Santa Cruz Symphony at Santa Cruz Civic

[Drunk Monk]

10/4

It was a short ride to get there - in fact, we could have walked. It was hot, but that made for a perfect night downtown, with free snacks (rich chocolate truffles, fresh strawberry short cake, various other appetizers) and live jazz, available on the roped off street outside. Nice crowd, mostly gray haired. It was also the 100th anniversary of the wharf, so there were fireworks during intermission.

Bernstein: Overture to Candide - sounded like the bastard child of John Williams and Carl Stalling, but it was actually the other way around.

Ades: In Seven Days - an ambitious new piece (describe the 7 days when God created all in one short piece) quite daring for SC symphony, complete with video and a virtuoso pianist from Germany who played the original performance of this in 2008. It had a diverse percussion section with several instruments I've never seen or heard before. Very impressive actually, evocative and jazzy. We almost skipped it because the Civic can be so stuffy and with the heat, well, we're glad we didn't.

Mozart: Symphony #41 in C - his final symphony, although probably not intentionally so. No composer captures a live orchestra like Mozart. He's like the Beatles to Rock - he just nails that sound and style - arguably the epitome of the genre. You could poach almost any musical phrase and dumb it down into a pop song - the compositions are that dense. The fireworks were still going and one major boom timed out with the music, which brought rounds of applause and smiles to the conductor and performers. It was a great show, and it made me feel young.

[Drunk Monk]

We spent the day hosting our daughter's bday celebration part 1, where she invited three friends from her old school for a beach day. We secured a 1st come, 1st serve fire pit at our local c-brite beach at 2pm and stayed there until 7. Then we let the girls run amuck in c-brite as we went to the symphony.

Bach's Wedding Cantata: A pleasant piece made extraordinary by a guest appearance from soprano Ying Fang, a lithe Chinese ingenue with an operatic voice. She was dazzling. A cellist dropped his bow with a clatter mid-piece. S said "all he had to do was sit there quietly".

Villa-Lobos' Bachianan Brasileira No. 5: Again, Ying took center stage for a piece for voice and 8 cellos. It was a daring piece. I must give conductor Daniel Stewart a nod for taking risks with some modern classical.

Berlioz's Symphonic Fantastique: One of my all-time favorite pieces. I confess that my classical ear is cheesey and bombastic. My first love in any style of music was Wagner, and my limited collection of classical is Beethoven, Holst, and so on. I first got into this piece because of The Shining, which used the most sinister melody in classical, Dies Irae. It wasn't until much later when I learned the historic significance of this piece - a true game-changer in the classical world for so many reasons - and in ensuing years I began to love it all for its sheer brilliance. It's a piece that uses the full orchestra and evokes so many moods in such a short time. I have a Halloween collection that for some unknown reason focuses on the IV movement of Fantastique, the Marche au supplice, when it should be the V, Songe d'un nuit de sabbat, which centers around Dies Irae. Classical compilations, even for Halloween, are silly. Anyways, I have never heard Fantastique live, and the Cruz symphony nailed completely. Half a dozen percussionists, two harpists, and scintillating performances by the wind and string sections. It was mindblowingly awesome.

Beach then Berlioz. Life is good.

[Drunk Monk]

This weekend was T's high school play which both S and Dm had many parent duties. We have season tickets to the symph and this bill was the least attractive as it was all strings. It was titled The Muse, which I am always seeking, but failed to find here. Barber's Adagio for Strings was lovely - such an iconic American piece. Stravinsky's Apollon Musagete was long-winded (long-stringed?) - ten movements, three muses and not cohesive IMO. We left at the break prior to Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings as S was very tired and DM was very bored.

[Drunk Monk]

One of the best so far.

Cruz conductor Daniel Stewart's own composition, Sinfonia - playful and fun and all over the place. Great percussion and big tuba work, but it bounced from delicate poignancy to bombastic movie soundtrack ideas. I've grown to really admire Stewart in his selections and presentations. He's a real Cruz treasure.

Harrison's Pacifika Rondo combined traditional eastern instruments like Indian water bowls and taiko drums. Again, great percussion - so thundering that the taiko performer broke a stick, a two-inch diameter at least stick. A brilliant piece, including a sparkling duet between western harp and chinese zither which could well have descended into dueling banjos, but didn't at all. Mrs. Dm once visited Harrison's home when at UCSC. She said he had a full on puppet stage in his living room. A true testament to Harrison's unique compositional skills, honoring both musical tradition not as a novelty but a fully actualized harmonious symphony.

Beethoven - Violin Concerto in D major featuring Youjin Lee. This was stand out. The piece, when first composed, was considered unplayable for many years. Lee is a 19-year-old South Korean who won her first competition at age 7. Clad in a pink chiffon evening gown, she was on fire, a true rockstar of the strings. This is why I listen to live music. Every once in a while, it goes beyond the technical skills, beyond the jingly pop melodies, and channels the divine. What she did on violin was simply not possible for human fingers. Her whole core was committed to achieve this complex and intricate piece, changes faster than one can think, pure ecstatic music. She commanded that solo, with the 50+ orchestra backing her virtuosity with the rich textures that only Beethoven could create. So inspirational. So moving.

The final program in the season will be another one of my all time favs - Carmina Burana - in May. Check back with you here then.

[Drunk Monk]

This was the biggest SCS show so far with nearly 100 people in the chorus. It opened with Lully's Marche Pour La Ceremonie Des Turcs, where all of the chorus paraded in dressed in medieval attire, tossing faux rose petals, from all corners of the auditorium. It was a little too Renn Faire for me actually.

Next was De Victoria's O Magnum Mysterium, with a shining duet between an Olivia Pope lookalike and a castrati. For some weird reason, they weren't credited, which is really a shame. They were spectacular, as was the baritone that joined them later. They were singing without the mikes and filling the auditorium in grand operatic style.

The was one of my all time fav pieces, Carmina Burana, in its entirety. What a treat! I've only heard one other live performance of CB, and that was at UCSC when I lived here before. CB is such a wild ride, so textured with different musical ideas ranging from the delicate and soulful to overpoweringly bombastic. It's a percussionist playground, especially for the tambourine and kettle drums. Magnificent. Even T enjoyed it. Three standing ovations.

As a side note, the Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus is sponsored by Joan Osbourne. I kept hoping to spy her in the audience, but only found a dinosaur.

Next year's season isn't as attractive so we will probably forego season tix and only attend a few.

It was an excellent warm up for TCEC & KFTCD, which will be an excellent warm up for the year's first reggae fest.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Oh, crap, I haven't warmed up yet for TCEC 2015 or KFTC Day.

[Drunk Monk]

i'll send olivia pope and the castrati by for a little BAB warming up.

[Drunk Monk]

2nd row, right next to the percussion, baby!

Intermission now.

upz:

[Drunk Monk]

The theme for the opener was Inventing America.

COPLAND
Fanfare for the Common Man
All brass and percussion. What's not to luv? The horns were a little weak at points, but this is a triumphant piece and reminds me of sports. Although satisfying, I was hoping for more with this.

Severiano Briseño arr. by Oswaldo Golijov
El Sinaloense
A frantic Mexican dance that I wasn't familiar with at all. Fun tho. Peppy.

GERSHWIN
Rhapsody in Blue
with Jon Nakamatsu, Piano
Now this is an amazing piece that always reminds me of the industrial era in a jazzy sort of way. The piece is so evocative, and I can't tell if it's because so many ideas are ripped from other pieces or because so many have ripped ideas for this piece. Nakamatsu nailed it. This was the standout of the night.

DVOŘÁK
Symphony No. 9 "New World"
Another new piece to me. It was complex and enjoyable, but I couldn't really frame it because I was too unfamiliar with it.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

United Airlines ads have ruined Rhapsody in Blue for me.

[Drunk Monk]

I feel ya.

But it's still a great piece when you hear it in its entirety.

[Drunk Monk]

The was one of my all time fav pieces, Carmina Burana, in its entirety.  What a treat!  I've only heard one other live performance of CB, and that was at UCSC when I lived here before.  CB is such a wild ride, so textured with different musical ideas ranging from the delicate and soulful to overpoweringly bombastic.  It's a percussionist playground, especially for the tambourine and kettle drums.  Magnificent.  Even T enjoyed it.  Three standing ovations.

We’ve seen SC symphony do Carmina before in 2015.

[thatguy]

What surprised me is that it was only written in the 1930's. Musically, it has such an old feel. It also has such influence. Some of the little flourishes sound like bits from Star Trek TOS - particularly Vulcan-ish (maybe Amok Time). Some part are so sweet. Others so powerful I hear bits of Carmina often. Even in this:



Someday, I'll go back and re-read the texts...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmina_Bu...Orff)#Text

The selection covers a wide range of topics, as familiar in the 13th century as they are in the 21st century: the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the ephemeral nature of life, the joy of the return of Spring, and the pleasures and perils of drinking, gluttony, gambling, and lust. 

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

What surprised me is that it was only written in the 1930's. 

Yeah, Orff died when I was in high school. I remember hearing about it - I was already into orchestral music back then. I often say my first concert (that I bought tickets for) was Genesis. But if I’m completely honest, it was Wagner.

[Drunk Monk]

Operas of Seville

Having been to the opera last Sunday and Seville several years ago, this seemed like a nice start for the season for me. It’s the 2nd performance. I missed the first because I was at MJF. Stacy said I missed a great guest percussionist. Our seats were in front of the stage left risers, close to the hallway and the percussion section.

Mozart: Overture to Don Giovanni 
A classic Mozart piece, rousing and very pop. Got everyone’s attention.

Beethoven: Leonore Overture no. 3 
Moody serious Ludwig van. This was from his only opera which I’ve never heard. It’s poorly regarded but this piece was fine -  very Ludwig van…

Rossini: Overture to II Barbiere di Siviglia 
So pop. I cannot hear this piece without seeing Bugs Bunny massaging Elmer Fudd’s scalp until it grows flowers. Burned in my brain like the dragon & tiger on the forearms of a Shaolin monk. Nonetheless, this was the piece when the orchestra woke up and came on - very powerful rendition.

Verdi: Overture to La forza del destino 
Another moody piece, beautiful but somewhat of a buzzkill after the previous. 

We decided this was SC pops nite, like when they do the works of John Williams. The crowd was more mixed and loose. Not the usual ocean of white and gray hair. We saw our neighbors, Ted (the Ansel Adams pupil) and his wife Francis. 

Bizet: Carmen Suites 1 & 2
More ridiculously pop classical everyone recognizes. The triangle player bothered me. He seemed off and way too pretentious and loud. He was right in front of us so hard to miss. He reminded us of Stacy’s late cousin Wesley. 
The final piece showcased the new concertmaster Nancy Zhou, who changed from an elegant black dress to a flowing red gown. She was pure fire. Made me think ‘Nigel who?’ (Nigel was the previous concertmaster who was painfully cool and handsome). Nancy is wonderfully expressive and blinding fast with her bowing. I look forward to more solos from her this season. 

A lovely night of rich yet pop orchestral music.