A stellar afternoon with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra

 

Maestro Kim Allen Kluge with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra/photo by Carol Pratt

What a fantastic voyage to spend Sunday afternoon with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra playing two of my favorites, Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.  And those were the reasons I went.

What an odd combination, I thought beforehand, but once I heard the explanation from Maestro Kim Allen Kluge, it all made sense.  For Valentine's Day weekend, the theme was "To Be Passionate." Of course.

Never mind that Prokofiev's Suite No. 2 from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64ter and Wagner's Prelude and liebestod from Tristan and Isolde were also part of the program, accompanied by an original piece, Rhapsody for Lily, written by the maestro and his wife, Kathryn, in honor of their newborn daughter, all stunning in their deliveries, the apricots for the almond clafoutis.

That the audience did not respond as well as I would have liked at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and in the manner to which I am accustomed when I hear the National Symphony Orchestra play at the Kennedy Center, was perhaps due to a sleepy Sunday after wild Valentine abandon and the Alexandria crowd's familiarity with the excellence of the ASO and Maestro Kluge's passion which may explain its pallor, an exaggerated term to describe it, but it describes it, nonetheless.

With one exception, Rhapsody in Blue, did the crowd respond as eagerly as I believe it should have.  Is it aware that although Mr. Kluge has been ASO's director for 25 years (!), another orchestra might swoop in and carry him off? 

Debussy's Prelude's must be the shortest ten minutes of any hour. If it were only longer, but, like the daffodils which blossom in the spring, would we admire it as much? Considered by some as the beginning of modern music, the singular flute, strings, and harp made magic together in shimmering waters.

Before the Debussy began, the maestro urged  audience members to transport themselves to the Mediterranean on a hot summer's day, to be Greek-Roman fauns pursuing nymphs, daydreaming about pursuit.  Easy enough to do and float.

An errant horn missed an entry from time to time, but the flow nor mood was thwarted.   

The first movement, Montagues and Capulets, of the Romeo and Juliet, began loudly with booming percussion and grand pronouncement that change is about to happen, the foreboding, enough to make chills.   The playful and rapturous Child Juliet, the second movement, conveys the young girl running through a field, happy, and energetic.  Strings and cello make way for Friar Laurence, the third movement, in heavy tones, as he enters into the secret. A short dance follows, and then the sad separation of the legendary couple and Romeo's visit to Juliet's grave, a sweet sadness with a commanding ending which returns to the sonorous beginning and the powerful percussion. 
Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow. 

 

For the Wagner, the ecstatic maestro shouted out at times to members of the orchestra who played with gusto, conveying the anguish and pain of the couple so much in love they died. Alas.  Based upon applause, Tristan and Isolde was the second favorite selection of the afternoon.

Gershwin's sexy jazz, Rhapsody in Blue, was as magnificent as I have heard played.

Up and down on the bench with hair flying from side to side as he bobbed his head, almost as in a silent movie, Maestro Kluge played the piano, while conducting the orchestra simultaneously, spinning his outstretched left arm round and round like a fast-moving carriage wheel, pausing long between sections and adding his own variations to Gershwin's composition.  His shouts of joy mingled with the orchestral sounds, and soon gave way to long-lasting broad smiles from two bass players and a cellist. 

The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra/photo by Carol Pratt

With the exception of the first violinist for various groups, never have I seen orchestral members smile during a performance and seem to have a good time, enjoying the spirit of the moment with a glow to spread all around.

Kluge's enthusiasm matches that of a new member of the orchestra, and, indeed, a special surprise came at the end:  the Rhapsody to Lily, as thrilling, light and beautiful as one could imagine.  Mr. Kluge asked us to consider for a moment joining Lily's long former residence in amniotic fluid and letting the music surround and wash over us.  Coming from a conductor at a symphonic performance, it was a little disconcerting, but at this concert, everything came out just fine.

Mr. Kluge said he honestly believes that when people come together for a presentation of live music, lives are changed forever. I believe mine was!

ASO's next performances are March 29 and 30, 2014 with Fanfare for an Angel (2011) by James Stephenson (b. 1969) and, with the Metropolitan Chorus of Arlington, The Armed Man:  A Mass for Peace (1999) by Karl Jenkins(b. 1944).



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B.B. King and Peter Frampton: the thrills ain't gone

B.B. King sang the blues at Wolf Trap Sunday night/Patricia Leslie 

 

He may be almost 88 (September 25), but he sure don't look it.  He don't act it either.  "He," of course, is the only one, the inevitable, Mr. Showman, B.B. King, who wowed'em with a capital W at Wolf Trap where the house and yard were full.  And along on the ride was another musical star, Mr. Peter Frampton, who brought a surprise guest.

 

B.B. was fit and energetic and talkative (all he did was talk the first 30 minutes). With co-star Frampton and Frampton's Guitar Circus, they played their most popular pieces to the screams of fans who were mostly white, mostly over age 40. 

B.B. King sat on a chair while he played (well, look, some half his age have to sit on a chair) and said more than once: "I know I am getting old.  You can look at me and tell," but he didn't look or act it.  He seemed to really enjoy himself up on the stage, in the lights again.  He sang "I Need You So," "Every Day I Have the Blues," "Rock Me, Baby," "How Blue Can You Get?" and, with the audience,  "You Are My Sunshine"/Patricia Leslie

B.B. King held his signature piece, "The Thrill is Gone," until his last number when Peter Frampton sneaked on stage to join him and helped belt it out on the guitar.  With voices as crisp and throaty as yesteryear's, the men needed no back-ups or sound equipment to strengthen their sounds.  They were fine/Patricia Leslie

B.B. King, far right, bantered with the audience and said "Above 60, you're not old.  You're just getting there"/Patricia Leslie

Peter Frampton, 63,  seemed and sang happy "All Night Long" with his special guest at Wolf Trap/Patricia Leslie

To the screams of the crowd, Frampton brought out Roger McGuinn, 71, one of the masterminds of the Byrds, who started off his performance with "Mr. Tambourine Man" and sang "So You Want to be a Rock and Roll Star" and "Eight Miles High"/Patricia Leslie

Some of Peter Frampton's greatest hits he let loose at Wolf Trap were "Show Me the Way," "Lines On My Face," "Baby I Love Your Way," "I'll Give You Money," and "Do You Feel Like We Do"/Patricia Leslie

Frampton's Guitar Circus at Wolf Trap Sunday night.  Besides Peter Frampton, band members are Adam Lester, guitar; Rob Arthur, keyboards and guitar; Dan Wojciechowski, drums; and Stanley Sheldon, bass/Patricia Leslie

 

The only disappointment of the evening was B.B.'s shortened version of "The Thrill is Gone" which mortified some fans who pleaded for more before he left the stage for the night at intermission (he said he was three minutes over his allotted time!), but when you get to be almost 88 and have won 17 Grammys (the first in 1971 and the last in 2009), you can pretty well do what you want to do, they say.  Even an abbreviated version of the classic alone was worth the price of admission and with all the "extras" (!), well, to understate the experience:  a memorable concert for the record books.

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