WEBVTT - From Concert Hall to Cinema with Anthony Parnther 0:00:02.160 --> 0:00:05.120 This is Alec Baldwin and you're listening to Here's the 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:09.760 Thing from iHeart Radio. My guest today is the first 0:00:09.800 --> 0:00:12.760 person I ever thought I could possibly lose my job 0:00:12.840 --> 0:00:18.200 to thanks to his magnificent speaking voice. Anthony Parthur is 0:00:18.239 --> 0:00:23.159 a multifaceted conductor, bassoonist, and music director. Parthur is the 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:27.240 music director and conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra. 0:00:27.920 --> 0:00:31.240 He's also the music director of the Southeast Symphony in 0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:35.320 Los Angeles. Known for his work on major film scores, 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:39.360 Parth has led the scoring sessions of critically acclaimed movies 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:42.600 and television series such as Avatar, The Way of Water, 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:47.360 Black Panther, Waconda, Forever, The Mandalorian, and the Grammy Award 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:51.920 winning film and Canto. Parthr also led the scoring session 0:00:52.240 --> 0:00:55.440 for Oppenheimer, which won an Oscar for Best Picture and 0:00:55.840 --> 0:00:59.720 Original Score. Of all the instruments Anthony Parthur could have 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:07.200 select to play, I wondered why he chose the bassoon. 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:11.800 There is quite a story behind that. You know. Where 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:16.560 I grew up in Central Virginia, I think banned and 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:20.880 orchestra starts in the fourth or fifth grade. I started 0:01:21.120 --> 0:01:23.160 around the eighth or ninth grade, and I'll tell you 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:26.280 why I desperately wanted to go to the theme park. 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:30.320 The local theme park in Richmond, Virginia is called King's Dominion, 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:34.200 and growing up, all you would see on television is 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:37.679 these happy families enjoying roller coasters. And I wanted to 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:41.440 be a happy family going to King's Dominion. And my parents, 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:44.320 who are both immigrants born in the twenties and thirties, 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:47.360 did not even understand the concept of a theme park. 0:01:47.880 --> 0:01:49.520 And I'm sitting in math class one day and over 0:01:49.520 --> 0:01:51.480 the intercom, the lady says, with all the students in 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:55.160 the Linkhorn Middle School band report to the buses for 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:59.040 their trip to King's Dominion, and lo and behold, you know, 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:02.040 most of the class stands up, grabs all of these 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:06.320 strange looking instrument cases, and bounds out the door, leaving 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:11.520 me behind. And that was pretty traumatizing. So my joining 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:15.440 ban and getting involved in music was a scam because 0:02:15.480 --> 0:02:17.400 I knew my parents would let me go to King's 0:02:17.440 --> 0:02:20.080 Dominion if it was a school trip, because they were 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:24.400 very you know, into the academics and things along those lines. 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:27.960 So I picked up a dictionary I saw in the 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:31.600 a section the accordion, and it reminded me of watching 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:34.360 The Lawrence Walk Show with my parents, which I hated 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:38.120 that show growing up, but they loved what hoping that. 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:40.360 I think it was like Arthur Duncan. Was that his 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:43.920 name the tap dancer. They waited every single episode to 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:46.639 see Arthur Duncan tap dance on The Lawrence walk Show, 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:49.720 which he only appeared, you know, every once in a while. 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:53.720 But I thought that the accordion seemed nerdy, so I 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:56.880 wanted an instrument that would accord me the respect of 0:02:56.919 --> 0:02:59.480 my peers. So I turned to the B section of 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:03.280 the dictionary and there was the bassoon, and I was like, 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:05.680 you know what, this is my ticket to King's Dominion. 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:09.440 So I literally took my little Webster's Dictionary to the 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:12.040 middle school band director and I announced my name. I said, 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:13.480 my name is Anthony Parther, and I want to play 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:16.440 the bassoon, and he looked at me like I had 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:20.200 seven heads, thank God, and someone a dusted one off 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:21.919 in the corner that I don't think had been played 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:25.400 since Lyndon B. Johnson was president. And I took the 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:27.799 thing home and learned to play it. And they did 0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:30.280 not go to King's Dominion. The next year, then here 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:30.800 I am. 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:34.480 Now in an orchestra. How many bassoons were on stage 0:03:34.520 --> 0:03:36.160 with a full orchestra? Two or four? 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:40.120 It depends on the piece, usually two oft in three 0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:43.840 and then in some cases four or five. You know, 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:45.880 you get into like a Moler symphony or the Right 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:49.240 of Spring Stravinsky, and you'll have four or five bassoons 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:51.680 quite commonly, but usually it's two or three. 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:57.880 So you start by playing the bassoon, and you obviously 0:03:57.920 --> 0:04:01.040 go to schools. But do you go to these schools? 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:03.880 Do you any of the schools you attend, especially as 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:06.000 you go up the ladder? I know this sounds weird. 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:11.800 I'm assuming any professional performer, any artist in the classical repertoire, 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:14.720 you know, you deep in your relationship with that instrument 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:17.400 and you learn more and more about how to play 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:20.560 it and varieties to play it. Is that true with 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:22.760 any instrument? Or are there instruments where you're sitting there 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:25.520 going God, you know, I'd like to switch over to 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:28.680 the piano or the violin or something else. You marry 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:30.040 that instrument, correct. 0:04:30.680 --> 0:04:34.440 Yeah, it was pretty much a marriage, deeply fraught marriage, 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:39.040 but a marriage nonetheless. Oftentimes to assume you know, battered 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:42.200 me into submission. But yeah, I spent most of my 0:04:42.880 --> 0:04:46.720 undergraduate years really trying to learn to wrestle with and 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:50.480 master this instrument and hopes that I could get a job, 0:04:50.720 --> 0:04:52.599 you know, playing the thing right. 0:04:53.240 --> 0:04:56.480 Well, one thing I read about you and your work 0:04:56.880 --> 0:04:59.800 that I found interesting was the LA Times hailed you 0:04:59.839 --> 0:05:04.160 as the quintessential LA musician of our day. What does 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:06.640 an LA musician mean? Do you believe there is such 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:08.560 thing as an LA musician? What is that? 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:09.520 Well? 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:13.240 I think in Los Angeles, the big thing here that 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:17.120 we have that maybe other American cities don't have so 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:21.400 much of, is the recording studios. So I've spent almost 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:25.200 the last nearly twenty years working as a session musician 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:29.839 and session conductor on a variety of TV shows and 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:33.920 movies and video game scores. But you know, when I'm 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:37.800 not doing that, I'm also music director of a regional orchestra. 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:41.039 I'm also a freelance basooners, so you'll often see me, 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:45.400 you know, playing on various series, you know, usually new 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:48.159 music series throughout the city. So like every single day 0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:50.760 is a different adventure. Sometimes I'm a bassooner, sometimes I'm 0:05:50.800 --> 0:05:54.320 an orchestrator. Sometimes, you know, I'm conducting, So I'm doing 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:57.520 something different usually every single day of the week here 0:05:57.520 --> 0:05:57.919 in town. 0:05:58.279 --> 0:05:59.560 You're at Sam bernard Do you know, No. 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:02.760 Yeah, the San Bernardino Symphony. This is my sixth year 0:06:02.800 --> 0:06:03.880 as music director there. 0:06:04.520 --> 0:06:09.480 Now I'm assuming that everybody who ascends to the biggest 0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:12.520 ensembles in the country of the world, they got to 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:16.680 start somewhere. How does your appointment in sam Bernardino happen? 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:20.919 Are they like all symphony orchestras, they're constantly gauging and 0:06:21.040 --> 0:06:23.640 monitoring who's out there and where they are and the 0:06:23.720 --> 0:06:26.159 length of their contract and so forth. Do you know 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:29.280 they're coming after you? Where were you conducting before Sam Bernardino? 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:34.920 Before the San Bernardino Symphony, I was leading two other 0:06:35.000 --> 0:06:38.720 smaller orchestras, the Southeast Symphony, which has been in LA 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:43.599 for almost eighty years now. It's the oldest predominantly black 0:06:43.680 --> 0:06:47.080 orchestra in the country. It was founded in the nineteen 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:50.520 forties by school teacher by the name of Mabel massingill Gun. 0:06:51.080 --> 0:06:53.920 So I was doing that, and I was also doing 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:57.080 this really small orchestra out into Mecula, which is, you know, 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:59.599 sort of south of Orange County but north of San 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:03.159 Diego and doing quite a bit of guest conducting, and 0:07:03.320 --> 0:07:07.279 I was also teaching this program at the University of California, Berkeley, 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:09.960 so I was doing a bunch of little things. But 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:12.680 I guess they had seen some of the things that 0:07:12.720 --> 0:07:15.960 we'd done with the Southeast Symphony. They'd seen, you know, 0:07:15.960 --> 0:07:20.080 footage of our Karmena Burana Moller Second Symphony and some 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:22.560 of these large scale concerts that we were putting on 0:07:22.680 --> 0:07:26.280 that were gaining some notoriety. But I was invited to 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:30.080 be one of the candidates. I believe they had ten 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:34.040 finalist candidates from all over the world actually, and the 0:07:34.080 --> 0:07:36.920 five conductors a year led a program. I was the 0:07:36.920 --> 0:07:39.840 first of the ten to go over this two year 0:07:40.400 --> 0:07:42.520 you know, music director search that they were having, and 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:44.880 I was like, surely they would have forgotten about me 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:48.320 by now, but apparently they had not, and they appointed 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:51.320 me music director and as soon as I started my 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:55.120 first season, we get in a few months in COVID began. 0:07:56.960 --> 0:07:59.840 It was really challenging first year. I think are so 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:03.640 port system out in San Bernardino is good and getting 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:07.920 better by by the month. San Bernardino is a city 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:13.320 that is seventy five percent Latino and black. It's not 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:17.280 your typical city. It's very diverse. Now, I will tell 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:20.920 you that when I first saw the San Bernardino Symphony perform, 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:24.600 actually subbed in the San Bernardino Symphony, I think ten 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:27.520 years before I became the music director, or five years 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:31.640 or however many years before. The audience. The first time 0:08:31.640 --> 0:08:34.160 that I went, the average age of the audience, I 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:37.440 want to say, was eighty and white. Now I went back, 0:08:37.480 --> 0:08:40.240 you know, the first year as music director, maybe five 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:42.480 years after that, the average age of the audience was 0:08:42.520 --> 0:08:47.079 eighty five and white. But it's diversified. I mean, you'll 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:51.440 go and you'll see people of all ages, all skin colors, 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:55.240 all backgrounds there. It's become very diverse and not very 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:58.280 many empty seeds anymore. You had a good board, We've 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:01.920 got a great we have a savvy and devoted board. 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:05.640 They're very serious about they're all proud of San Bernardino 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:09.240 and they really want the best for that region. And 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:13.720 the San Bernardino Symphony is really seen as one of 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:19.040 the few unifying sort of elements of that region, you know, 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:22.559 and it's the one place where you see so many 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:26.480 diverse corners of the community come together especially our big 0:09:26.520 --> 0:09:29.520 summer concert. We have many thousands of people at this 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:32.000 concert that we've developed a couple of years ago, and 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:36.199 you see everybody there, and so it's growing, it's growing rapidly. 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:38.200 I would say, what's the name of the hall there 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:38.880 in San Bernis. 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:42.400 It's the California Theater, which is it's a ninety five 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:46.560 year old movie palace that they've converted into you know, 0:09:46.600 --> 0:09:52.000 a multipurpose stage of sorts. It's about eighteen hundred Yeah, 0:09:52.040 --> 0:09:55.120 it's not small, not huge either, but it's the perfect 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:55.920 size for us. 0:09:56.640 --> 0:10:00.560 I find that people are so attached. You know, the 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:04.320 people that I've spoken to in Cleveland, they love Sefernce Hall. 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:06.679 Oh it's the best, so exactly. They're so proud of 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:09.080 Seffernce Hall. And the debate over what to do with 0:10:09.080 --> 0:10:12.040 the Philharmonica with Avery Fisher here and going into the 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:14.720 David Geffen face it with something people just agonized over. 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:18.120 They really wanted a great hall. You've guests conducted. I've 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:21.080 seen here and I can't even believe all the places 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:27.719 I've seen you've gets conducted. I had no idea New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Philly, Cincinnati, 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:34.360 La Atlanta, San Francisco, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington, Rochester, Calgary, La Opera, 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:39.600 Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh, Saint Louis, Indianapolis, San Diego, Vancouver, Buffalo. 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:43.360 I mean, my god, it's still surreal to me to 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:45.079 step on some of these podiums. You know. It was 0:10:45.120 --> 0:10:47.720 like here I am conducting the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom. 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:50.719 It's like George Zell once stood on this podium, and 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:53.680 you know, here I am like, how dare I wave 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:57.480 a batonat this you know, group of story musicians anywhere 0:10:57.480 --> 0:11:01.440 in this room? Yeah, exactly exactly. It was like I 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:05.400 should be the case. It's like, man, would you like 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:07.520 your rot or oils? I can take care of that 0:11:07.520 --> 0:11:08.199 for you. Thank you. 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:11.280 What's the place you performed? Is there a hole you 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:13.959 went to that suited you? You said, I could hang 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:15.840 out here for a while. I could become the maestro 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:19.319 of this facility. You just really really was fun. It 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:21.240 sounded the way you wanted it to sound. 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:23.600 You know, there's been several of those. It was, you know, 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:26.600 and of course I think as a conductor, you always fantasize, Man, 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:28.160 what would it be like if I was the music 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:33.760 director here? You know, I must say a recent experience 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:36.520 that I had. I had conducted the orchestra a number 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:40.960 of times outdoors, but they finally let me indoors a 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:44.440 few months ago. But it was the Philadelphia Orchestra. And 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:48.120 you want to talk about ideal, you know, I think 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:50.840 the first time or the last time I remember being 0:11:50.880 --> 0:11:53.720 intimidated by stepping in front of a group was the 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:58.920 first time, probably I stepped up to conduct the Hollywood 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:01.960 Studio Symphony or or what we call the Hollywood Studio Symphony, 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:05.480 the body of musicians that record all of these you know, 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:07.960 soundtracks that we've enjoyed for the last, you know, almost 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:10.520 one hundred years. I think the first time I had 0:12:10.520 --> 0:12:14.080 a major session for that, I was like, oh my goodness. 0:12:14.120 --> 0:12:16.160 I've been listening to many of these musicians since I 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:19.520 was a child. But I think if you can survive 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:23.000 in that room, and I think that's a tough room, 0:12:23.400 --> 0:12:27.480 I think that working with even our great American orchestras 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:31.080 and orchestras abroad is a bit of a cinch in comparison. 0:12:31.480 --> 0:12:35.280 But when you talk about you bring up the Hollywood 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:39.360 community there and recording scores and things in that community 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:42.000 of people, you know, beyond Bernard Herman, beyond all the 0:12:42.000 --> 0:12:44.720 classic stuff. Where do they come from? Do they live 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:48.120 there and there's a steady stream of work doing that 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:51.439 and perhaps other things they can supplement their income. But 0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:55.520 does the Hollywood orchestral community live in LA and come 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:58.240 from La? Is that their home or they come from everywhere? 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:04.280 For most recording sessions, the community of players are local. 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:08.040 So you know, when you're looking down the violin section, 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:12.800 you'll see quite a number of concertmasters of various California 0:13:12.920 --> 0:13:17.120 orchestras and opera companies. You'll see well known and well 0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:21.760 respected chamber musicians and soloists, so you'll see people from 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:24.960 the La Philharmonic, the Pacific Symphony, the La Opera, the 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:28.760 La Chamber Orchestra, as far away as the San Diego Symphony. 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:33.160 So it's an amalgamation of all of these extraordinary musicians 0:13:33.480 --> 0:13:35.839 in the same room. You look into the cello section 0:13:35.920 --> 0:13:38.880 and you'll see, you know, a bunch of really highly 0:13:38.920 --> 0:13:43.920 regarded cellists or soloists or principal musicians in the various 0:13:44.160 --> 0:13:49.240 Southern California orchestras all in one place. It's a remarkable 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:50.320 collection of talent. 0:13:51.280 --> 0:13:54.760 Does that collection of talent do those individuals who come 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:58.480 into recording studios, at movie studios and so forth, do 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:01.960 they how are they different different any way from the 0:14:02.000 --> 0:14:04.800 normal core of people who play in the repertoire. 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:09.120 I think in the studios perhaps in a way that 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:14.960 a tenured orchestra may not. There's no tenure or audition 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:19.160 to get into the Hollywood studios, so to speak. You're 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:22.600 usually invited into this core. There's quite a lot of 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:25.200 mystery about well, how does one become a player on 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:29.440 these soundtracks and scores and so forth. But there's also 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:32.160 this joke that you're a whole note from being kicked out, 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:37.120 you know, so you know, one bad session and people 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:39.600 start whispering, and that's the last thing that you want. 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:40.640 Why do you think that is? 0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:44.720 It's because you know, a lot of money is being 0:14:44.800 --> 0:14:48.760 spent to make sure that and as condensed the time 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:52.440 as possible, that this product is out and perfect, and 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:55.760 it's going to be out there forever. It's you know, 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:58.640 what you're playing is going to be in that movie forever. 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:02.640 Another little that I used to make is that you know, well, 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:04.880 the vorjak is just tonight, it rings in the hall 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:06.640 and it's over. But you know, you're working on a 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:09.360 Disney film and people will be hearing you play for 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:12.120 the next fifty sixty, seventy or more years, So it 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:13.680 has to be right, and it needs to be right 0:15:13.800 --> 0:15:16.440 the first time, you know, because one thing that a 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:18.480 lot of people might not realize about what we do 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:22.400 as studio musicians is that we are site reading just 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:25.480 about everything that we play, and most of the things 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:28.120 that you hear, like in a Star Wars or Indiana 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:31.600 Jones movie or any of these television shows, is the 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:34.720 second or third time through or read through it the 0:15:34.720 --> 0:15:38.040 first time, make some adjustments, and it very well, maybe 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:41.240 you know, the second or third read through. On some 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:44.120 shows that I work on, like you know American Dad, 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:48.040 for instance, a animated series, a lot of times what 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:50.600 you hear is us the first time, and that's it. 0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:53.600 We move on to the next queue. So it moves 0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:57.000 very quickly, so there's really no time for dawdling around 0:15:57.160 --> 0:16:00.680 or fixing intonation or rhythmic errors. That just isn't put 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:02.960 up with in that room at all. 0:16:03.200 --> 0:16:05.640 I used to go early on when I was in 0:16:05.720 --> 0:16:09.080 Los Angeles, I'd see John Mocherry at the Hollywood Brob. 0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:11.400 I mean, he was basically considered the father of the 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:14.520 live to picture clip pieces. Godfather, what have you on? 0:16:14.600 --> 0:16:17.520 John Williams. When I was on the board and working 0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:20.560 with the programming department there at the Philharmonic, we proposed 0:16:20.560 --> 0:16:23.520 to the meistro them was Alan Gilbert, and we proposed 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:25.480 to him doing live to picture and just to get 0:16:25.480 --> 0:16:27.520 your feet wet, we'd pick like a real, you know, 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:29.520 the real basic one, which is of course two thousand 0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:32.200 and one a Space Odyssey. And he wasn't very excited. 0:16:32.280 --> 0:16:34.280 Quite frankly, he was like, ah, well, you know, but 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:35.720 we get him to do it. We do two thousand 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:38.080 and one Live to picture and he comes off the 0:16:38.080 --> 0:16:40.240 stage He's like, that was fun. He really liked it, 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:43.240 and thus birthed this thing art of the score that 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:45.600 we do with the Philharmonic, which is also then turned 0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:47.640 into kind of a cash cow for them by showing 0:16:47.880 --> 0:16:50.400 new films. Are you doing much live to picture or no? 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:52.840 I am doing some live to picture. Last time I 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:56.040 conducted the New York Philharmonic, I was actually conducting John 0:16:56.040 --> 0:17:00.320 Williams's score. It's a job. Yeah, that was a I 0:17:00.360 --> 0:17:04.520 think in September of twenty twenty four, and do. 0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:07.000 You know all that gang there, I do, yes, are 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:09.440 you doing more of that in the coming months years? 0:17:09.760 --> 0:17:12.800 I am. I just returned from the Seattle Symphony where 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:16.600 I was doing Black Panther, which was composed by my 0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:19.000 dear friend Ludvig Gorens, and he won an Oscar for that. 0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:21.440 I do have some more of that coming up, and 0:17:21.480 --> 0:17:22.680 it's always a blast. 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:26.960 What about composers, Who's someone do you favor? Who named 0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:29.080 three or four of that? You sit there and go, oh. 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:33.600 Yes, I really composers. For me as a conductor, coming 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:37.200 back to the music of Schumann and Beethoven has not 0:17:37.280 --> 0:17:40.000 been matched by any other composer really, end of story. 0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:41.600 You know. I went through a period where I want 0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:43.840 to conduct all the large scale you know, the things 0:17:43.840 --> 0:17:45.560 that call for one hundred and twenty people, you know. 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:49.200 But I think my motivation there was not necessarily musical. 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:50.320 I think I just want to see a bunch of 0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:53.800 people on stage. But coming back to a Beethoven symphony, 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:57.280 even if it's for a tenth time, it has not 0:17:57.440 --> 0:18:00.960 gotten more exhilarating than that. For me. I got to 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:05.080 conduct Beethoven's Fourth Symphony, which is I think my favorite 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:09.840 of all of the nine. At the proms two years ago, 0:18:10.200 --> 0:18:13.440 which was terrifying, but it's one of the few times 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:18.160 where I'm actually smiling because I'm enjoying the process of it. Also, 0:18:18.480 --> 0:18:21.840 I've conducted I think last year I conducted the Rhinish Symphony, 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:25.480 the Third Symphony of Schumann three times, and I think 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:29.760 some of that music is better than our ability to 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:32.879 perform it. Like I think there, you know, I think 0:18:33.160 --> 0:18:37.000 with certain composers, I think if you achieve all of 0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:39.720 the directions that have been given to you, you get 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:43.440 pretty close. But that's not the case with certain composers 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:46.840 like Beethoven and Schumann. I think it is a constant 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:50.160 search to dig in. There's an absoluteness about the music, 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:52.840 but there's also a flexibility where you can do so 0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:55.119 much or say so much, or express so much with 0:18:55.200 --> 0:18:59.320 Beethoven and Schumann that you maybe you can't with other artists. 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:08.800 Conductor and bassoonist Anthony part If you enjoy conversations with 0:19:08.880 --> 0:19:12.320 the giants of the classical repertoire, check out my interview 0:19:12.359 --> 0:19:13.880 with pianist Long Long. 0:19:14.880 --> 0:19:17.840 One thing good about competition is that it kind of 0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:22.479 pushes you to play better than you normally does because 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:26.359 you try to play without wrong notes. You try to 0:19:26.440 --> 0:19:29.840 be one hundred percent concentrate on what you do. But 0:19:30.000 --> 0:19:32.919 also in the same time, if you are too serious 0:19:32.920 --> 0:19:36.399 about competition, you lose your soul. You know me that 0:19:36.440 --> 0:19:40.000 you are afraid to do something wrong. And as you 0:19:40.080 --> 0:19:43.880 know in art, sometimes when you really do something unique, 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:47.040 you are actually not really on the page. You are 0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:50.920 actually doing something. But that is a really great moment. 0:19:53.880 --> 0:19:56.960 To hear. My conversation with Long Long go to Here's 0:19:57.040 --> 0:20:01.760 the Thing dot org. After the break, Anthony Parther shares 0:20:01.800 --> 0:20:06.359 the most unprofessional but hilarious incident he's ever experienced on 0:20:06.440 --> 0:20:18.640 the podium. I'm ALC. Baldwin and this is Here's the Thing. 0:20:19.640 --> 0:20:23.199 As a musician and conductor, Anthony Parther has worked on 0:20:23.440 --> 0:20:27.320 iconic film franchises such as Star Wars, Rogue One, and 0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:30.960 Indiana Jones in The Dial of Destiny. Growing up, he 0:20:31.000 --> 0:20:34.840 honed his craft by practicing John Williams' scores on his bassoon. 0:20:35.600 --> 0:20:39.119 He credits Williams for inciting his early interest in music. 0:20:39.680 --> 0:20:42.840 I was curious how classical music came to inspire him 0:20:43.040 --> 0:20:44.080 as a child. 0:20:44.840 --> 0:20:49.439 I remember my Christmas present that year was a tape player, 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:53.280 and of all places we were at a grocery store 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:57.520 chain called food Lion. I had just enough money to 0:20:57.640 --> 0:21:03.040 buy this tape of Betsos's fifth Symphony. And I must 0:21:03.119 --> 0:21:05.200 have listened to that tape and I and I'm really 0:21:05.240 --> 0:21:09.000 not exaggerating, probably a thousand times in such a way 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:10.720 it was. It was kind of bad for me at first, 0:21:10.760 --> 0:21:12.960 because I don't I can't think of Beethoven five any 0:21:13.000 --> 0:21:15.040 other way. But the way that it goes and that tape, 0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:19.800 it's that the interpretation is cemented, you know, in my court, No, 0:21:19.880 --> 0:21:22.600 it has to be young Tantanta, you know, at this 0:21:22.640 --> 0:21:25.880 particular moment. And then for some reason, the Food Lion 0:21:26.160 --> 0:21:28.880 had a new tape like every month. So I went 0:21:28.960 --> 0:21:33.040 back and I bought Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, and then I 0:21:33.080 --> 0:21:36.520 bought Mozart's Basoon. Concerned. I don't know who was stalking 0:21:36.680 --> 0:21:39.439 the classical music tape section, but it was just like, 0:21:39.480 --> 0:21:41.239 you know, right when you go to the check out, 0:21:41.440 --> 0:21:44.920 was this little I have the Food Lion tape collection 0:21:45.280 --> 0:21:49.280 of classical music. I have to have everything. I'm gonna 0:21:49.280 --> 0:21:49.600 looked at. 0:21:49.720 --> 0:21:53.040 My ex wife's family was from Athens, Georgia, and we 0:21:53.160 --> 0:21:57.760 go on vacation and they called it food line, food line, 0:21:57.800 --> 0:22:01.520 now no line, and I go she goes no line 0:22:01.720 --> 0:22:03.120 like roar line. 0:22:03.760 --> 0:22:05.600 I am a Southerner, so you know, I have a 0:22:05.640 --> 0:22:08.280 little bit of a Southern accent myself. But this reminds 0:22:08.320 --> 0:22:10.720 me of a very funny and entertaining story. The first 0:22:10.800 --> 0:22:14.880 time I ever conducted an opera, the first time ever 0:22:14.920 --> 0:22:19.280 conducted an opera, I was somehow enlisted to lead. I 0:22:19.280 --> 0:22:21.520 had done a little bit of opera singing way back 0:22:21.520 --> 0:22:24.480 in the day. I came to soprano, lyric soprano. But 0:22:24.640 --> 0:22:28.640 I was enlisted to conduct Jean Carlo Monatti's A Mall 0:22:28.680 --> 0:22:29.480 in the Night Visit. 0:22:31.280 --> 0:22:35.200 That when I was in eighth grade. Yeah, the telephone, the. 0:22:35.200 --> 0:22:40.280