Here’s the trailer for Béla Fleck’s new documentary, How to Write a Banjo Concerto, which debuted recently at the Nashville Film Festival.
Near the end, it gives me the ominous, familiar sense that the director wants the audience to question Béla’s decision to compose for banjo and orchestra, as though it is something a little strange or dissonant. I’m used to the banjo being the butt of many jokes, but this is not that.
And, although I haven’t seen the documentary yet, I’m sure there are elements of the story that could be spun as questionable. Part of it could be an analysis of Fleck as someone with little formal classical training, and part of it could be a critique of banjo in orchestra in a broader sense.
I have played banjo with the orchestra for productions of Porgy & Bess and Ragtime, and I think that it would be a mistake for anyone to write off banjo as an instrument ill-suited for orchestral compositions without considering its capability of producing a variety of sounds and styles that can bring a lively voice to a piece. For me, as somebody interested in the task of composing for banjo–and who feels as though I might even have a unique perspective because of my classical training–I appreciate seeing my fellow musicians take on the task of creating new pieces and covering classical tunes.