We did our Opening Night concert a couple nights ago (I’m always puzzled as it isn’t the first concert of the season, nor is it the first of our classical subscription series, but I digress). Also, since it’s been a while since I’ve posted, in the spirit of full disclosure, can I just say right now that I’ve always been a fan of and frequent user of em dashes? But sadly, the rise of the AI use of em dashes has made me leary of using them. God help me if AI agents become advocates of the Oxford comma…
Anyway, opening night was fun, with Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons brilliantly performed by violinist Elena Urioste. I so badly want to roll my eyes completely around the inside of my head at the thought of this piece. But truth be told, much of it is very effective! I will have at least half of my musician friends disown me at this point (bye!) but I have to say my truth. Others will find this piece to be utter shit, and they are right to have that opinion as well. I guess I’m becoming slightly less curmudgeonly in my advancing age.
The second half of the concert had two certified bangers. Selections from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo & Juliet and Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Yep, Shakespearean tragedy on full display with a 400-ish year gap in the storylines. The orchestra sounds great. On this point, I was told by several audience members that they regularly wear earplugs during pieces that are heavy on brass and percussion. I am gobsmacked by this information! Is such volume really desirable? As loud as it is in the hall it’s much louder onstage. Many of the musicians regularly wear hearing protection during classical shows, even at the front edge of the stage. Thankfully our new collective bargaining agreement includes free hearing tests by a music industry audiologist along with fitted custom-molded earplugs. Still, louder doesn’t necessarily mean better.
Our first classical series starts this coming weekend, and I’m very much looking forward to Jessie Montgomery’s new cello concerto (co-commissioned by the Oregon Symphony) in its west coast premiere with cello soloist Abel Selacoe. I love her music, and have heard that Abel is a remarkable cellist and communicator. See for yourself below – and click here for concert tickets!
Also on the program is Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, which I love, but man is it exhausting to play for the violas. Mostly all on the lower two strings and with very little resting. Oof.
Hope to see you there!