music... antidote

this entry is much over-due... as with my update on my trip to the UK, as with my update on my neverending ski-annecdotes...

oh well.

if there's one thing (among others which i can recall!) which i didn't get to do when i was back in the UK, it was to go to the theatres and orchestra halls... that used to be quite a norm... but i was out of luck... the spectacular Edinburgh Fringe and the outstanding Edinburgh International Festivals didn't start till late july / early august and most of the interesting bits at the London Royal Opera House were long snapped up before i got there... and then just when i left the 2 great Russian Ballets are performing during the same season! how unfair! i would love to watch either a Boshoi or Kirov... in fact, i truly admire the Russian ballet style (which has a nice combination of French, Itallian and native Russian influences) and am very glad to have gone through some of its schooling...

but apart from technical rigour, ballerinas rely on music to express themselves... and it is music that is the topic of my blog entry.

SOMMERFEST is here in the Twin-cities... and while resident conductor, Osmo Vänskä, takes a wee break from the scene we have Andrew Litton, who leads the summer concerts. i got to learn about this series of musical events nearly 3 weeks after it started... partly because i was away and partly because i was busy trying to settle back into the 'swing' of things... which i am still struggling... but J, my classical-music-loving colleague and all-things artsy/literary-friend at work thought i needed to be educated about this annual experience and checked on me about my awareness... to which i responded flabergasted. i have undoubtedly missed some chamber concerts i'd like to have attended!

nevertheless, i got a free ticket and used it to catch Anne Akiko Meyers dazzle the audience with a beautifully alluring rendition of Barber's String Concerto, and Litton playing Gershwin with much enjoyment... Gershwin is a genius.

then, as one thing often lead to another, i discovered that Dave Brubeck would be in town for a night with his quartet!

my encounter with Brubeck's jazz is, like most things in my wee life, quite random... yet, there is, at times, beauty in apparent 'chaos'... i stumbled upon Dave and Desmond's Duets some years ago when i was back in Edinburgh, visiting from Germany... while i really enjoy jazz, i didn't know much about the jazz-scene... i didn't even know how amazing Dave Brubeck is... my vocabulary for jazz was pretty much limited to Ella, Louis, Billie, Nina, and Keith Jarrett... and even today, i can't claim to have a better knowledge... perhaps a wider exposure... but like many of my cds, they are acquired simply because the music appeal ... no matter how obscure the composer, or performer might be... a rule that pretty much works miracles!

those who are familiar with Brubeck and Desmond will know their hits, "Take5", which Paul wrote... and "Blue Rondo a la Turk", which Dave penned while on tour in Turkey... these two numbers are synonymous with their names... but i like the 'lesser-known' ones... like "Alice in Wonderland"... "Blue Dove" and his solos. it is rare to hear him play these days and while he gets even older, these public performances will become even more special... but i've never heard him live before... so when one gets a chance to enjoy the Dave Brubeck Quartet perform... you don't simply pass the opportunity over... unless, of course, the odds are working against you... the concert was completely SOLD OUT by the time i discovered about it and inquired at the ticketing office... while i expected its popularity, i didn't expect that there won't be any tickets left particularly when the performance was scheduled on a tuesday... refusing to accept this fact, i pestered the ticket office personnel on the phone... and just as i was inquiring if there might be any possibility of any tickets appearing from 'returns'... the chap over the phone said that 2 tickets just came up on the system... YES!!!

the lucky ticket got me into the concert hall with a view of Dave Brubeck pretty close-up... i could see him from his back tinkering on the Steinway, Michael Moore on the bass, that was when Bobby Militello didn't block my view with his jolly large boggie woogie when he's having a wee break from playing the sax or the flute... and Randy Jones drumming up rhythms... it was AWESOME... just simply enjoying the fact that the people on stage were all having a ball of a time playing these numbers:

Cassandra
Three To Get Ready
Lullaby
The Basie Band Is Back In Town
Mr Broadway
Blue Rondo a la Turk
Unsquare Dance
New Wine
Theme For June
Take Five

of the selection of blues the audience got to enjoy, i think i really grew fond of the "Theme for June"... it was composed by Dave's brother, Howard... and offered lots of soulful lyrical phrases for the pianist to express himself... it got me wondering what a "theme for may" might be like... hmmm... but one thing i was certain was i felt 100% better after being at the concert... and my splitting headache (from lack of sleep!) disappeared! a bit of jazz a day keeps insanity at bay... hah!

although some people would beg to differ... and some believe that Mozart's music is a marvellous antidote to life's stress... good thing that there's a plethora of gorgeous music out there... but i have to admit that some of Mozart's pieces are really quite remarkable, particularly when you hear them perform live in a bigger setting than it is actually written for, ie. the modern chamber orchestra as oppose to a quintet. ... with subtle changes in the thematic contours of the melodies, Mozart is able to create some pretty pieces with a dramatic side to them, rendering a modern catchiness to them and a lasting attachment to his name.

but i am a little bias... and i still prefer BACH and jazz... and modern romantiques... like Rachmaninov, Ravel, Debussy...etc ... and the beautiful rhythms you find all over the world... oh yaaah....

THU-duum-DA DEEEEE TWee-thAAA .. .. .. THU-duum-DA DEEEEE TWee-thAAA .. .. .. THU-duum-DA DEEEEE TWee-thAAA .. .. ..

--- and you keep doing that by just stomping with your feet and slapping your hands on your heels and clapping... and if enough people join in, we'll have a great rhythmic symphony of body movements...

posted by ~overacuppa~ on Friday, 11 August, 2006 at 00:26 hrs