Performance

The symphony orchestra is the most advanced musical machine ever created by humans. There is no other construct with such a wealth of timbres and sounds, creating a full palette of moods and emotions. It is a vast ensemble where nearly a hundred people start playing at exactly the same moment, synchronously slowing down and speeding up. Despite its size, it offers considerable interpretative freedom and can sound completely different depending on the conductor and their vision. How is this possible? Who ensures that the orchestra sounds pure? Can it perform without a conductor?

 

You will find answers to these and other questions at our educational concerts titled *Orchestral ABC*, part of the *Sunday Mornings* series. We will explain the instruments, demonstrate their various solo and ensemble sounds, and share interesting facts about working in such a large group. This is a unique opportunity to see and hear instruments that are usually hidden in the orchestra, as well as to talk with the artists who make up the Grand Theatre Orchestra in Łódź.

 

Do you know which instrument you hear first when you arrive at the opera or the philharmonic? Before the first notes of the performance are played, the orchestra must tune up. The oboe is the instrument that provides the correct pitch for the other musicians. Along with the flute, bassoon, and clarinet, the oboe forms the woodwind section of the symphony orchestra, known as aerophones. These are considered to be some of the oldest melodic instruments. The first primitive flute was found in the Divje Babe cave in Slovenia, and it is estimated to be 43,000 years old. Why does the oboe set the pitch for the orchestra? What is a reed? Why is the transverse flute part of the woodwind family despite being made of metal? You will find the answers to these and many more questions at our fourth concert in the *Orchestral ABC* series.