Timpani and GTOs

There is a quality about Leonard Bernstein’s music which has kept it fresh and cool for decades.

Saturday’s Opus 2014 Gala Concert opened with Three Dance Episodes from On the Town. I wonder if someday a piece of music such as The Dance Episodes from On the Town will include dancers? I'm just saying.

The trumpet solo in the second section of music was gorgeous. The brass section appears to have received another coat of wax and is starting to sound like a restored ‘65 Pontiac GTO with a nice throaty sound while idling but when you step on the gas — good lord, it’s thrilling.

Bizet was a baller. If you can count Richard Wagner one of your fans you're in rare air. Imagine Michael Jordan telling someone he admires their game. It just doesn’t happen very often but Wagner was a big fan of Bizet’s Carmen.

We heard Bizet's L'Arlésienne Suites One and Two but we heard them in a different order and I must admit that this order made perfect sense musically. The order was Pastorale from suite two, Minuet from suite one, Carillon from suite one, Farandole from suite two.

I fricking love this music. The theme of the Pastorale section which opened the piece, is one that sticks in my head for months at a time.

On Friday and Sunday the orchestra played a unique timpani concerto.

I am a big fan of the programing so far this season. The concerts have started with a new piece of repertoire and then gone on to include standard fare.

It's a great way to do some updating without stirring up too much dust.

Buuuuuut there's a reason the timpani doesn't get a lot of solos — although it is strange that drum solos are so popular but timpani solos are few and far between. Could it be because a drum kit is more like a percussion section?

This was a percussion piece written by a percussionist for percussionists. San Diego Symphony’s Ryan J. DiLisi was fantastic and I was grateful to have heard this piece of music. The orchestra part was a lot like Chopin’s in the piano concerto. Composer William Kraft gave it a go but his heart was with the timpani.

The finale piece of the weekend was Dvorak’s Seventh Symphony. It was nothing short of brilliant.

It is becoming apparent that there is no limit to how excellent an orchestra can become.