Keeping Score

Keeping Score was an innovative television series by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) that first hit the screens in 2004, captivating the audience with a unique visual and auditory storytelling approach. Developed by the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas, who also serves as the program's host, Keeping Score seeks to bring classical music to life in a way that's accessible and enjoyable to a broad range of audiences, from seasoned symphony-goers to those who are completely new to the genre.

The series is a combination of elements, gutted into three significant parts - documentary, live performance, and educational content. The show focuses on making musical pieces relatable and understandable by demystifying the process of composing and interpreting music. It dives headlong into the world of classical music, bringing a new perspective to the lives and works of some of the greatest composers in history.

Keeping Score happens in nine episodes that are split into three seasons. In the series, various classical composers' stories are beautifully explored, such as Gustav Mahler, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Igor Stravinsky. Michael Tilson Thomas, a globally respected composer himself, guides the audience through the exceptional moments of creative genius that defined their craft and embedded their music in the annals of humanity's cultural history.

MTT, as Tilson Thomas is often known, uses his musical expertise and passion for coaching to dissect these incredible music pieces in the series. He employs a variety of fascinating methods, such as visual aids, metaphors, and direct musical explanation while persevering to elucidate the composers' musical intent, consequently shaping the viewer's listening experience.

The initial season of Keeping Score covers the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven, examining his Symphony No.3 (Eroica) that pushed the boundaries of classical music with its emotional depth and structural complexity. Simultaneously, it sheds light on how Beethoven's desperate struggle with deafness influenced his work, making touching insights into his personal life.

The series' second season continues the patterns, presenting the profound spiritual journey of Gustav Mahler and his Symphony No.2 (Resurrection). The program establishes how Mahler's symphony, filled with death and the promise of rebirth, mirrors the phases of his own life, personal beliefs, and incredible inner yearning for understanding and redemption.

In each season, Keeping Score exquisitely juxtaposes the personal lives of composers with their creative oeuvre. The series stands apart from typical music programs by deeply examining the multicultural influences that shape a composer's musical world. The third and final season delves into four composers - Berlioz, Ives, Shostakovich, and Stravinsky, examining their body of work against the backdrop of their cultural milieu, exploring the personal trials they faced and how those challenges shaped their compositions.

Keeping Score also vividly presents the San Francisco Symphony performing excerpts from selected works to further illuminate the compositions' melodic and rhythmic features. Not only does the show uses the orchestra's live performance, but it also finds unique ways to place classical music into context - sometimes within the framework of a human life, sometimes across the wide expanse of history.

With its intent to open up the world of classical music to a broader audience, Keeping Score is not just for the musically inclined. Its exploration of the life and times of the composers provide the audience with an engaging historical narrative, mirrored in the composer's musical world—giving life to a unique tapestry of music and history.

In conclusion, Keeping Score is not just a simple television series but a sense of enlightenment, an educational journey into the magnificent world of classical music. Its deeply immersive, all-inclusive approach to storytelling through music and history makes it an enchanting experience that PBS viewers would continue to remember. Whether you're a classical music enthusiast or a casual viewer, Keeping Score has something enlightening and captivating to offer.

So if you're ready to re-discover Beethoven, Mahler, Stravinsky, and other luminaries of the classical music through an enthrallingly different lens, prepare to get enthralled by Keeping Score.