It may have taken them 35 years to get there but last night
the Columbia Orchestra had its first sellout performance at the 747 seat Rouse Theatre.
They rocked the full house with a powerful performance of one of my all time
favorite pieces,Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1. I can’t recall where or when I first heard it but it soon
became a favorite. I've always been a fan of big piano music and Concerto No. 1
is big piano music. Last night Anne Kosclieny tore up the keys of a twelve foot concert
grand as conductor Jason Love whipped the orchestra through its paces.
They rocked.
We almost missed it. Earlier in the week I had noted that
the orchestra was a having a concert on Saturday night. We considered it a Saturday night option. I really didn't think it would be necessary to purchase tickets
in advance.
I was wrong. We were lucky to snag the last two seats together and
only because someone turned them back in.
Is it just us or does anyone else find the seats in Rouse to be a little tight?
Anyway...
Last Tuesday, as I was heading back to my office, I heard
this story on All Things Considered, by Shankar Vedantam, about whether orchestras really need conductors
“They seem important. After all, they're standing in the
middle of the stage and waving their hands. But the musicians all have scores
before them that tell them what to play. If you took the conductor away, could
the orchestra manage on its own?”
It’s a great story. The bottom line is that they have now
scientifically concluded that a conductor, particularly a good conductor, makes
the music better.
Jason Love is a good conductor. They've even made a bobble
head of him.
To cap the evening off the orchestra treated their record
audience with Sleigh Bells.
Good stuff.
