Sun, Nov 04, 2007
Gershwin Jazz
Posted to Media category
The second concert in this year's Boulder Philharmonic season has a theme of pieces of music inspired or affected by other music.
The first piece was composed in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Phil by a local composer, Luis Gonzales,who is a Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of Colorado. It was adequate music, but I thought it was much too ponderous, especially the third section, which was supposed to be a dance tune inspired by the city. If Boulder has a 'dance' it is the Boulder Bolder 5K race. Or maybe Kinetics. Something quick, or even frenetic, with a bit of drive and maybe a touch of strangeness.
The second piece was amazing: Gershwin's 'Piano Concerto in F', with the usual piano soloist replaced by a jazz trio (the Marcus Roberts Trio: piano, bass and drums) playing real jazz, with improvisations, not just a fixed score. Gershwin's work was inspired by jazz, but sort of squished it into a classical box -- the object of the performance was to take it back out of the box.
The drummer looked familiar: he was Jason Marsalis, of the great family of jazz musicians. I don't think I've seen him perform before, but I've seen his relatives on TV.
The pieces after the intermission were both quite good.. Brahms' "Variations on a Theme by Haydn" and Hindemith's "Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber".
The new conductor/music director of the Boulder Philharmonic has given it a different feel. The previous conductor was more traditional in some ways. This season's programs are eccentric, but a lot of fun.