Saw John Adams conduct Detroit Symphony and Leila Josefowiscz Saturday nite.

Music Lane

It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

Adams conducted his own Violin Concerto, as well as his On The Transmigration of Souls, and R Strauss' Death and Transfiguration. Adams made it clear in comments before the performance that he considers Josefowiscz to be the greatest performer of his violin concerto, and the performance made this believable. I own the Chloe Hanslip performance on Naxos, and this killed it. Josefowiscz has a beutiful, silvery sound, and she clearly understands the music well, striking the dynamic and expressive balances of the piece perfectly. Her wildly changing facial expressions were fun to watch to if you were so inclined. The Concerto was the best-received piece of the evening.
Transmigration is of course Adams' 9-11 remembrance and as such does not elicit wild enthusiasm from audiences, but rather somber introspection. The large choir and orchestra augmented by electronics was extremely effective.
The Strauss was also marvellously executed. Wendi and I both thought Adams had coaxed the best sound and ensemble from the orchestra we had ever heard, especially the strings which can be rather sloppy in our experience. We were also encouraged that the DSO is programming a lot more modern music this season than we have ever seen. On top of that, there are some incredible sales and specials going on. We were in the second row of the balcony, and with the DSO 2 Go sale, we got our tickets, free parking, and two drinks for $49! You can't beat that with a stick. Then, perusing the gift/CD store at the Max Fisher Music Center, we noticed an offer where if you spend $49 in the shop, you get a free pair of tickets to one of two upcoming concerts. We jumped on that one too, so we'll be back in a month or so to see Leonard Slatkin conducting. If you're in the area, I highly recommend looking into the sales, and giving the DSO a fresh listen.

dh

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Topic - Saw John Adams conduct Detroit Symphony and Leila Josefowiscz Saturday nite. - D Harvey 18:47:01 04/02/07 (0)

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