Cham, 15.12.2020

Conclusion after live broadcast of the Zuger Sinfonietta

The Zuger Sinfonietta, with Maurice Steger as soloist and conductor, carried out an exclusively virtual concert for the first time.

Tension was high just before 7.30pm on Saturday night. Would the live broadcast of the Zuger Sinfonietta concert from the Lorzensaal in Cham be successful?

All the fears proved to be unfounded at the start of the concert, after entering the necessary password. The image mix was excellent, the direction was also excellent, the concert feeling was created by the brilliant audio mix, and the different cameras did the rest: technically excellent live image mixing, solid direction and best cinematography. The light might have been a little more advantageous, as it was often a little gloomy, and there could have been a few additional spotlights here and there, given the effort that was put into this production.

Maurice Steger demonstrated virtuoso recorder skills
For Maurice Steger, as conductor and soloist, together with the Zuger Sinfonietta, the programme began with a trip through European Baroque.

A popular piece was chosen to start the concert: Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, followed by the Handel’s Concerto for flute (or oboe) in G minor (HWV 287). Fittingly, Handel himself travelled extensively through Europe and worked in England until the end of his life. So it made sense that this was followed by Henry Purcell, with his Suite from King Arthur, compiled by Maurice Steger.

Maurice Steger showed all his skills in pure form with Georg Philipp Telemann's Concerto in C major for recorder and strings, a breath-taking performance. The 49-year-old star musician showed himself to be both energetic and consistently virtuoso, playing on a Baroque alto-recorder, and it was so stunning that one was not sure if a camera trick was being used.

Asked about this by e-mail, Maurice Steger replied: "I played Handel's work on the soprano recorder, which was often used at the time. This is the same instrument used in recorder lessons for children at school. It’s a particularly nice challenge to be able to conjure up great music from this small piece of wood." If schoolchildren had only a moment to enjoy the recorder playing of a Maurice Steger, the instrument could be freed from the dreariness of school lessons and make a brilliant comeback.

Mutual confidence of the musicians was clearly visible
The "virtual" concert of the Zuger Sinfonietta was impressive in almost all points. The cameras relentlessly recorded every detail: in this case, a happy circumstance, for example, the strings were absolutely synchronous in both length and stroke speed which was visually good to see.

Photo 1: The live broadcast from the empty Lorzensaal worked perfectly
Photo 2: The ensemble was led by Maurice Steger, who also plays the recorder as a soloist and works in an almost empty Lorzensaal.

Photo 3: The Zuger Sinfonietta played their concert in the Lorzensaal without an audience.
Images: Stefan Kaiser (Cham, 12 December 2020)

 

This was also confirmed by the concertmaster Yuki Kasai in conversation with Maurice Steger: "We have a great confidence in ourselves and towards each other," she said in a short interview during the live stream.

You felt yourself to be in the audience, and not alone
It was precisely these verbal inter-intermezzi that were an important design element in the case of this concert transmission, because this gave you the feeling that one was not alone in front of the computer – usually rather a desperate undertaking on a Saturday evening.

The function of "togetherness" that is typical for a live concert is normally taken over by the present audience: here, Maurice Steger jumped into the breach, and did so eloquently and gallantly. For Steger, on the other hand, it was a challenge, because: "Designing a concert is essentially bringing together the work that has been done, what has been experienced together, what has had to be corrected, together with what we have discussed and what have rehearsed together, to the point that art is created."

The atmosphere among the musicians in the hall must have been good, because you could even feel that on the small computer screen at home. Nevertheless, a live stream is not a live concert, As Maurice Steger also attests: "I sincerely miss the audience: the exchange of energies in a live concert and the joint experience are irreplaceable."