In Tuesday’s (7/17) Seattle Times, Michael Upchurch writes, “Gerard Schwarz, conductor laureate of Seattle Symphony, has a big new music project, premiering on KCTS at 10 p.m. Friday. Titled ‘The All-Star Orchestra,’ it features …‘made-for-television orchestral music.’ In other words: HD video recordings crafted as carefully as any traditional audio recording.… In the first two episodes (there are eight altogether), 18 HD cameras cover the players so comprehensively that they let you see musical details emerge that you might not normally catch on an audio recording or even in a live performance.… The aim of the series, [Schwarz] says, was to make great music accessible to as many people as possible.” The musicians came from 30 orchestras nationwide. “What you see on the program is one of two or three recorded takes of pieces these top-tier musicians had never played together. The results … are incredible. ‘This orchestra played like they were playing chamber music,’ Schwarz says. ‘Any nuance that I would do they would follow like I’ve never experienced in my life.’ ” TV programming dates for the rest of the country are expected to be announced later this summer.

Posted July 17, 2013

Photo of All-Star Orchestra by Steve J. Sherman