Sprightly

Stop the Planets - I Want to Get Off The comedian Jerry Seinfeld once did a bit where he wondered what aliens landing on earth would make of dogs and their owners. Seeing members of one species following those of another, picking up their poop and carrying it around in a little bag, which would the aliens consider to be the masters? The thought crossed my mind the other day while playing The Planets with a click track syncing the live orchestra to a film. While both dog and owner are at least living creatures, the subservience of something alive to something not alive is problematic, at least when considering that the 'live-ness' of the music is supposed to be one of ts most compelling features. Strangely, the most 'real' imagery from the Planets film was shot by the robots sent to Mars a few years back, actual photographs taken by real cameras as opposed to digital animations. Whether in service of our curiosity or merely our vanity, those machines nevertheless op...

programming, old school! A concert featuring an overture, symphony, concerto and virtuoso showpiece, nary a Broadway show-tune in earshot, Teutonic death worship given the week off, sweltering heat, swarming gnats, cannons – this week had it all. Program A BARBER Overture to The School for Scandal SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 70 INTERMISSION BARBER Violin Concerto, Op. 14 R AVEL Tzigane (Joshua Bell, violin) Program B BERLIOZ Three Pieces from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 17 INTERMISSION VERDI Overture to Giovanna d'Arco DVOŘÁK Slavonic Dance No. 2, Op. 72 MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides Overture, Op. 26, “Fingal's Cave” ROSSINI Overture to William Tell Program C TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36 INTERMISSION TCHAIKOVSKY P iano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23 TCHAIKOVSKY 1 812, Overture solonelle , Op. 49 The brief flashback I had in in the middle of program B took me back to circa 1993. That is until I realized we were playing on a Thursday night and...