s about it. I’m scheduled to go back to China next winter, so I’m looking forward to that for three weeks.
It’s taught me one thing, I have to say: even if people don’t speak your language, there’s something so universal about music that makes everyone feel comfortable at once. It sounds like a truism, like “music is an international language,” but it really is. I mean, people in China play Tchaikovsky very much in the same way that people in New York play Tchaikovsky. They respond in the same way to this music. So musicians have so much in common.
WF: Do you notice a difference between their audiences and our audiences?
JF: Audiences can be very different. For instance, in Europe, I just conducted in Liverpool. The audience is very warm, very responsive, claps a lot but doesn’t give standing ovations. That’s just not an English thing. And that’s true for much of Europe. But they do bring people back many more times than in our country.
Sometimes, when I have a European soloist, I have to say, “We don’t give as many returns to the stage generally as you’re used to.” That doesn’t mean they didn’t love it; it’s just that our tradition doesn’t do that. So there’s that.
In China—I don’t know if it’s changed now, I haven’t been there since the pandemic—but they stop clapping when the artist goes off the stage. They immediately stop because the artist is no longer visible. Then the artist comes on the stage again, and they’ll clap.
Sometimes, again, artists who aren’t used to that… They come right off, leave the piano, go right off stage, and people stop clapping. And they’re horrified—horrified! I mean, they clapped for like three seconds.
And I say, “No, no, just go out.” And some of them: “No, I’m not going out. They’re not clapping.” I say, “No, just go out. That’s their tradition.” And, of course, the moment he takes a step out, they’re clapping again.
So it’s a little bit different, but generally, people respond to music in a similar way.
On Recording in the US
WF: I guess it’s been years since people have recorded in a studio. I guess that just doesn’t happen much anymore, particularly in the U.S. Why is that?
JF: When I’ve done that, I’ve always done it overseas—either in England or in the Czech Republic. They do a lot of that there, where, a composer will go over with you. You perform—not perform, really, but just play their music, and it’s recorded. Then, it exists in that format but without an actual performance.
I think that doesn’t happen so much in the United States because the costs are really high. I mean, really high. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars to make a recording. It’s less expensive to make a live recording, so studio recordings are rare. ■
Watch a video of the complete interview EXTERNAL LINKS:
- JoAnn Falletta: joannfalletta.com
Read more by William Ford.
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JoAnn Falletta on global audiences, her latest recordings, and the challenges of recording in the U.S. • 26 Dec 2024
