Image: Deborah Stone
Sitting down to program a festival or marathon when you have received the go ahead from a board/employer/business partner is a very special moment. The ideas that flow fall into categories – the “must haves”… the “would love to buts”… and my favourite – “the probably not but I wonder ifs”…
Over the past two years and 11 months, as we built to the 3MBS Brahms marathon on 22 February 2015, I have had the chance to talk to many volunteers about the journey, the delicate decisions and the two fantastic events.
In 2012, under the strong guidance of Alan Hutchinson, I joined the 3MBS board of Directors. It was a time that needed steady heads, hands on support from the board and the rebuilding of connections and faith of 3MBS with Melbourne. 3MBS needed to reconnect with the musicians, with the listenership, with subscribers and sponsors. The solution was and still is multifaceted, but one of the elements was a large scale public event. Tom Ford suggested the concept of the marathon and an idea was born.
When organising the marathon, the first challenge is the selection of the composer and what genre of works. Our first marathon was Beethoven, and in many ways this was the obvious choice. It was a great composer, a statement, a first (in the southern hemisphere), a tight body of works, a marketer’s dream and all performed on the same instrument (for which our recording team was grateful for in year one). Schubert and, subsequently, Brahms came as we developed the marathon. We wanted to increase the instrumentation to include song and chamber music so that it would reflect Melbourne’s vivid music scene and the music that we broadcast on 3MBS, while still having wide appeal within the volunteer base and the wider listenership.
Then there is the program. I am regularly asked: which comes first, the artists or the repertoire? It is a complex equation.
With regards to the artists, the great difficulty is trying to achieve alignment in the diaries of 50 Australian artists! For the 3MBS marathon, I believe it is also important to continue to connect with the artists that we have a long-standing relationship with. As it is a fundraiser, the other consideration is, of course, the cost of flights and accommodation.
When selecting the artists, I want to bring together a collection of artists who resents a cross-selection of our country’s talent; those who are exciting emerging talents, those clearly establishing a career and those whose unassailable reputation puts them with the finest of our mature performers. It has been fantastic to be able to add pillars of the Melbourne music scene such as Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony into this year’s marathon as well.
With regards to selecting the repertoire, Beethoven was relatively simple. Including all 32 of his piano sonatas, meant one half of the programming was completed for me. But for Schubert and Brahms the decision of what was in and what had to be omitted was one that kept me up at night.
From a marketing perspective and in order to reflect their music accurately, I needed to include the classics, at least one per concert. But from my perspective, it was also important from my prospective to give those 200 patrons that attend the whole day a full range of the composers output – the young developing composer, the established and the reflective older composer. Also with a composer like Brahms it was important to include some lighter works to give variation throughout the day.
The 3MBS Marathon is very much a team effort and a large one at that. Volunteers and staff at 3MBS work tirelessly in the weeks and months leading up to the marathon as well as the hours spent by musicians perfecting their parts. It is a very special day and one that I hope continues for many years to come.
3MBS Brahms Marathon
22 February, 9am to 11pm
Hawthorn Arts Centre, 360 Burwood Road, Hawthorn
