Well, I took the trip to Final Fantasy Land(s?) and I’m back home now.
It was an interesting night, to be sure. The audience went wild over the music. It’s obvious that they recognize the tunes and are thrilled to hear them. I guess after playing a video game for hours on end the music does become quite familiar.
So I’m thinking … what if someone made a video game and used some Mahler for the music. Or some Stravinsky? Or Beethoven? Would the gamers then want to come to some symphony concerts? Hmmm.
There were big screens behind us, and at times they played scenes from the various Final Fantasy games. More often, though, they showed close-ups of the orchestra members. One audience member later suggested that symphonies do this at concerts … he suggested it would be like the concerts on PBS. It would get the audience closer to the musicians too. I’m not sure where I stand on this, but I guess I can understand the appeal. (I just prefer to like to be a part of the whole and not be singled out by a camera.)
This was the youngest audience I’ve ever played for, excluding the school concerts we’ve done. It was the most enthusiastic and alive as well. That was exciting. Really.
I’m not sure if I want to yak about the music itself here. I’ll have to think on that I guess.
