Utah Symphony

[happyone]

I wonder who decides if the parking west of the Church History Museum is open to the public or not. If the gate is up we normally park there (it's free). For the last year or so the gate has been down, but the last two times we've been, it's been up.

Saturday was a Gershwin program - Rhapsody in Blue, Cuban Overture, I Got Rhythm, among other pieces. It was a sort of dress down/come in 20's attire, the lobby was decorated as a "Speak Easy" (I'm not sure what was in the drinks they were serving) They also had cameras on the piano guest soloist, conductor, various members of the symphony as they played. The images were projected the images on screens at the back of the stage. There was no intermission and the soloist gave not 1 but 2 encores. In the QnA afterward the soloist related what I thought was an interesting story, he recently had brain surgery to remove a tumor and in doing so the MDs had to cut the nerve from his right ear(he is now deaf in that ear). He said "I used to hear Gershwin in color and now I hear him in black-n-white." It doesn't seen to have affected his playing - he was fantastic.

They are going to have another one of the unbound concerts next March.

[BigFatMeanie]

I attended Friday's event. It was the same Gershwin program but not the "unbound" with cameras and decorations and stuff - it was a normal symphony program. The soloist gave 2 encores on Friday as well.

So far, the only other soloist I've seen give two encores is Pablo Sainz Villegas who played Concerto de Aranjuez last season. Villegas has a standard encore piece which is pretty dang awesome - Gran Jota de Concierto by Tárrega. Watch around the 7:00 mark where he turns his guitar into a snare drum. I love Spanish guitar.

[happyone]

The concert wasn't on my package - at the last minute my Dad offered me his tickets since his wife wasn't feeling well and couldn't go. So, I didn't get the memo on the Unbound part - I wore my normal sports coat and tie There were actually quite a few people dressed up in 20's attire. Lots of headbands and Faux pearls on the ladies and fedoras/silk scarves on the men

[Katy Lied]

Went to Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Meh. Didn't really like the soloist nor his interpretation. Symphony was nice.

[falafel]

I attended Friday's event. It was the same Gershwin program but not the "unbound" with cameras and decorations and stuff - it was a normal symphony program. The soloist gave 2 encores on Friday as well.

So far, the only other soloist I've seen give two encores is Pablo Sainz Villegas who played Concerto de Aranjuez last season. Villegas has a standard encore piece which is pretty dang awesome - Gran Jota de Concierto by Tárrega. Watch around the 7:00 mark where he turns his guitar into a snare drum. I love Spanish guitar.

That's pretty awesome, but those fingernails are gross.

[BigFatMeanie]

Went to Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Meh. Didn't really like the soloist nor his interpretation. Symphony was nice.

Me neither.

Also, Rach's Rhapsody only really has that one good part in it, which is often played separate from the whole thing. Other than that one good part, and I have a Van Cliburn recording of it that is awesome, the rest of the rhapsody doesn't interest me.

[happyone]

Mrs Happy and I went to Maestro Fischer's final performance as the Music Director/Conductor of the Utah Symphony last night. It was fantastic, wonderful, electric and any other adjective that denoted excellence. For those who don't know, he resigned as music director a a couple of years ago, but agreed to extend his tenure with the Symphony for a year because of COVID and the difficulties that caused in the search for his replacement. Last night the program was Mahler's 3rd symphony - all 90+ minutes of it. The ladies of the Tab Choir were part of the chorus.

Fischer received a standing Ovation when he came on to the stage at the beginning of the performance ( I hadn't seen THAT before) and at the end the ovation extended for more that 15 minutes, with hugs all around, even Mac Wilburg got a hug

Fischer didn't speak to the audience, which suprised me a bit, but one could tell it was an emotional moment for him.

The Symphony hasn't announced his successor yet, but whom ever it is has some really, really big shoes to fill!


One other Symphony experience - a month or so ago, Mrs Happy and I attended a "Finishing Touches" rehearsal. A few time a year, the symphony opens a rehearsal to the public. It is on a Friday morning and is much more relaxed that the normal performance. In all the years we have been going lto the symphony, we had never taken the opportunity to attend one. We enjoyed ourselves AND the symphony even provided a light breakfast. It is open seating and only a couple hundred people or so were there, do we were all the way down in the expensive seats

Next season they are doing three of them and we will definitely be attending at least one of them.

[BigFatMeanie]

I have season tickets but I've skipped quite a few nights this year. We currently have a daughter in Home MTC leaving for Mexico City MTC on Tuesday morning so neither Mrs. nor I felt like heading downtown to see Fischer's finale.

I don't dislike Thierry Fischer but I'm not really sad to see him go. He's a little too heavy on modern atonal music for my tastes. I don't know who put together the 2023-2024 season but I already like it more than I did a typical Fischer season. They're playing both Beethoven's 7th (my all time favorite) and Beethoven's 9th (the one with Ode to Joy, which I assume the University of Utah choir or some other choir will sing).

Also, Pablo Sainz Villegas, the guitarist I linked to above, and his musically pleasing but gross-looking fingernails, are coming to Deer Valley Music Festival on July 1. https://deervalleymusicfestival.org/event/id/30768/

[happyone]

I don't know if modern classical music composers have realized that music is supposed to have a tune one can recognize or I'm just getting used to them, but a couple of the modern pieces this year were almost listenable I skipped last weeks concert for that reason - Messiane (sp) is just noise IMO

In general I find any classical music written after about 1920 or so unlistenable.

IMO any orchastral music written in the last 50 yrs or so and still being played 100 yrs from now, will be film scores. (John Williams and the like)

We've got tickets to the 7th and are going to add 9th to the list. We also have our Pearlman tickets

[Bo Diddley]

I don't know if modern classical music composers have realized that music is supposed to have a tune one can recognize or I'm just getting used to them, but a couple of the modern pieces this year were almost listenable I skipped last weeks concert for that reason - Messiane (sp) is just noise IMO

In general I find any classical music written after about 1920 or so unlistenable.

IMO any orchastral music written now and still be played 100 yrs from now, will be film scores. (John Williams and the like)

We've got tickets to the 7th and are going to add 9th to the list. We also have a Pearlman tickets

Some of my favorite has been by Russian composers, but I've canceled them for now, what with the invasion of Ukraine.

I've wanted to see Pearlman in person. Looks like we're traveling when he comes here in October.

[BigFatMeanie]

Some of my favorite has been by Russian composers, but I've canceled them for now, what with the invasion of Ukraine.

I've wanted to see Pearlman in person. Looks like we're traveling when he comes here in October.

The good Russian composers are all dead now. Neither them, or present-day Russians, or present-day Ukrainians care if you listen to Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky or not. If makes you feel better, you can listen to the "The Texan Who Conquered Russia", Van Cliburn, play the Russian music and think about how he stuck it to Khrushchev back in 1958.

[UVACoug]

I went to the Mahler performance on Friday night. It was great. Fischer really improved the quality of the orchestra significantly. He’ll definitely be missed. Hopefully whoever they choose next will improve it even more (there is still clearly room for improvement), but it will be a tall order. I expect it will be a young up and comer, as they probably can’t afford someone with any established credentials.

[happyone]

I went to the Mahler performance on Friday night. It was great. Fischer really improved the quality of the orchestra significantly. He’ll definitely be missed. Hopefully whoever they choose next will improve it even more (there is still clearly room for improvement), but it will be a tall order. I expect it will be a young up and comer, as they probably can’t afford someone with any established credentials.

Nothing against Lockhart (Fischer's predecessor), but as uneducated in music as I am, I could tell the difference in the sound of the symphony at the first concert I attended that he conducted. I even told that to one in the musicians who happened to be in lobby after the concert. IIRC he seemed to agree with me.

I've had tickets since Silverstein and actually attended a concert directed by Abravanel, way, way back in the day - Dad was in Viet Nam and Mom took me and my sister one evening. I also went a couple of time while I was in HS and College. Mom loved classical music esp Beethoven and Mozart. I think that is where I get my appreciation from.

[happyone]

Last nights concert was really something different, not what I expected at all! - the electric guitar was the featured instrament. There 6 different guitarists played. Each guitarist was show cased. Some of the music was world premiers with the composers playing, and there was one was classic Spanish guitar piece. I really didn't care for the first half - 3 modern pieces (all world premiers) - the second piece performed was based on 14 century pre renaissance music wasn't bad. The second half was way, waaaaaay better. The third guitarist played a medley of Beatles tune, the second was another world premier, but is listenable (to me), the third was a classic Spanish guitar piece - Rodrigo's oncierto de Aranjuez and finally a piece by Frank Zappy that had all of visiting guitarist playing, G-Spot Toranado. That one had my toe tapping Finally as the lights went up all, the symphony players left the stage and the guitarists and the conductor played everyone out.

If anyone is interested today they are having all kinds of works shops starting about 11 or so

[BigFatMeanie]

I went last night and agree that much of the first half was not so awesome - especially the dude from Princeton with all the modulators and stuff who was looping his feedback over and over. My wife even covered her ears at one point. Frankly, most modern stuff sucks. I did like the 14th century renaissance arrangements even though it was technically a "modern" thing. Both the Beatles tunes (arranged for guitar and symphony) and the famous Concierto de Aranjuez were played on acoustic guitars and the Beatles arrangements were pretty good. Zappa's G-Spot Tornado piece (which incidentally got a parental advisory rating back in the 80s when it was released because of its title, even though it has no lyrics) was "OK". Each of the 7 guitarists had a riff/solo section but you couldn't really hear each of them clearly.

I thought the program was too long by one piece. They should have cut out the Princeton dude, moved the Beatles to the first half, and ended closer to 9:30 instead of 10:00.