MUSIC: CSPhil – Carmina Burana

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Colorado Springs Philharmonic Conductor: Josep Caballé Domenech Date: May 21, 2017 Zones Pierre Jalbert In the final commissioned piece of this 90th Philharmonic season, Pierre Jalbert takes the term "from sea to shining sea" quite literally with his piece, Zones. With the majority of the music conveying the depths of the ocean, it was interesting to hear the various deep-sea creatures as they passed by (most of which seemed to be quite large and dangerous). Eventually, the listener arrives near the surface of the ocean and can hear the rays of light penetrating down into the water. During the last moments of the piece, the listener emerges on dry land and quickly finds themselves in the alpine "zone" of the top of Pike's Peak. Martern Aller Arten (from The Abduction from the Seraglio) / Verdrai, carino (from Don Giovanni) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart These selected arias from Mozart's repertoire weren't that recognizable, but they certainly gave soprano Celena Shafer the chance to show off. Having been in a choir before, I know I...
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MUSIC: CSPhil – The Texas Tenors

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The Texas Tenors Conductor: Thomas Wilson Date: May 06, 2017 In another night of not precisely knowing what to expect from the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, I was pleasantly surprised. Before seeing them perform this weekend, I had never heard of the Texas Tenors before. Part of me was apprehensive for the performance, as I figured it would be a lot of well-sung country and western songs. Part of it was, but that was OK because the country just happened to be Italy. I think the more accurate assessment of this group is three tenors from Texas, since the primary focus is really on their singing, not necessarily on their southern origins. Their repertoire is quite admirable. From Amazing Grace to Sinatra to The Phantom of the Opera to Bruno Mars, this trio of singers aren't just great at singing; they're also excellent at engaging with the audience. Of course, that makes sense considering they've had many live performances, not the least of which was a stint in...
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MUSIC: CSPhil – Mahler 6

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Symphony No. 6 in A minor Composer: Gustav Mahler Conductor: Josep Caballé-Domenech Date: April 22, 2017 Before going to see this performance, I knew very little about Gustav Mahler. Because of a Tom Lehrer song (see video below), I knew he was married to a woman named Alma, and I knew he composed a piece called "Das Lied von der Erde." And while I still know little about Gustav Mahler, I can make some interesting assumptions based on how he composed. After all, when a piece requires over 100 instruments, including two harps, two timpani, a celesta, and an instrument specially made for this singular symphony, you can tell Mahler didn't conform to traditional standards. I can practically hear him instructing his orchestra. I can hear him saying he wants more cowbell, because dang if there isn't plenty of cowbell in his 6th symphony. The richness and diversity of sound produced by this large orchestra leaves the listener with many instruments on which to focus. I'm sure repeated...
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MUSIC: CSPhil – Swing, Swing, Swing!

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Colorado Springs Philharmonic Conductor: Thomas Wilson Date: April 1, 2017 Much like the Divas of the 60's performance, I had very limited prior knowledge of the music played during this week's Philharmonic pops. I was aware of the basic swing style of music but had little to no exposure to it's complete musical reach. My initial thoughts were that this performance would be very high-energy since swing music is often accompanied by the high-energy dance style of the same name. I was somewhat surprised to find a fair number of the songs were a little slower. Granted, you could still dance to them, but they would have been slow dances instead of swing dances. Perhaps the title of "Swing, Swing, Swing!" was a little misleading. Much of the music was of the "big band" style, which isn't always of the "swing" genre. With the focus on brass and percussion, the addition of strings to the arrangements made for quite the impressive sound, especially on the songs I...
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MUSIC: CSPhil – Peer Gynt

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Colorado Springs Philharmonic Conductor: Josep Caballé Domenech Date: March 18, 2017 Enchanted Landscapes: A Symphonic Poem Ofer Ben-Amots Of all the commissioned pieces for the 90th season of the Philharmonic, I thought this was one of the stronger pieces. While it didn't have any of the musical motifs of the original "America the Beautiful," it had an inspiration all its own that conveyed the power of the original. Starting and ending in a somber tone, "Enchanted Landscapes" paints an auditory picture of a cloudy day on Pike's Peak. Then, suddenly, a storm whips up! With thunder and lightning, wind and rain, the peaceful calm are broken by nature's fury. Almost at once, quiet falls on the mountain as snow starts slowly fluttering down. Finally, the storm has passed, and all is quiet on the peak once more. Nänie Johannes Brahms For a piece about death and dying, I found Brahms' interpretation of this poem to be a little more high-energy than I was expecting. Gone are the lamentations of a life...
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MUSIC: CSPhil – Dvořák: New World Symphony

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New World Symphony (No. 9) Composer: Antonin Dvořák Conductor: Josep Caballé-Domenech Date: March 11, 2017 This piece. THIS PIECE! I'll be honest; it's probably my favorite piece of classical music ever. Now that I know a bit more about it through the Colorado Springs Philharmonic's Masterworks series, I feel I can appreciate it even more. Although even if I now know the Native American, African American, Czech, Beethoven, and Wagner influences that made this piece what it is, I've loved it for so long I have trouble picking out the references. Nevertheless, being able to identify the small segments that added to the spectacular whole that is this piece just added to my love of it. If anything, the melting pot of musical motifs and themes that help to create a sound that is distinctly American, even from a Czech composer like Dvorak, is what the New World Symphony is all about. The ability for Dvorak to recognize the heritage of the Native Americans and the struggle of the African-Americans...
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MUSIC: CSPhil – The Great

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Colorado Springs Philharmonic Conductor: Marcelo Lehninger Date: November 12, 2016 White Gleam of Our Bright Star Courtney Bryan OK, I'll admit it: I really didn't "get" this piece. Perhaps I'm not an astute listener for this type of musical arrangement, but it almost sounded to me like the band was still warming up during this tribute to "America the Beautiful." Maybe I'm biased. The first commissioned piece of the 90th season was fantastic, complex, and riveting while this one felt a little . . . wanting? Of course, again, I don't really consider myself to be of the most discerning of musical tastes, especially when it comes to the Philharmonic. My take is usually "older is better," so time will tell whether this piece stands up against the others. Violin Concerto No. 5 Henri Vieuxtemps Up until this Masterworks performance, I had never heard of Henri Vieuxtemps. Consequently, I wasn't sure what to expect in his fifth Violin Concerto. With the stage filled with the string section and not...
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MUSIC: CSPhil – Star Trek: The Final Frontier

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Colorado Springs Philharmonic Conductor: Josep Caballé Domenech Date: October 29, 2016 As someone who has only seen a smattering of Star Trek episodes and movies, I wasn't sure what to expect for this night of orchestrated music. Up until about Deep Space 9, I could recognize the opening themes for the different series, but anything after that would be new to me. I am a fan of a few of the early Star Trek films, as well as a few of the reboot ones (not Beyond, though), but only the newer ones have captivated me musically. Of course, that's probably because I enjoy the musical stylings of Michael Giacchino. While I can understand the heavier reliance on the music from the Star Trek movies, due to their ease of orchestration, the music from some of the episodes was equally as moving. This consistency and range really drove home that Star Trek isn't about the action for which Star Wars is best known, but more...
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MUSIC: CSPhil – Francesca Da Rimini

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Francesca Da Rimini Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Year: 1876 Back when I was in college, I would go to the Denver Philharmonic and attend the lectures given before the piece was played. This allowed me to get some background on the piece before I listened to it being played by the orchestra of musicians. It was in these lectures where I learned that Beethoven's 5th Symphony started with morse code for the letter "V", signifying "victory." Overall, these lectures gave me a greater understanding of the piece of music so that I could appreciate it on a deeper level. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of a history lesson to bring out the "aha" moments when listening to a piece of music. Through a multimedia production, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic has gone above and beyond in expanding my understanding of the Tchaikovsky piece Francesca Da Rimini. In their presentation, I realized that the composers of bygone eras were able to bring the stories...
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MUSIC: CSPhil – Symphonic Dances

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Colorado Springs Philharmonic Conductor: Josep Caballé Domenech Date: September 17, 2016 This year, my wife and I decided to go to the symphony more. With this year being the 90th anniversary of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, they pulled out all the stops and have a great lineup. As a result, we ended up essentially getting season tickets. While it's difficult for me to really "review" pieces of music like these, since they've been around for a long time, I'll merely give my impressions on the following set from the first event of the 90th season of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. Some of these impressions come in the form of stories, so if you get a chance to listen to these pieces, read along and hopefully you'll get what I'm trying to convey through the piece. For Spacious Skies Anthony DiLorenzo Having never been to a "World Premiere" of a song before, this was quite a treat. The Philharmonic commissioned a number of pieces based on "America the...
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