RTP-area local music and culture

["Todd Morman" <tmorman AT nc.rr.com>]

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