I had the chance to go see the VSO for the first time on the weekend. Remember my blog about Rhapsody in Blue?
I had no idea Maestro Bramwell Tovey was such a funny guy. He started the evening by saying, "Welcome to a non-Olympic event!" and the jokes kept on coming. Can't say I've ever laughed at the symphony before. It was a wonderful experience.
The evening started with Strike Up The Band, which was both fitting and cheeky. I was four rows back, right in front of the harpist. So close. Too close. I could literally read the sheet music of a few of the violinists. Too close. I prefer to watch symphonies from the balcony, since not only is it a better visual experience, to be able to see everyone playing, but I also find the sound is a million times better.
Next up was Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite: On the Trail, which is just an amazing piece of music that tells a story like you wouldn't believe. Talk about cheeky. You can practically hear the donkeys at the bottom of the Grand Canyon as this is played. Wonderful.
The composer in residence with the VSO right now is Scott Goode, who showcased a 25 minute long piece (Between the Rooms for Trumpet and Orchestra) that people went nuts over. I was not a fan of it at all. Like, at all. It was disjointed, it was a trumpet feature (the only trumpet I can really tolerate is jazz trumpet), and none of the movements seemed connected at all. I feel like he tried to do something really, really cool, but he missed the mark. It was just too much. Too much brass, too much percussion. It was too eager, like he was trying to say, "Look at this! Look how complex this is!" instead of letting the music speak for itself.
I also said all this to my friend without realizing that the composer was standing about 5 feet away (damn seats close to the stage!).
And what do I know? I'm no composer.
I was a little wary when I didn't see a feature pianist listed in the program. After all, Rhapsody in Blue is a piano piece (which, if you know the history behind it, you can understand better). I certainly didn't expect that Tovey would play the piece himself, standing periodically to give cues and conduct. I've never seen anything like that either. It was kind of amazing, actually, to see a symphony practically conducting itself while the maestro lost himself in the music.
The night ended with the Porgy and Bess suite, which is where the great 'standard' Summertime comes from. The suite was beautiful, again telling the story vividly, without confusion. When it was supposed to, the music sounded like New York. Conversely, it sounded like desperation at times.
I walked away wondering what more Gershwin could have done if he hadn't died at 38.
And also thinking that I was too close to the stage, but not close enough to the music. I wanted to be playing it, to be a part of it. This hasn't happened in a while, the urge to dig out the flute and run some scales, play some of my old concert pieces. It was nice to have that inspiration.
Not so nice to spend the rest of the weekend wondering what could/would have happened if I'd stuck with the music in the first place...
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