Boston Philharmonic: November 22, 2008

Last night, I went to see the Boston Philharmonic at Jordan Hall on the campus of the New England Conservatory. Two of the other MIT Symphony horn players met in the freezing cold outside of Lobby 7 and took the one bus down Mass Ave to reach our destination. We were able to buy $8 student rush seats...in the second row. And let me tell you - seeing a concert with soloists and being in the second row is a real treat. You can watch their facial expressions, their fingers, and hear their musicality. It is really great.

The Boston Philharmonic is a semi-professional orchestra made up of professionals, students, and "highly-skilled amateurs." What I wouldn't give to play up on that stage...it'd be so much fun! They must have some pieces that could use a low horn player, right?

The program included:

Bach's Concerto in C Minor for Oboe and Violin
-beautifully done. I love the sound of harpsichord with orchestra.

Berg's Violin Concerto
-I know it may be odd, but I would much prefer playing the Berg than listening to it. Music that is different like this deserves many listenings.

Beethoven's Eroica (Symphony 3)
-wow. We're playing this on December 5th, and it's quite the workout for horns. They did quite well, although the conductor restarted the orchestra for the third movement...kind of a bummer.

The violin soloist who played Berg's violin concerto was quite the interesting fellow. He was Algerian and raised in France, yet the only languages I heard him speak onstage were English and Italian. He did a quick encore, which went from Bach to gypsy fiddle to Mozart to country to bluegrass to rock that would almost feel at home on an electric violin.

Jared, Elise, and I in front of the stage: what a great concert!

We also ate at Uno's Pizzeria, just steps from Jordan Hall, making Jared a very happy fellow. I had a really good Mediterrean thin crust pizza, but it definitely failed on the kalamata olives. If restaurants want to use kalamata olives, great. They are delicious. But don't put them in a big glob in the center of my pizza. They are meant to be used sparingly. Cut them up into pencil-eraser-sized chunks, and spread them all over. Please.