Lest you think that all I do is lounge in coffee shops by day and booze away at night, I will tell you that I am also an enthusiastic patron of the symphony. That’s right people, high culture.
Well, “enthusiastic patron” might be a little excessive. Okay, so maybe I’ve only been to one show this year. But, what I lack in attendance I make up for with sincerity. I actually own a CD of Beethoven’s 2nd Symphony – the very same piece the Florida Orchestra performed on the night in question. Also featured that evening was Vivaldi, who I have definitely, actually heard of.
Now I know I lost some of you at the very mention of Beethoven. Or perhaps it was Vivaldi that got you. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Lot’s of folks are scared of classical music. One look around the Mahaffey Theater the other night would tell you that just about everyone under the age of seventy had something better to do.
But frankly, I’m hoping to change all that.
People, the symphony is awesome! I’m totally serious. The Florida Orchestra may not be St. Martin in the Fields, but they’re pretty darn good for all the support they don’t get. And, in spite of our neglect, they’re ours. These world-class musicians schlep themselves from the Mahaffey to Ruth Eckerd to the Performing Arts Center over 150 times a year. They are warriors, I tell you.
So, for you yet uninitiated: what’s so great about the symphony? You don’t even have to love classical music to enjoy it. Really. Aside from the fact that all of the venues I just mentioned do have cash bars (you lushes), the Mahaffey Theater has just undergone a gorgeous, $20 million facelift. She’s been updated – dressed up in a more sophisticated style as befits a lady of her age. So, if you like architecture, there you go.
But wait – there’s more…
Apart from the Beethoven on the schedule, I mentioned a piece by Vivaldi - a duet between an oboe and bassoon. Now don’t freak out if you have no idea what those instruments are all about. They are woodwinds (the non-shiny, horn things - like that clarinet your parents made you play). They create melodious duck noises of varying pitch, and are honestly quite pleasant.
Also on stage was a wild-looking harpsichord (like a piano, only it’s skinnier and sounds like a toy) with a wild woman at the keys. Oh, she may have looked like your run-of-the-mill, middle-aged-librarian type, but once Vivaldi kicked it up a notch, she got to bopping her head and tapping her feet like the harpsichord was going out of style.
On the bassoon was none other than Mark Sforzini, a regular with the Florida Orchestra for some 14 years. But don’t let that fool you. This guy is a rock star. He was jammin’ like the Hendrix of the bassoon world – heck, of the whole woodwind world.
I admit, my feet were doing the tap-a-long.
But when I say you don’t have to love classical – or know a darn thing about it – I mean it. You do have to like it, though. Or at least be willing to give it a go. For those who think classical music is just background noise at Panera, you’ve got to see it live. You’ve got to see these virtuosos with their syncopated bows and fingers flying, the gong and drum guys wailing, and that rock-star bassoonist – it’s an incredible dance set to music that has stood up to two, three, sometimes even four hundred years of judgment. Who are we to thumb our noses?
If you don’t ever make it, it won’t be the end of the world. There will always be another crop of old folks ready to (sort of) fill the seats. But personally, I like to think of the symphony as bungee jumping for your ears. These days, it’s pretty radical. And, at the very least, you want to know what you’re missing.
So, lest you think me a hypocrite, I’ll tell you that I’ve already got a seat for next weekend. Mozart’s going to be rockin’ the house, and I can hardly wait.
You know, there might even be a few tickets left…
Published in The Gabber Newspaper, Gulfport, FL 3/29/07
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