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st_aurafinaI posted about BBC Maestro a few months ago; I had been slowly tracking it down in dribs and drabs on Youtube, primarily to gaze at Sue Perkins in a dreamy haze. lilacsigil finally acquired a source so I can watch it properly.
Guys, it is fantastic.
Guys, I have all the feelings about this show.
I'll put a warning here not to look the show up on Wiki, because it has spoilers about the winner right there at the top of the page. I watched it knowing who wins, and it did not detract significantly from my enjoyment, but I'll leave that up to you.
Basically, Maestro is a reality tv show that takes eight celebrities, assigns them a mentor to teach them to conduct, then plonks them down in front of the BBC Concert Orchestra each week.
But it's so much more.
If you've ever played with an orchestra - even if it was just at school, like me - you will be instantly pulled into the drama of this show. When the conductors are struggling with tempo or timing, you'll lean forward in your seat trying to make their beat work for you, and you'll cringe with them as they miss cues, and when they get it right, you'll feel that buzz of adrenaline when everything is working together.
If you've never played with a group, but you have a competency kink like me, then let me walk you through the drama.
The judges are a bunch of awesome:
I try not to apply a Harry Potter framework to the media I love - oh, who am I kidding here? I ALWAYS apply a Harry Potter framework to the media I love. Sir Roger Norrington is definitely the Dumbledore of BBC Maestro. Simone Young is McGonagall, and incredibly crushworthy. Zoë Martlew, also crushworthy, is dynamic and engaging and all about the learning curve, so I suppose she's Madame Hooch? Dominic Seldis, I'm sorry to say, is the Guilderoy Lockhart - I'm sure he's an awesome double bassist, but he's pretty superficial when it comes to the judging. He talks about Katie Derham's bottom a little too much for my comfort, anyway.
Let's talk about Sue, because she's the reason I tracked the show down.
The thing you learn very quickly about Sue is that she's that kind of high-achiever who laughs and clowns around, and tries desperately not to let on how very much she wants to do well at things. It's pretty clear within five seconds in front of the orchestra that she loves conducting. Watching her do battle with her own need to laugh things away, and to not admit how much she cares about conducting is one of the best things about this series.
Apparently Jane Asher famously dated a Beatle. She's an actress, she's a high-achiever, etc. I am sure she is very accomplished. I was immediately distracted by this shot, however:
Do you see it? Let me clarify:
She is friends with Joanna Lumley, who brought her conductor husband over to help Jane cheat like a motherfucker and learn to read a score. I am brimming with approval.
Have some more Joanna Lumley. She played the Doctor once, you know:
I am just a shade too young to have watched him on TV, but David Soul was Hutch:
People slash you, bro. They slash you a lot. (I don't think he'd mind, to be honest.)
Katie Derham is a news presenter. She gets to conduct a string quartet that looks an awful lot like Bond to me:
Take careful note of this guy:
This is her mentor.lilacsigil says he looks like Putin. I say he behaves like Putin, but he looks like Draco:
Either way, he is amazingly, amazingly cruel. Like, Dickens levels of cruel. Like, beat you and lock you in the cellar until you learn or die of consumption, Jane Eyre levels of cruel. Look at that bastard's face:
Normally this would hit my cringe-button so hard, but Katie Derham is incredibly and fascinatingly polite, and the whole thing becomes like this awkward dance at an Regency Assembly hall. I just had to keep watching to see how mean he'd be, and when they'd elope. (Spoilers: they don't.)
Cool things happen with sticks and marching bands:
It's amazing when Alex James (former bassist for Blur) finds the volume control for the marching band. You can see it in his face, the way that gesture drives the sound coming from the people in front of him:
The best thing of all, the most unexpected thing was Goldie. I hunted the show down for Sue Perkins, but I ended up watching for Goldie. He doesn't read music, he's got little experience with classical music - they have to explain who the woodwinds are, for example. He picks up a baton for the first time, and ekes the most amazing sound out of the orchestra. It's magic.
He and his mentor are an amazing team. They figure out how he can translate a score, so he knows where he's at while he's conducting:
And in the first performance, his mentor is practically leaping out of his seat:
Goldie's story through the show hits every competency button I have, and all the musical buttons, too. I have such a thing for people who unexpectedly find something they love, and soak as much of it up as they can. It's amazing.
So, that's Maestro. I've only used caps from the first episode, so as not to be too spoilery for who stays and who goes. If you're interested in seeing it, send me a PM. (Or if you're on my flist, hang around for a minute or two while I do the code thing.)
lilacsigil finally acquired a source so I can watch it properly. Guys, it is fantastic.
Guys, I have all the feelings about this show.
I'll put a warning here not to look the show up on Wiki, because it has spoilers about the winner right there at the top of the page. I watched it knowing who wins, and it did not detract significantly from my enjoyment, but I'll leave that up to you.
Basically, Maestro is a reality tv show that takes eight celebrities, assigns them a mentor to teach them to conduct, then plonks them down in front of the BBC Concert Orchestra each week.
But it's so much more.
If you've ever played with an orchestra - even if it was just at school, like me - you will be instantly pulled into the drama of this show. When the conductors are struggling with tempo or timing, you'll lean forward in your seat trying to make their beat work for you, and you'll cringe with them as they miss cues, and when they get it right, you'll feel that buzz of adrenaline when everything is working together.
If you've never played with a group, but you have a competency kink like me, then let me walk you through the drama.
The judges are a bunch of awesome:
I try not to apply a Harry Potter framework to the media I love - oh, who am I kidding here? I ALWAYS apply a Harry Potter framework to the media I love. Sir Roger Norrington is definitely the Dumbledore of BBC Maestro. Simone Young is McGonagall, and incredibly crushworthy. Zoë Martlew, also crushworthy, is dynamic and engaging and all about the learning curve, so I suppose she's Madame Hooch? Dominic Seldis, I'm sorry to say, is the Guilderoy Lockhart - I'm sure he's an awesome double bassist, but he's pretty superficial when it comes to the judging. He talks about Katie Derham's bottom a little too much for my comfort, anyway.
Let's talk about Sue, because she's the reason I tracked the show down.
The thing you learn very quickly about Sue is that she's that kind of high-achiever who laughs and clowns around, and tries desperately not to let on how very much she wants to do well at things. It's pretty clear within five seconds in front of the orchestra that she loves conducting. Watching her do battle with her own need to laugh things away, and to not admit how much she cares about conducting is one of the best things about this series.
Apparently Jane Asher famously dated a Beatle. She's an actress, she's a high-achiever, etc. I am sure she is very accomplished. I was immediately distracted by this shot, however:
Do you see it? Let me clarify:
She is friends with Joanna Lumley, who brought her conductor husband over to help Jane cheat like a motherfucker and learn to read a score. I am brimming with approval.
Have some more Joanna Lumley. She played the Doctor once, you know:
I am just a shade too young to have watched him on TV, but David Soul was Hutch:
People slash you, bro. They slash you a lot. (I don't think he'd mind, to be honest.)
Katie Derham is a news presenter. She gets to conduct a string quartet that looks an awful lot like Bond to me:
Take careful note of this guy:
This is her mentor.
lilacsigil says he looks like Putin. I say he behaves like Putin, but he looks like Draco:
Either way, he is amazingly, amazingly cruel. Like, Dickens levels of cruel. Like, beat you and lock you in the cellar until you learn or die of consumption, Jane Eyre levels of cruel. Look at that bastard's face:
Normally this would hit my cringe-button so hard, but Katie Derham is incredibly and fascinatingly polite, and the whole thing becomes like this awkward dance at an Regency Assembly hall. I just had to keep watching to see how mean he'd be, and when they'd elope. (Spoilers: they don't.)
Cool things happen with sticks and marching bands:
It's amazing when Alex James (former bassist for Blur) finds the volume control for the marching band. You can see it in his face, the way that gesture drives the sound coming from the people in front of him:
The best thing of all, the most unexpected thing was Goldie. I hunted the show down for Sue Perkins, but I ended up watching for Goldie. He doesn't read music, he's got little experience with classical music - they have to explain who the woodwinds are, for example. He picks up a baton for the first time, and ekes the most amazing sound out of the orchestra. It's magic.
He and his mentor are an amazing team. They figure out how he can translate a score, so he knows where he's at while he's conducting:
And in the first performance, his mentor is practically leaping out of his seat:
Goldie's story through the show hits every competency button I have, and all the musical buttons, too. I have such a thing for people who unexpectedly find something they love, and soak as much of it up as they can. It's amazing.
So, that's Maestro. I've only used caps from the first episode, so as not to be too spoilery for who stays and who goes. If you're interested in seeing it, send me a PM. (Or if you're on my flist, hang around for a minute or two while I do the code thing.)
no subject
Date: 2012-03-17 12:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-17 12:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-17 12:14 pm (UTC)Joanna Lumley! I think she just increases in awesomeness and sexiness as she ages. It may be a British woman thing, like Helen Mirren.
Word on the competency kink. I just love reality shows where people actually have to work - whether it's really tough physical challenges or more mental things than this - rather than just bumble through a song or argue a lot.
Also, I've wondered in the past just how much the conductor affects things, particularly when we're talking about musicians who should be reasonably competent at not completely cocking things up.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-17 12:39 pm (UTC)Exactly! This is exactly my thought process when I found out about the show. And yes, Joanna Lumley. There is nothing that she cannot do. I will watch her do anything, she is amazing and smart and sexy. And funny.
Also, I've wondered in the past just how much the conductor affects things, particularly when we're talking about musicians who should be reasonably competent at not completely cocking things up.
Oh, wow, there is so much more going on! When you get to the bit with Alex James and the marching band, you really understand how much is competency and how much is teamwork. It's really, really cool.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-17 12:46 pm (UTC)(I wonder if this is from the same team that did Operatunity? i.e. Pop Idol for Opera Singers.)
no subject
Date: 2012-03-17 12:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-17 12:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-17 12:50 pm (UTC)(There should be a flocked post showing up now that is relevant to your interests.)
no subject
Date: 2012-03-17 12:53 pm (UTC)(I have seen it! I shall bookmark it and download it later on when I am not using a dodgy wireless connection. Thank you! <3)
Reason #7899 why I love BBC *-*
Date: 2012-03-17 03:34 pm (UTC)Re: Reason #7899 why I love BBC *-*
Date: 2012-03-18 01:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-17 04:08 pm (UTC)About the show: I will give it a try because it sounds cool, but it may end up pushing my personal inadequacy buttons. I used to want to be a conductor myself, and I did get my chance - several chances, in fact (my bachelor's degree is in music, so there were plenty of learning opportunities) and it turns out I completely suck at conducting. Absolutely terrible. Partly because I suck at the physical act of conducting in that my beats aren't clear enough, but mostly because I'm no kind of leader at all, and conducting is about leadership.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-18 01:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-18 01:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-17 09:32 pm (UTC)I think I've said it before, but I'll say it again -- British programming is so much better than American's.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-18 01:27 pm (UTC)I certainly enjoy British reality TV much more than what comes from the US - it seems a lot less contrived, and they do some really interesting things.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-17 11:48 pm (UTC)Also, ohmygosh, this show looks quite great.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-18 01:28 pm (UTC)And yeah, the show is brilliant. So fascinating.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-18 02:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-27 11:24 am (UTC)