Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Hide and seek with a battle axe
Beethoven and Prokofiev at San Diego Symphony.
Vadym Kholodenko
Who knew that Beethoven was a fan of hide and seek? While that might not be historically accurate, there is certainly a sense of tiptoeing around in the opening measures of his Fourth Symphony.
During the first movement, I was puzzled. I knew that all the notes were there and I knew that they were all in tune and beautiful but something didn’t feel right.
During the second movement, I wanted to shout “hooray” for the horn solo but my sense of discomfort continued. Discomfort might be too strong a word. I’ve become accustomed to a specific type of feeling from the San Diego Symphony and I wasn’t getting it.
I’m greedy that way.
It wasn’t until the last few measures of the final movement that I figured it out. Whereas Brahms has always been spectacular with maestro Ling, Beethoven isn't always his bag.
I’m not saying Beethoven has been bad — well, there was the the time a departed trumpet player changed the chord in the finale of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, but that’s not on the conductor and that issue has been handled.
Beethoven’s Ninth during last season was good, but Beethoven’s Fifth was spectacular. However, Christoph von Dohnányi conducted the Fifth.
No conductor can be all things for all composers. Leonard Bernstein’s Beethoven wasn’t his strong suit and isn’t how he is remembered — and loved — as a conductor.
Fortunately, Prokofiev brought his battle axe to the concert and pianist Vadym Kholodenko wielded it with authority. Prokofiev gave his battle axe a name. He called it his Second Piano Concerto.
The symphony has added an overhead camera to show the pianist's hands. I found it to be a distraction and preferred the side view. The overhead view made it look like a virtual pianist app or something — Piano Hero?
Piano hero, indeed. Kholodenko was my piano hero.
I’ll admit that I have an affinity for Prokofiev because he’s got mountains of swag, but his music always has a sense of humor.
Tchaikovsky’s Waltz and Polonaise from Eugene Onegin concluded the concert. After the Prokofiev I completely forgot about Tchaikovsky, but I was soon reminded.
This was the best I've heard the San Diego Symphony play Tchaikovsky. There was an overriding sense of enjoyment in the orchestra and their pleasure in playing this music made me enjoy it even more.
Their smiles made me smile.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Hide and seek with a battle axe
Beethoven and Prokofiev at San Diego Symphony.
Hide and seek with a battle axe
Beethoven and Prokofiev at San Diego Symphony.
Vadym Kholodenko
Who knew that Beethoven was a fan of hide and seek? While that might not be historically accurate, there is certainly a sense of tiptoeing around in the opening measures of his Fourth Symphony.
During the first movement, I was puzzled. I knew that all the notes were there and I knew that they were all in tune and beautiful but something didn’t feel right.
During the second movement, I wanted to shout “hooray” for the horn solo but my sense of discomfort continued. Discomfort might be too strong a word. I’ve become accustomed to a specific type of feeling from the San Diego Symphony and I wasn’t getting it.
I’m greedy that way.
It wasn’t until the last few measures of the final movement that I figured it out. Whereas Brahms has always been spectacular with maestro Ling, Beethoven isn't always his bag.
I’m not saying Beethoven has been bad — well, there was the the time a departed trumpet player changed the chord in the finale of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, but that’s not on the conductor and that issue has been handled.
Beethoven’s Ninth during last season was good, but Beethoven’s Fifth was spectacular. However, Christoph von Dohnányi conducted the Fifth.
No conductor can be all things for all composers. Leonard Bernstein’s Beethoven wasn’t his strong suit and isn’t how he is remembered — and loved — as a conductor.
Fortunately, Prokofiev brought his battle axe to the concert and pianist Vadym Kholodenko wielded it with authority. Prokofiev gave his battle axe a name. He called it his Second Piano Concerto.
The symphony has added an overhead camera to show the pianist's hands. I found it to be a distraction and preferred the side view. The overhead view made it look like a virtual pianist app or something — Piano Hero?
Piano hero, indeed. Kholodenko was my piano hero.
I’ll admit that I have an affinity for Prokofiev because he’s got mountains of swag, but his music always has a sense of humor.
Tchaikovsky’s Waltz and Polonaise from Eugene Onegin concluded the concert. After the Prokofiev I completely forgot about Tchaikovsky, but I was soon reminded.
This was the best I've heard the San Diego Symphony play Tchaikovsky. There was an overriding sense of enjoyment in the orchestra and their pleasure in playing this music made me enjoy it even more.
Their smiles made me smile.
Comments