Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Scheherazade part deux

Conductor Mei-Ann Chen whips Rimsky's beautiful concubine with the help of the San Diego Symphony.

After the intermission I noticed that there was no music stand for the conductor. Hmmm, guest conductor Mei-Ann Chen was going to do this one from memory. This could be good.

My hopes increased.

Concert master Jeff Thayer was going to play the violin solos. Hmmm, this should be good.

My hopes increased.

The music started and Sinbad's ship came sailing through loud and clear.

I hope, I hope, I hope.

What did I hope? I hoped the blasted trumpets would come through and finally play a clean concert.

They did.

I was shocked. I can't remember the last concert I heard where the trumpets made it all the way through a piece with out flubbing the dub.

Actually, I can remember. It was Pictures at an Exhibition but that was before The Daughter of the Regiment overture.

I won't elaborate on the overture but I will say it was consistent every single night.

So, the trumpets did the minimum with Scheherazade--the minimum being to play the correct notes without stumbling.

The performance as a whole was one of the best I've heard. The ensemble was tight, the conductor was dynamic, and the violin solos were breath taking.

I loved Mei-Ann Chen's conducting. She appeared to have enough energy to supply a small electrical storm. If the flux capacitor from Back to the Future could conduct, it would be like Chen.

As the piece conclude with Mr. Thayer intoning the unwavering voice of Scheherazade, that magic moment of truth arrived.

Beautiful.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

WAV College Church reminds kids that time is short

College is a formational time for decisions about belief

After the intermission I noticed that there was no music stand for the conductor. Hmmm, guest conductor Mei-Ann Chen was going to do this one from memory. This could be good.

My hopes increased.

Concert master Jeff Thayer was going to play the violin solos. Hmmm, this should be good.

My hopes increased.

The music started and Sinbad's ship came sailing through loud and clear.

I hope, I hope, I hope.

What did I hope? I hoped the blasted trumpets would come through and finally play a clean concert.

They did.

I was shocked. I can't remember the last concert I heard where the trumpets made it all the way through a piece with out flubbing the dub.

Actually, I can remember. It was Pictures at an Exhibition but that was before The Daughter of the Regiment overture.

I won't elaborate on the overture but I will say it was consistent every single night.

So, the trumpets did the minimum with Scheherazade--the minimum being to play the correct notes without stumbling.

The performance as a whole was one of the best I've heard. The ensemble was tight, the conductor was dynamic, and the violin solos were breath taking.

I loved Mei-Ann Chen's conducting. She appeared to have enough energy to supply a small electrical storm. If the flux capacitor from Back to the Future could conduct, it would be like Chen.

As the piece conclude with Mr. Thayer intoning the unwavering voice of Scheherazade, that magic moment of truth arrived.

Beautiful.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Hot, cold, and thick: SDSO

Next Article

Berlioz almost upstaged Saint-Saens

San Diego's Symphony Hall shaken to its foundations
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
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader