2 posts tagged “symphony”

I have to admit, this seems like it's been the year to get "cultured." There's been symphonies, and operas, and plays. There's been concerts and lectures. I've been fortunate to fall into the circle of Kevin Smokler, who has organized a series of blogger nights. This past weekend was a lovely event at the SF Conservatory of Music . This school provides a series of ongoing musical events, covering a wide variety of orchestral/symphonic music.

The physical structure is located in an area of San Francisco in the thick of it, and is a beautiful modern building that has recently been renovated so that multiple musical events can happen. We were treated to a lovely bit of wine and cheese, and chat with the staff.

Lisa Petrie, Senior Manager, Communications for the school, talked to us a little bit about the facts and figures, and a little bit of the history of Blueprint. Blueprint is designed to showcase new and innovative works, and modern music. The particular performance we viewed was entitled Synesthesia: Bridging the Senses, bringing together new musical experiences. I did feel that there were definite visual and auditory pieces to the performance, but I would challenge Blueprint, in titling a performance thus to reach out to all five senses, to truly bridge that gap. Fortunately, us bloggers had the advantage of pre-performance snacks, but olfactory sense stimulation could have been interesting, seeing as synesthesia is about that unknown link some have between the senses, with a crossover into new territory.

Small quibbles aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

The first two pieces pieces (Eight Colors for String Quartet and Sept Papillons) were ones that I don't know if I would ever listen to if recorded, but live provided an interesting sense and something intellectual to ponder. Some of this comes from the integration of non-Western elements in the case of the former, and the latter the language of opera and nature as the story of seven butterflies.

The next piece, written by local composer Jay Lyon, based on Rimbaud's Voyelles was more challenging. It was a piece of orchestrated jazz, overlaid with MC work by WiseProof, and multiple vocals including spoken word. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the mix was off and the MC dominated what was an already layered piece. I would love to hear a recording of this, just to see what a better sound mix would provide.

Philip Glass' Facades followed intermission, and featured a digital projection by Elliot Anderson. While the visuals were interesting, I would have almost preferred to listen to this moody somber piece in the dark and allow my own imagination to do the work. If anyone has ever attended Audium, you'd understand the value of sitting and listening to a variety of sounds in the dark. Still, the orchestration and instrumentation were lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed this. Seated next to me, Tyler responded at the end of the piece with "blissful" and I'd have to agree.

The final performance of the night was Les Illuminations by Benjamin Britten. Ambur Braid, a soprano brought rousing spirit to the music. I hadn't heard this particular piece before, but am well familiar with Britten's work, as he was a prolific writer of music in this century, and his music is often sung by church choirs.

The last two performances were conducted by Nicole Paiement, the Artistic Director and Conductor at the school. She came and spoke to us after the performance, where some of our group asked her about "new music" and what defines it. Much like our experience at Swarm Gallery, the question arises, how can we trust our own judgment about art? Should we be able to make our own choices or do we defer to those "in the know?" I think Nicole's assessment of this vein of questioning was to say that we have to sit with the experience and be our own judge. I would agree. It is important for us to take in the art that speaks to us, no matter the medium. But it is also incumbent upon us to push beyond our comfort levels to experience new things. This enables us to continue to grow and to find the next unseen horizon. Or merely to see it with new eyes. Or new senses.

I cherished our evening at the SF Conservatory of Music and look forward to the opportunity to return. For those of you looking to push your own boundaries, and to experience something new, the SF Conservatory of Music has generously offered 2 free tickets to a show if you mention that you read a post about the show and mention "SF Blogger" upon calling the box office. Take them up on it. And call me to go with you.

Last Wednesday, July 18th, I had the fortune to attend Blogger Night at the San Francisco Symphony. Despite having not been to the symphony for many years, this was the third time this year I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing it.
I went in April and to see the a performance in Stern Grove in July.

James Gaffigan, the Associate Conductor, has led the past two performances I've seen, which were a joy. Stern Grove was great for a day to sit and the sun and enjoy time with friends. Attending last week, it was nice to go to a concert with the throngs of bloggers, eager to share information about this cultural event with the world through their own personal lens. I'm not anywhere near an expert on classical/symphonic music, I know that I enjoy it, I know that it's something that sometimes overwhelms me so much, and it's not something I can listen to at work. (Yeah, I've got different musical stylings for different types of work during the day, but generally symphonic music is too distracting for my headspace, which leaves me with punk, twee, indie, folk, and whatnot to get through the day.)
It's always hard for me when I listen to any orchestra, as it reminds me greatly of my grandmother, an accomplished musician and teacher, who played harp with the Orlando Symphony Orchestra. In fact, until I told my brother he could take the entire thing two years ago, I owned half of one of her harps. (My cousin owns the other one of my grandmother's pair.) So, when I sat down last Wednesday, and the symphony began Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, it made me sad, not necessarily because of what the music was saying, but because of what it reminded me of and how much I miss my grandmother.

The symphony followed Romeo and Juliet with Strauss' Don Juan, which Barce felt moved from light to dark. I'm not certain that I agree or disagree, as I was caught up in my own thoughts about my grandmother and the musical adventures of my childhood.

After these first two pieces, we had a brief few moments during intermission to ask a few minutes. Thinking about how I had met most of the bloggers in the room (ahem, social networking), I was curious to know about the social networks that musicians have. I have to assume that the number of, say, first chair violinists, is relatively small. This was confirmed by a member of the orchestra. Several other questions were asked - such as whether or not orchestra members blogged, or interacted with others online. There seemed to be an opportunity for us to bring together some of our expertise, so immediately proposed to our fearless leader, Kevin Smokler, that we conduct a few Nerdcurious salons for them. (I promise we won't let them set up a MySpace account...unless it's to help the Symphony sell a few tickets.)

Lights flickering on and off let us know it was time to return for the finale and piece many of us had been waiting to hear, the elusive Piano Concerto No. 3 by Rachmaninoff, immortalized in the movie Shine. Understanding that there's a huge technical mastery necessary for the piece, I was also surprised by the physical demands, watching Gabriela Martinez sweat her way through it. I will say, her playing styling, engaged and physical, was well matched to James Garrigan's stylings. The two of them are so enraptured with the music they make, it's as if they are trying to make it a part of their physical being. It definitely drew me into the music, but it was almost one of those situations where I couldn't even open my eyes, I was so overwhelmed with the emotion pouring out. Some of the other coverage has critiqued her performance, but I almost feel that it is irrelevant to those us who enjoyed it so greatly.

The post-performance included a q&a session, which I highly recommend attending if you're at the symphony. It was great to hear a young composer (aged 14 I believe) talk about his upcoming performances and to get feedback on how to develop his pitch, as well as hear how long it took Gabriela to begin learning the Rach 3 (she began in April).

Of course, the best part of any such experience is sharing it with friends. A few of us marched off to Sauce for a dessert and treats to discuss art, music, and life.

This isn't the last symphony visit of the year for me, so I hope for as much joy when I return in September to see Mahler.

UPDATE 10/16/2007

I did not get to see Mahler, but I'm sure I'll see the symphony again before the year is out.

However, my Mom did send some corrections, so I'm including those about my grandmother and her participation.

[Your grandmother] was one of the founding members of the Florida Symphony Orchestra which was begun in the 50's. I believe she was the first harpist before it was a regular position. The orchestra was active for about 40 years but then started having problems with the musician's union. Eventually the Orchestra was dissolved because they couldn't meet the expenses. I will look for the book published on its 25th anniversary which I have somewhere here. I believe it was the precursor for the current Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.