Science or Cult?
by Brad deGraf and Emre Yilmaz From the Ryder Encyclopedia of Music (Paramus, NJ, 1951): “In 1809, maverick opera producer Philippe Brodatz attempted to put on an all-brass production of Monteverdi’s elegant and delicate masterpiece, The Incoronation of Poppea. The lead tenor and soprano were played by a tuba and a trumpet, and the chorus consisted of thirty-seven slide trombones. This ill-conceived project was an unmitigated disaster. The loud, bombastic brass instruments were completely unable to interpret the delicate score. The tenor himself fainted from the din. As for Brodatz, he was pelted with refuse and left the opera house under armed guard. As this example proves, brass instruments should never be taken seriously in classical music.” Moral: The saxophone isn’t a bad instrument. Just don’t use it to play classical harpsichord scores. It plays jazz great. All photos are courtesy of and © Protozoa. Performance animation is a new kind of jazz. Also known as digital puppetry or m
