Apollo's Fire: Mediterranean Nights

My reaction to the last Apollo's Fire concert I attended was accurately be summed up in one word: "Blugh". I am happy to report that this evening's concert was anything but blugh; all-in-all it was a quite enjoyable, quite pleasant sounding evening.

The first half of the program was not played in program order making it difficult to relate which was my favorite piece -- It was the second piece played, but I didn't catch the name. In any event, it started with a familiar rhythm on the harpsichord -- though I can't place it (Movie? Theme park? Hold music?), featured some fantastic violin playing and was generally captivating.

There wasn't a piece in the first half that I particularly didn't like, and intermission came before I started longing for it--another sign I'm enjoying a program.

I didn't feel that the second half was quite as strong as the first. I enjoyed Murcia's Difencias Sobre La Gayta ("Bagpipes"), and certainly visualized the instrument named in the title. Likewise, I was intrigued by the concept of Romance Biego (The 10 Commandments) from Briceno, but didn't feel especially attracted to the music or the overall sound.

I had previously noted that Apollo's Fire seemed to take themselves too seriously -- this was certainly not the case with this evening's performance contributing to a much more pleasant atmosphere. During the final Fandango and ensuing encore there was quite the amusing interplay between musicians, especially a musical duel between Ms. Sorrell on harpsichord and Mr. Herreid on baroque guitar at one point.

After this concert I'm inclined to give Apollo's Fire another opportunity.

Opera Cleveland: Don Giovanni

One of the funniest things I've seen all year; great music, too.

I don't really get opera sung in Italian -- opera in English is no problem, but I tend to suffer from a case of Sensory Overload with Italian opera. There are so many facets happening simultaneously -- the singing, the music, the surtitles, the scenery and blocking, etc. It's an art form that I'm not really sure how one is supposed to appreciate.

Usually my mind dwells on one of those aspects just long enough that I forget to keep an eye on the super titles and by the time I start paying attention again I am destined to remain lost as to what, exactly, is going on. This was true with last night's performance of Don Giovanni -- but there were enough one-liners that didn't require extensive context that I remained amused. How could you not like Leporello?

I can't say what my specific thoughts were on Mozart going in to this performance, but I have to say that they changed coming out--not so much for the quality or style of music, but I he no longer seems as stiff -- between the self-referential comment about hearing The Marriage of Figaro too often and lines "I will comfort her tears / (Along with 1800 of her peers)" -- makes the 1700s seem so much less oppressive.

I do wish that Opera Cleveland would fly in the board that the surtitles are projected in another 10 feet or so... the distance between the singers and the surtitles is such that it's nearly impossible to keep both in your field of view at the same time, which I think would help in terms of following the story.

The Violin, Part III

My instructor is a genius. Having never learned how to read music, much less play an instrument I was intimidated by the sheer number of new things that need to be learned to truly play -- fingering, bow hold, reading music, etc.

It wasn't until walking back from my 3rd lesson that I realized that based on the way she has structured the lessons -- while I still have a quite a path in front of me, thus far each component has been broken down into an piece that's easy enough to cover independently of everything else... slowly, ever so slowly, the various parts are coming together--I can see how they relate to the whole.


Side Lesson - Buying a violin on eBay for $0.01 is probably not the best idea. I'm already plotting for an upgrade...A violin, to me, is acoustically and visually beautiful and a beacon of fine craftsmanship. My present instrument is lacking, though not sorely, in all three of the above. It is rather amusing to see the initial reaction each time a new professional lays eyes on it... ;)

Franz Welser-Möst: He Speaks

My TiVo grabbed an episode of Applause on WVIZ as a "suggestion" (#1 reason I could never give up TiVo)... lo and behold, an interesting discussion revolving around The Cleveland Orchestra.

As interesting: The person doing most of the taking. Until about 12 minutes ago I had never heard the Orchestra's Music Director speak a word. The nature of orchestral performances is such that wrote it off as one the great mysteries of life... and, I'll admit, I had my preconceptions.

They were promptly shattered -- I was quite impressed by his interview, insight and commentary, especially as it related to the Orchestra's audiences. The segment led off with a bit from one of the orchestra's high school performances where Mr. Welser-Möst appeared to be discussing his conducting and the rehearsal process -- two other items I've written off as great mysteries of life. I wish I coud have heard the entire discusion -- does he offer this lecture elsewhere?

I know this blog is typically retrospective instead of prospective, but three "cool things" on my radar that you may want to grab tickets for sooner rather than later:

Friday, November 7th: Cleveland Orchestra, "The Music Of John Williams". My gateway drug to true classical; I just hope they pull out some of Mr. Williams' lesser known pieces along with the usual ET/Star Wars stuff.

Friday, November 13th: Clevelnd Museum of Art "After Hours" 9:00p-1:00a with Sheer Frost Orcheatra and Eats Tapes; more info: http://www.clemusart.com/events/copy_Afterhours.aspx. It just sounds cool, and the Summer Solstice Party was one of the coolest events I've hit in Cleveland.

Friday, November 20th: Cleveland Orchestra/Severance Hall: Fridays@7 "Cello and Space". The last one was an awesome sellout--in contention for coolest Cleveland event--I expect this concert to be similar. Tickets http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/purchase/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=2008

Reflection and an Army on the Move

This weekend, while feeling a little under the weather, I found a stack of ticket stubs... and I realized I still have stubs for most events since the beginning of June. For fun I added up the face value -- not all had values printed -- and was astonished to discover that I've spent just a little less than $2,100 (exclusive of parking, incidentals, and--in one case--airfare and hotel) on my performing arts "habit" during that time.

Then I ask myself the "Value/Worth" question: I feel that I've gotten value from something--and it was worth the financial investment if I can answer two questions negatively: Is there something I would have rather spent that money on? and Did I feel like my time was wasted?

By and large, the answer to both was absolutely not. Sure I enjoy some things more than others, but with very few exceptions I've never felt as if there was a better use for my time or money. And the awesome thing about Cleveland is there are just as many events at $10-or-less as there are at the $125-or-more price point.

Shifting gears, The Cleveland Orchestra is doing their European Tour and Vienna Residency through November 3rd... no suprise there. What is suprising is the size of the undertaking. According to the Cleveland Orchestra Blog, the tour includes 102 musicians, 18 guests, 8 staff, 4 stagehands, 1 tour agent, 1 doctor, an assistant conductor and the music director -- for a total convoy of 134.

I've never taken the time to count the number of musicians on the orchestra roster but if you had asked, there's no way I would have guessed more than 100. I'm sure the logistics involved in managing that number of people, not to mention instruments, in Cleveland is a challenge enough -- I can't imagine what it's like to pull it all together on the road.

Cleveland Chamber Symphony: October 25th

This afternoon I found myself at the Cleveland Chamber Symphony concert at the Music Settlement -- a first for both.

I went in with no expectations -- other than a generally vague understanding of how "Chamber Music" is different than other music. It turns out that that had little to do with the performance I was about to enjoy.

I was pleasantly surprised in most regards and the turnout was impressive; while not a large venue every seat and then some was occupied. The "Meet the Composer" format was interesting -- both to hear the composers' comments on their works and to hear questions from audience members.

Of the three pieces on the program, the 3rd and final movement of the 3rd piece (music director Steven Smith's String Quartet) was the one I found most enjoyable both in tempo and sound. Most interesting, to me, were the almost percussive sounds made among the four stringed instruments, but I'll get back to that.

Jing Jing Luo's Lagrimas Y Voces was a little too jarring and disjointed for my tastes but certainly exhibited some unusual methods of playing the instruments included in the piece, certainly pushing boundaries.

The first piece on the program, Frank Wiley's For Alexander Calder held my interest; the first two movements I could certainly visualize Alexander Calder's works... the 3rd movement I'm not so sure about. Wiley's comments after his piece certainly added value and understanding.

All in all it was a fantastic way to spend an afternoon and hear some music that's a little bit more adventurous and isn't a staple of "traditional" programming.

CPT: Why Torture is Wrong And The People Who Love Them

Saturday evening I ventured West for Cleveland Public Theater's staging of Christopher Durang's Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them.

It wasn't as funny as I hoped--or perhaps I should say that the audience wasn't as uproarious as I hoped, but it is one of the funnier things I have seen recently. It seemed quite obviously a parody of the present situation, but it felt like it had its wings clipped before it made its way over the top. Had this happened, I may have been rolling on the floor. The actors didn't really feel like they were selling their characters (notable exception "Voice")--Save for the last scene in the fine dining establishment known as "Hooters".

Aside from the entertainment value it does force some introspection on where we as a country are with regard to national security, trigger happiness, et. al.

While a tangential line that had nothing to do with the plot, early on the mother makes a comment about some her friends committing suicide ("willing their hearts to stop beating") after three evenings in a row of Tom Stoppard plays. I may have been the only person laughing at that line, but having suffered through two Stoppard plays a month and a 3-hour flight apart, I can only imagine doing the same thing myself if I were to do two, much less three in as many nights.