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ch-scene - NC Symphony Hollywood Emigres is great, tonight in Raleigh and Tues in CH

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  • From: "Todd Morman" <tmorman AT nc.rr.com>
  • To: "RTP-area local music and culture" <ch-scene AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: NC Symphony Hollywood Emigres is great, tonight in Raleigh and Tues in CH
  • Date: Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:38:27 -0500

Just a quick note in case anyone might want to take advantage. I saw the NC Symphony's "Hollywood Emigrés & Protégés" performance last night (http://bit.ly/2jtN4Y) and it's a real treat (esp. if, like me, you haven't been a huge fan of mainstream classical in the past). Guest conductor John Mauceri apparently specializes in Hollywood composers, Nazi emigres and non-tonal music, and guides you through the pieces with friendly, short, very informative introductions, including an audio clip of Bernard Herrmann introducing his 1940s CBS radio performance of the Schoenberg chamber symphony. A rundown:

The two short fanfares that start things off are great - a fun 1945 Schoenberg and Korngold's Fanfare from "King's Row," which I had no idea John Williams stole so blatantly for his Star Wars score. Seriously, I did a double take and had to pick my jaw up off the floor it was so blatant. Then Schoenberg's famous Chamber Symphony No. 2, a surprisingly accessible and fascinating work I really, really liked. You almost never hear stuff like that live around here, and it was marvelous. Herrmann's atonal-heavy Psycho score was next; you'll probably love watching the strings commit those two murders as much as I did.

A short Strauss after the intermission (offered mainly, I think, to give Mauceri a chance to talk about Strauss's difficult position under Nazi rule) was ok, and then Korngold's very fun symphonic version of his classic 1938 Robin Hood score. What a blast - lots of percussion and neat changes. I really want to hear it again. Finally were a couple of excerpts from Williams' Close Encounters score. I'd gone in kind of snooty about that one but Mauceri linked Williams clearly to both Schoenberg and Korngold, and then proceeded to demonstrate just how easily atonal music could go down with that child-meets-alien scene music.

A really fun night. It repeats tonight in Meymandi and moves to Chapel Hill on Tuesday. Schoenberg's name on the bill means there will be plenty of empty seats as he tends to scare away the old money.

todd their loss morman




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