Spectacular Music In New York City On A Summer Night

Last Friday night, July 5th, 2013 I was really fortunate to experience not only an outstanding classical music concert, The Planets- An HD Odyssey,  but I also made a dash afterwards for a wonderful late night jazz set by two of my favorite jazz musicians.

Imagine sitting in the glorious cool of Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center on an overly  hot,  sticky summer night. My excitement about the program was really high. I had purchased my ticket the moment I learned about the program.

The first piece was the  short piece Short Ride in a Fast Machine by my favorite contemporary classical composer John Adams.

Next was a rarely performed magical and subtle  piece Ballet of the Snowflakes by Offenbach from his fairy-tale opera,  Trip To The Moon. Listening to this one piece live would have been enough of a treat for me.  The program continued to delight me.

A beautiful waltz by Joseph Strauss,  Music of the Spheres , added to the excitement before the final spectacular performance of The Planets by Gustav Holst.

I had never heard a live performance of Holst’s masterpiece before and although I was gaga about the Venus The Bringer of Peace segment and I always  liked  the Jupiter The Bringer of Jollity, I had always found that in recordings  the other planets were quite lack luster by comparison to these segments.

I was amazed at how different the whole composition is when heard live. All of the seven segments are of comparable beauty, complexity  and intensity. When the outstanding  NASA pictures of the planets were projected on a screen behind the orchestra it made  an experience that I probably will remember for my whole life.

Here is the link to the New York Times review of the program. www.nytimes.com/2013/07/08/arts/music/new-york-philharmonics-the-planets-builds-on-holsts-work.html?_r=0   

For more information about the program, here is the link to the New York Philharmonic’s website with program notes     http://nyphil.org/ConcertsTickets/EventDetails?event={2BBDD777-44AA-4D33-B3B4-03C3793ABBDF}

The magic at the very end of the composition was thoroughly sustained by several minutes of complete silence as Conductor Bramwell Tovey literally held the tension and vibrancy of the music in his baton. It was really amazing!

Then I ran out, hopped in a taxi  to the Hotel Kitano to immerse myself in the incomparable  jazz of pianist George Cables, drummer Lewis Nash and the bass by David Wong.

What is  fascinating about  experiencing this trio is the very playful,  joyous interplay between the outstanding musicians.  The level of communication and  degree of being in synch with each other is so very high.  The pleasure and fun that the musicians are having is palpable.

Wow! What a night!