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Showing posts from April, 2018

REVEALING DEVASTATION and EXALTED REVELATION

"I hope that the piece (On the Transmigration of Souls) will summon human experience that goes beyond this particular event (9/11)." ~ John Adams "Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." ~ Ludwig van Beethoven Tucson Symphony Orchestra – 6 April 2018 A very sweet finale to the remarkable Inaugural Season of Music Director, José Luis Gomez , was set up by the programming of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the 'Ode to Joy'. And, in fact, the exhilarating success of this concert went beyond, with few exceptions, the expectations of even the most ardent local fanatics. Two perspectives dominated my experience here. One, the outstanding, if not definitive, rendition of Adams' 'On the Transmigration of Souls', was literally shocking. The o rchestral sonorites, many intentionally harsh or seething, were yet always generously rendered and sensuous.  The sheer mastery, by the Tucson Symphonic Chorus and the Arizo

Going out in Rare Style: A CRUSHING TRAGEDY and THE ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF THE SPIRIT

"Modern people have learned all too well how to keep our emotions in check, and to mask them with humor or irony. Music has a singular capacity to unlock those controls and bring us face to face with our raw, uncensored and unattenuated feelings." ~ John Adams "If death comes before I can develop all my artistic faculties, I should probably wish it came later - yet even then I shall be happy. For will it not deliver me from a state of endless suffering?"  "Music is the mediator between the spirit and the senses."  ~ Ludwig van Beethoven CONCERT PREVIEW for March 6th & 8th, 2018 The TUCSON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA is going to end the season on a very high note, indeed. "Ü-ber Ster-nen muß er woh-nen" (He must dwell beyond the stars!): the 'ODE TO JOY', Beethoven's 9th Symphony. The opening number, on the other hand, 'ON THE TRANSMIGRATION OF SOULS', by John Adams, is a powerful, early attempt to help us heal, in the