Well, the video for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra’s performance at Carnegie Hall has finally been posted! On a Friday evening, in great need of entertainment (and perhaps enlightenment), there I went, with much anticipation of good music and good spirits.

Let me preface my comments by saying that this is a noble venture to broaden the appeal of classical music to the great masses. Certainly the orchestra will reach many around the world; maybe its contents will be appealing to new listeners. But it is not for refined palates.

The YouTube Symphony Orchestra will not be replacing professional orchestras, live concerts or professional recordings any time soon. Its problems are fourfold. First, the programming is questionable. The concert started a lacklustre piece that was supposedly written by Brahms, then some very odd 20th century percussion piece played on plastic bins, and then around the world. Second, the players, while reasonably adept for amateurs, are not professionals. At best their sound was sluggish and inoffensive. They lack the crisp timing and the general quality of instruments required in a serious orchestra. Their rendition of Wagner’s ‘Ride of the Valkryies’ conjured images of fat lolling women around a TV, rather than the fierce thundering warrior-maidens of Germanic legend. However, this is not the fault of the musicians; a few more days of rehearsal would have been helpful. Third, the sound quality fell below concert-level expectations. For an ensemble of 96, they should have produced a deafening sound. Instead I found myself straining to hear the grating of the strings, then wincing when I heard the false notes.

Fourth, and most disappointing, the production quality was amateur as well, with jerky animations and miscued video clips. In one instance, YouTube viewers were left staring at the darkened image of the conductor’s head, and missed out completely on another, soundless video which the conductor was watching. Given the hype and the backing institutions, I would have thought that more emphasis and thought would have been put into the production. Sadly, the production flaws detract from this marvellous convergence of so many musicians from different places. Ultimately all that was produced was a very well promoted YouTube video with a symphony orchestra.

Update: Here is the New York Times review on the YouTube Symphony Orchestra.