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Bruckner was the pizza at San Diego Symphony
That is, the thing for which you are willing to wait
The San Diego Symphony concert on Sunday, May 11th was not quite everything I was hoping it would be.
The concert started with a cello concerto by Unsuk Chin, but I was there to hear Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7. This wasn't exactly a bait and switch situation; rather, it was the pairing a piece of music that no one would go to hear on its own merits with a piece of people that people would go to hear.
I finally figured out what this practice reminds me of: pizza night at an evangelical church. A youth pastor, eager to draw new members, might tell the youth group to go invite their friends to the Wednesday meeting, because it's going to be a fun pizza night. There’s going to be a little talk first about Jesus and salvation —but hey, there’s pizza.
So the kids invite their friends, and their friends show up — for the pizza. The youth pastor then proceeds to give a talk about The Lord for half an hour, while the youth group and their friends squirm around waiting for pizza.
South Park expertly captured this technique in an episode that sees rival gangs tricked into a rec center for a night of fun...and pizza.
Video:
South Park: "There's pizza!"
In this instance, the cello concerto was the squirm session, and Bruckner was the pizza.
Happily, once the pizza was served, things started off magnificently. The cellos ravished the long and glorious opening melody, which musically depicts an alpine meadow in the golden sunlight of late summer. As the cellos handed the line off to the violins, the bass tremolo became a warm breeze wafting across the meadow, stirring the delicate edelweiss flowers that dotted the landscape.
Then the horns wobbled in on their first entrance, and the scene fell apart. Actually, I shouldn’t say “the horns,” because it wasn’t the section. Rather, it was one player in the section. Throughout the first movement, that one horn had problems with entrances — and even tuning. I was dismayed. The same thing happened a decade ago with the horn entrance in Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, which, as it happens, is scheduled for next season. I thought those days were behind the San Diego Symphony.
The second, third, and fourth movements were much better, but I found myself tensing up, bracing myself each time I knew there was a horn entrance coming.
The rest of the orchestra played brilliantly, save for one bobble in the trumpet section. The four Wagner tubas were phenomenal, as were the trombones. The strings and woodwinds were on their game. Flutist Rose Lombardo should be singled out for recognition of her stellar work. Apparently, Bruckner loved the flute, because it gets a lot of play in his work.
Overall, the performance was strong. Maestro Payare brought the energy and coaxed some beautiful sounds out of Bruckner’s score.
Video:
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
Here's something you might be interested in.
Bruckner was the pizza at San Diego Symphony
That is, the thing for which you are willing to wait
Bruckner was the pizza at San Diego Symphony
That is, the thing for which you are willing to wait
The San Diego Symphony concert on Sunday, May 11th was not quite everything I was hoping it would be.
The concert started with a cello concerto by Unsuk Chin, but I was there to hear Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7. This wasn't exactly a bait and switch situation; rather, it was the pairing a piece of music that no one would go to hear on its own merits with a piece of people that people would go to hear.
I finally figured out what this practice reminds me of: pizza night at an evangelical church. A youth pastor, eager to draw new members, might tell the youth group to go invite their friends to the Wednesday meeting, because it's going to be a fun pizza night. There’s going to be a little talk first about Jesus and salvation —but hey, there’s pizza.
So the kids invite their friends, and their friends show up — for the pizza. The youth pastor then proceeds to give a talk about The Lord for half an hour, while the youth group and their friends squirm around waiting for pizza.
South Park expertly captured this technique in an episode that sees rival gangs tricked into a rec center for a night of fun...and pizza.
Video:
South Park: "There's pizza!"
In this instance, the cello concerto was the squirm session, and Bruckner was the pizza.
Happily, once the pizza was served, things started off magnificently. The cellos ravished the long and glorious opening melody, which musically depicts an alpine meadow in the golden sunlight of late summer. As the cellos handed the line off to the violins, the bass tremolo became a warm breeze wafting across the meadow, stirring the delicate edelweiss flowers that dotted the landscape.
Then the horns wobbled in on their first entrance, and the scene fell apart. Actually, I shouldn’t say “the horns,” because it wasn’t the section. Rather, it was one player in the section. Throughout the first movement, that one horn had problems with entrances — and even tuning. I was dismayed. The same thing happened a decade ago with the horn entrance in Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, which, as it happens, is scheduled for next season. I thought those days were behind the San Diego Symphony.
The second, third, and fourth movements were much better, but I found myself tensing up, bracing myself each time I knew there was a horn entrance coming.
The rest of the orchestra played brilliantly, save for one bobble in the trumpet section. The four Wagner tubas were phenomenal, as were the trombones. The strings and woodwinds were on their game. Flutist Rose Lombardo should be singled out for recognition of her stellar work. Apparently, Bruckner loved the flute, because it gets a lot of play in his work.
Overall, the performance was strong. Maestro Payare brought the energy and coaxed some beautiful sounds out of Bruckner’s score.
Video:
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7