‘Upbeat Live’ Gets the Message Out to Classical Music Listener

Helping the layman appreciate classical music is a favorite undertaking for many writers, scholars and pundits dedicated to the world of music. Such experts are often convincing, persuasive and charismatic. But they also need to know how to tell a good joke.

For many Southland listeners, from dabblers to the more dedicated, the Los Angeles Philharmonic offers a series of free, hourlong, pre-concert lectures called “Upbeat Live.” The presentations, given an hour before every subscription concert, introduce the current program and offer insights from local music personalities.

“Most important, we try to get the audience to trust their own ears,” says Ara Guzelimian, artistic administrator for the Philharmonic and coordinator of “Upbeat Live” since its inception in 1984.

“I hate the notion of thinking of classical music as a sacred priesthood. There is no right reaction.

“We try to give them information that will help them, but we stress that if you don’t like a piece, don’t think that it’s like oatmeal and you have to eat it. That really destroys the experience.”

The series opened last night with Alan Chapman, a music theorist who teaches at Occidental College and has given several “Upbeat Live” presentations. His discussion on the background and other aspects of the program this weekend, the fourth symphonies of Shostakovich and Beethoven, will also be given tonight, Saturday night and Sunday afternon.

“In trying to supply the key to get inside a piece I usually discover something new about the piece myself,” Chapman says. “It’s not like presenting a paper at a theory convention. Pacing is important because it’s part performance.

“Sometimes the most important thing is the tie you wear. For me, it’s the only opportunity I have to indulge in both music history and stand-up comedy at the same time.”

“It’s important that speakers are informed, but also relaxed,” says Guzelimian. “It shouldn’t be like an evening of taking information off of stone tablets from the mountaintops. There should also be a little entertainment in the experience.”

For the broad cross-section of listeners who attend the Philharmonic’s concerts, “Upbeat Live” is an opportunity to relax after the often-hectic ritual of driving on the freeways, finding a parking place and so on. Subscribers have been known to come from as far away as Bakersfield and the pre-concert presentations give them a chance to pause and tune in to the music they are about to hear.

One subscriber, Karen Wilson, 34, drives all the way from Hemet to hear the Philharmonic perform and claims that she never misses an “Upbeat Live” lecture. She works as a chemist for a large company there and paints portraits in her spare time.

“I usually get some tidbit or helpful hint out of the lecture. If anything, it lets me know when to clap,” says Wilson.

“People say I’m crazy for driving 90 minutes every week just to hear a concert. For me, it’s always a wonderful chance to get away from Hemet for a while.”

Wilson recalls other lectures by Chapman and how he would compare the music to situations in every-day life. She especially remembers how he used the comparison of an L.A. freeway to a Beethoven symphony.

Chapman says: “It’s comparable to attempting to do several things at once. The transitions within a symphonic work are a lot like freeway ramps. On another occasion, I tried to compare a Bruckner symphony with a football game. Mastering the art of the well-conceived analogy is important for a lecture like this.”