THE MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA'S WORLD CLASS PERFORMANCES AT KLCC STRIKE A CHORD

KEE@FSWMAG.COM

I managed to take this photo before an usher said no photography is allowed.

I spent a leisurely, thoroughly pleasant afternoon on 7 April enjoying a heavy dose of western culture at Petronas Twin Towers’ Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

It was my first time and certainly not my last. I seldom attend musical recitals as I prefer West End or Broadway shows like Cats, Phantom of the  Opera or Miss Saigon where the entire orchestra is hidden from view as they play from the subterranean pit.

I am a visual and tactile person though I guess if I touch any performer he or she would call the police to arrest me for molestation so it has to be visual.

I have been to Istana Budaya many times for musicals like ‘P. Ramlee the Musical’, ‘Nora’ and ‘Puteri Gunung Ledang’ so I was looking forward to ‘The Rite of Spring’ performance by the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra at Petronas Twin Towers.

I was amused by the dress code which was printed on both front and back of my ticket so whichever side I read, the detailed rules were printed clearly.

“Smart casual. Strictly no jeans, denim, shorts, collarless T-shirts, singlets, sport shoes, slippers, sneakers and sports attire” it said. I check my programme to see if the dress rules were plastered on the cover but they were not.

Since I don’t have anything casual as all my clothes are designer couture, super glamorous and frightfully expensve, the rules don’t apply to me so I was safe as houses. I was advised NOT to wear my top hat as it might block the view of the person behind me. White gloves and tuxedo with tail were also unnecessary but even so, I was the best dressed as usual.

Most followed the dress code and it was nice to see people so neatly dressed and looking casually elegant. I always feel out of place when I am all dressed to the nines only to see fellow guests looking as if they just returned from the nearest pasar malam.

As it is, many people think attending a Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra show is a waste of time and money as RM 20 or less can buy a very nice DVD filled with stirring, similar music by world famous conductors, pianists and musicians. You can enjoy listening to the music on the DVD for decades instead of just 2 hours. Of course I disagree as an afternoon or evening at the music hall at Petronas Twin Towers is an experience worth every sen. More so as sometimes the shows are even free but don’t expect Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo or Jose Carreras to sing for you.

Anyway, the rules are fine with me and I think people should always be welI dressed. I never leave my condo without looking like a million US dollars, not ringgit. At home, I look like a hundred thousand ringgit in my designer underwear.

I don’t even have normal blue jeans and the ones I have are heavily sequinned, embroidered, embellished with Swarovski crystals or painted with my gorgeous portraits which cost between RM 1,000 to RM 4,000 for a Roberto Cavalli. But then again, they don’t look like denims worn by Mat Rempits so if I wore them I would be allowed in.

As for shorts and collarless T-shirts, the designer ones are just as expensive. Prada shorts cost around RM 1,800 while Gucci collarless T-shirts from RM 500 to RM 3,000 depending on decorative elements!

It is like saying I can wear a RM 29.90 boring black viscose pants and RM 32 boring white, collared, long sleeved shirt and RM 18 cheap, fake leather shoes but not a RM 12,000 APO denims with solid gold press studs, RM 1,800 Chanel collarless T-shirt and RM 800 Nike trainers! So cheap, pasar malam clothes are allowed as long as they fit the dress norm while high quality, expensive, designer apparel are forbidden if they are made of denim or of wrong length or missing collar.

As for singlets, only those with drop-dead gorgeous bodies would dare wear them. A 145 cm girl weighing 100 kg will look unsalubrious in a singlet and ditto for a 185 cm guy weighing 55 kg. If I can afford to pay RM 50 or RM 130 for a ticket, I should have enough cow sense not to wear singlet if I have a bulging beer belly and spindly arms.

I was even more entertained when I read this; “If inappropriately dressed, ticket holders shall be denied admission and no refunds will be given”!

So there goes your RM 130.

I thought the aim of Petronas was to give the proletariat, poverty-stricken peasants unable to jet to La Scala in Milan a chance to enjoy world class, live, orchestral music? This threat will surely frighten the living daylights out of ordinary people unaccustomed to such scary rules. In London’s West End and New York’s Broadway, you can wear whatever you like.

At 3 pm in the afternoon I would have thought few would bother to set their hair and doll themselves up, however ‘smart casual’ that maybe. The thought that they may lose RM 130 or RM 50 if their sartorial standards fall short is a major fear factor.

If this was an evening gala with the Yang DiPertuan Agong and Permaisuri Agong and entire Cabinet in attendance, then a dress code is important. But I did spot a few men in denims and loafers (probably Tod’s or Louis Vuitton) so maybe the rules are not set in stone. What about body odour? They should stipulate those with body odour and bad breath should be banned as these are real killers!

I arrived on time and was seated by 2.45 pm. I started to marvel at the magnificent interiors of Dewan Philharmonic. Unlike most European theatres, this was purpose built from scratch and not renovated through the centuries. The famous West End theatres in London were built in the 19^th century or even earlier but ours is relatively brand new. So the acoustics are perfect since every detail had been seen to.

The seats are luxurious and the décor simply world class as befits its resident world class orchestra.

So I took a photo with my RM 5,400 Leica camera given to me by Her Royal Highness Sultanah Kalsom of Pahang. Within 5 seconds and before I could take a second picture, am usher swooped on me.

“Sorry, sir, no photos allowed,” he said politely.

“But the performance has not even started and I did not even use my flash,” I protested. “How can I show my friends how grand and impressive the Dewan is without photos?”

“Oh there are many photos in our website and you can extract photos from there,” he replied brightly.

But in this case, it defeats the purpose of banning theatre-goers from taking photos if they can retrieve photos from the MPO website? If they can sell these photos for millions of ringgit then it makes sense for MPO to ban photography but who in their right mind would pay for photos these days when a click on the computer keyboard produces any image you desire, porn or clean!

Last April 2012 a select group of journalists including me were invited to watch LMFAO concert at Sunway. We were feted and treated like VIPs which we deserved but were told no cameras were allowed inside. So we had to walk back to the cars to lock our expensive DSLR cameras which was a nuisance. As we entered, our bags and pockets were checked for cameras which quite impressed me and I was glad my camera was in my friend’s car or else we had to walk to the carpark at the last minute!

Anyway, the concert started and in unison, around 7,000 people took out their phones and started photographing and video-taping LMFAO! And I bet my bottom dollar none managed to sell their photos and could only upload their photos online for free for the world to see! So why waste time banning cameras? To stop 7,000 from bringing in their precious handphones or force them to leave their Samsungs and IPhones at the gate would cause a riot!

In London, we can take photos before and after the show but not during. The show producers obviously want to sell their souvenir programmes that cost RM 25 to RM 50 each but the MPO leaflet was free.

If I were the owner of a theatre, I would beg everyone to take photos and videotape the show and upload them in Facebook, Twitter, blog or any media to publicise my event! That should fill the empty seats!

But I am digressing…

The conductor was Zhang Yi (not to be confused with the sexier Zhang Zi Yi) and Beatrice Rana was pianist. The opening music was Le Coq Dor (Golden Cock) followed by a stunning performance on the piano by Beatrice Rana for Piano Concerto No 2 in G minor.

Then came a 20 minute break. I saw food and drinks which I assumed was included in the ticket but no such luck. You eat, you pay.

I was looking forward to the second segment featuring Igor Stravinky’s ‘Rite of Spring’. When it debuted in Paris on 29 May 1913, it caused more than a sensation. It caused a near riot INSIDE the Champes Elysee Theatre as catcalls, boos and shouts almost drowned the music. Like the orchestra in the movie ‘Titanic’, the Champs Elysee orchestra bravely and resolutely played nonstop till the end! Conductor Monteax wrote, “Everything available was thrown in our direction but we continued to play!”

Over 40 unruly patrons were thrown out by the French police and theatre management!

The leading French newspaper Le Figaro called ‘The Rite of Spring “a laborious and puerile barbarity” and “we are sorry to see an artist such as Stravinsky move in such a disconcerting adventure”.

‘The Rite of Spring’ controversy raged for years as it was described as ‘brutal, primeval and violently rhythmic’. The music for this ballet was commissioned by Diaghilev in 1908 expressly for Paris for the 1913 season of the Ballets Russe (Russian Ballet) which was based in the French capital.

Igor Stravinsky wrote ‘The Firebird’ and ‘Petruschka’ before producing the searing ‘The Rite of Spring’. The original choreography was by Nijinsky with costumes by Roerich. Together, the music and choreography became a ‘cause celebre’ as the ballet and orchestral concert work featured ‘The Chosen One’, a young girl who danced to death in the presence of the Sages. What a pity there were no dancers at the Dewan! But I could easily imagine the highly fraught dance scenes!

‘The Rite of Spring’ went on to become one of the world’s most seminal works, changing the way music is heard.

Now, nearly a 100 years later (short by exactly 21 days!) I was listening to Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra playing the same score.

Sadly, there was no riot inside Dewan Philharmonic as everyone sat still in total silence listening to the ‘barbaric’ music! A ‘Four Seasons’ by Vivaldi it is not!

It was magnificent! Sergei Diaghilev was truly inspired when he commissioned the then unknown Stravinsky to create ‘The Rite of Spring’!

Of course a century later, having attended many ‘House’ music parties and raves in New York and London, ‘The Rite of Spring’ is not as raucous and insanely frenetic to modern ears! But back in 1913 I can well imagine the trauma and drama it stirred! In those days, the rich and fashionable expected beautiful music along the lines of ‘The Four Seasons’  (composed in 1723), Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’ or Beethoven’s ‘Fifth Symphony’ which was relatively nerve-jarring for its time.

So ended a cultured and cultural afternoon! If you are planning to see a movie at KLCC next time, do something wonderful, new and interesting---catch a live performance of up to 60 musicians playing live before your mesmerised eyes at Dewan Philharmonic Petronas. Many are mat sallehs who have performed in famous European and American theatres and not some cheap labour from wretched, poverty-stricken Asian nations! 

Try this experience of listening to music with your eyes! You will be so glad you did!

I never realised how beautiful is the foyer below! I took this photo during the 20 minute break

Beauty in symmetry!

Grand chandeliers set the tone of KLCC where the Dewan Philharmonik is located

Patrons of the performance

Guests enjoying coffee and snack break. Yes, time for a Kit Kat!
The formal gardens of KLCC

Striking geometry

Simply stunning

I tried my luck during the second half as the guests drifted inside and again I was asked to stop so the ushers were well trained!

03-20517 007
dfp_boxoffice@petronas.com.my 

THE END