TCHAIKOVSKY'S VIOLIN CONCERTO

BY ED BRUCE edbrucevegas@yahoo.com

WHILE MY COLUMN TITLE IS LAS VEGAS, MY ADVENTURES ARE THE WORLD !

THE CURRENT WORLD WAS THE PACIFIC SYMPHONY IN COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA !

THE TARGET HERE WAS TCHAIKOVSKY'S VIOLIN CONCERTO !

THE EXPERIENCE HERE....TOTAL....AND WONDERFUL !

FIRST, THE SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTS MULTI FACILITES AND THEATRE ARE WORLD CLASS WITH WORLD CLASS MANAGEMENT AND THE THEATRE HOME TO THE PACIFIC SYMPHONY. WITH CONDUCTOR CARL ST CLAIR THE SYMPHONY ITSELF, SECOND TO NONE AND WITH TCHAIKOVSKY THE WORLDS SECOND GREATEST COMPOSER (LENNON-MCCARTNEY), THE MENU THIS DAY EXQUISTE FOR THE TOTAL EXPERIENCE.....IT WAS REALIZED !

STARTING WITH MANAGEMENT...JUST TOTAL...EVERYTHING ON THE RIGHT PAGE...PERFECT COMMUNICATION WITH THE STAFF...A WAITING PRESS KIT AT THE WINDOW AND ALL STAFF ACTUALLY WELCOMING ME TO THE EVENT....(ITS NOT ALWAYS LIKE THAT IN LAS VEGAS). SO GREAT TO SEE EVERYONE DOING THE RIGHT THING WITH THE RIGHT MECHANICS...THIS IS CALLED GREAT MANAGEMENT !

THE PROGRAM STARTED RIGHT ON TIME.... YES....THEY MUST HAVE KNOWN I DEDUCT ONE POINT FROM THEIR TOTAL SCORE FOR EACH MINUTE LATE....NO DEDUCTIONS HERE !

AT KICKOFF A MACHAEL DAUGHERTY WORLD PERMIER FOR THE ORGAN WITH PAUL JACOBS AT THE KEYS....IT WAS LOUD...TOO LOUD OF COURSE AND I DID NOT LOVE IT BUT I LOVED THE EXPERIENCE...THE ORGAN SITS BEHIND THE ORCHESTRA ON TOP OF FOUR ROWS OF REAR SEATING WHERE I WAS LOCATED....UNFORTUNATELY RIGHT BEHIND PRECUSSION BUT, THAT TOO I OVERCAME WITH THE EXPERIECNCE. THIS 18 MINUTE OPENER HAD A BETTER STORY IN THEIR WONDERFUL PROGRAM THAN THE MUSIC ITSELF....I ALWAYS READ THE BIOS AND PROGRAM AND THIS WAS HISTORIC, TRUELIFE AND WONDERFULLY STORY LIKE. IN THE THINGS YOU WOULD NOT THINK OF CATEGORY....JACOBS WITH HIS BACK TO AUDIENCE AND NOT A VIEW OF THE CONDUCTOR, HAD A MONITOR SCREEN ABOVE THE KEY BOARD FOR HIS VIDEO VIEW OF THE CONDUCTOR. I HAVE NEVER FELT THE MUSICIANS PAID MUCH ATTENTION TO THE CONDUCTOR WITH HIS WORK BEING DONE BEFORE SHOWTIME BUT IN THE CASE OF ST CLAIR IT WAS TERRIFIC FOR THOSE OF US IN THE REAR SEATS TO EXPERIENCE HIS PASSION, EMOTION, MOTION, TENSION, ATTENTION, CONCENTRATION, EFFORT, TIMING AND GENERAL LOVE FOR HIS WORK...OH BOY ! ! ! ALL THAT FOR MUSIC ITSELF THAT DID NOT EXCITE ME.

ANOTHER DAUGHERTY 24 MINUTE PIECE FOR ORCHESTRA FOLLOWED WITH A THREE THREE MOVEMENTS ...RADIO CITY (2011) FOR ORCHESTRA: SYMPHONIC FANTASY ON ARTURO TOSCANINI AND THE NBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA-U S PREMIERE. ANYTHING BY ANY ORCHESTRA IS ALWAYS GOOD, THIS WAS...AGAIN ENJOYING THE REAR SEATING AND TOTAL VIEW OF THE 7 LEVELS IN THIS THEATRE AND THE REACTIONS OF THE AUDIENCE WITH MY VIEW OF THE CONDUCTORS FACE RATHER THAN THE BACK OF HIS HEAD.

NEVER ANY WAY TO ELIMINATE INTERMISSION OF 22 MINUTES OUT OF THE HEART OF MY LIFE BUT I DID LIVE THRU IT.

THE PROGRAM WAS ALTERED WITH THE SAMUEL BARBER ADAGIO FOR STRINGS COMING AFTER INTERMISSION AND DEDICATED TO A DOCTOR AND HIS WIFE WHO WHERE LONG TIME PATRONS AND SPONSERS OF THE SYMPHONY..... AND.... AND.... AND THE DOCTOR WHO WAS A VISIONARY IN BLOOD WORK IN DOING GOOD IN HIS LIFE AND HELPING PEOPLE, THIS INFORMATION WAS IMPORTANT TO ME AND I WITHOUT KNOWING HIM CAN APPRECIATE THE MANY PLUSES HE ACCOMPLISHED IN HIS LIFE. THE BARBER PIECE ITSELF 9 MINUTES WITH 56 STRINGS HOW COULD THIS BE BAD..SO DELICATE AND SO TOUCHING...SOFT AND POIGNANT...EVERYONE IN THE THEATRE GRASPED THE MOMENT HERE FOR WHAT IT WAS AND HOW IT WAS PLAYED...ONCE AGAIN THE TREAT FOR ME INTO THE CONDUCTORS PASSION FOR THE EFFORT.

FINALLY....THE BEST FOR THE LAST.

TICHAIKOVSKY ONLY COMPOSED ONE VIOLIN CONCERTO BUT IT WAS THE BEST IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD AND WITH HIS CLASSICAL BIG 3 BALLETS HE REMAINS AT THE PINNACLE OF CLASSICAL COMP0SITION FOR THE AGES.

I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED THE PIECE AND EXPERIECED IN MANY PLACES MAYBE THE MOST UNIQUE A DECADE AGO ON THE RADIO IN NEW HAMMPSHIRE WHERE THEY HAD NO TV IN THE ROOM ON OUR TOUR....NO SHOWER...I WAS PISSED....BY LUCK OF THE DRAW I TURNED ON THE RADIO IN THE ROOM FOR THE ENTIRE PIECE AND GOT INTO THE TUB FOR 33 PERFECT MOMENTS...YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN A BLUE BIRD WILL FLY IN AND LAND ON YOUR SHOULDER.

ANYWAY...HOW SENSATIONAL COULD THIS BE WITH VADIM GLUZMAN (JUST 39) PLAYING THE 1690 'ex-Leopold Auer' Stradivari, on extended loan to him through the generosity of the Stradivari Society of Chicago. THE STRADS NEED TO BE PLAYED AND WHAT A HISTORY THIS ONE COULD TELL...IT WAS THE PIECE FOR WHICH TCHAIKOVSKY COMPOSED THE CONCERTO ! ! ! WHAT A MOMENT IN TIME.

GLUZMAN OF COURSE THE ISRAELI TRADITIONALIST WHO PLAYS THE WORLD WITH HIS UNTOUCHABLE SKILLS BRINGS ONLY THE GREATEST TO THE PIECE AND TO THE MOMENT...I WOULD BE UNABLE TO COMPARE HIM TO OTHERS I HAVE HEARE IN TECHNIQUE, ONLY TO SAY HIS EFFORT AND SKILLS FLAWLESS AND WITH MY REAR SEAT I ONLY SAW THE BACK OF HIS HEAD. IT WAS INTERESTING HOW CLOSE ST CLAIR AND GLUZMAN WERE TO EACH OTHER...IT TIED THE ORCHESTRA AND VIOLIN TOGETHER LIKE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. GLUZMAN BROKE A BOW STRING FOUR MINUTES IN ON THURSDAY AND 18 MINUTES IN SATURDAY....MAYBE THE OLD STRAD IS HARD ON BOWS...THIS MINOR VISUAL DISTRACTION NEVER SWAYED FROM THE EXPECTED SOUND OR TOTAL EXPERIECE...

WHILE APPLAUSE DURING MOVEMENTS IS A NO NO....THE AUDIENCE HERE BROKE INTO A STANDING OVATION AFTER THE FIRST MOVEMENT...NO BODY SEEMED TO MIND....OH ....I DID RETURN FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE CONCERT SATURDAY IN THIS THREE NIGHT RUN...I ONLY HOPE I LIVE TO HEAR IT AGAIN.

IF ALL THAT WAS NOT ENOUGHT, JACOBS WHO AT 27 CHAIRS THE JULLIARD ORGAN PROGRAM RETURNED TO DO 5 MINUTES OF SIR EDGAR ELGARS POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE....LOTS STAYED AND ALL WERE GLAD WE DID.

MANY WONDERFUL EXPERIENCES PREVAIL AT THE SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTS...WWW.SCFTA.ORG......THOSE WHO FAIL TO PARTAKE ARE LOSERS IN ALL LIFE HAS TO OFFER.

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