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My kind of town

Finally, a brief report on a terrific weekend: four days in Chicago, all for last Sunday’s Metropolitan premiere, and Music Director Allen Tinkham led the CYSO in a truly fantastic concert. The orchestra played the tar out of it, and the piece sounded like a million bucks. These are incredibly impressive musicians, all of whom worked their tails off, and it paid off. (Thanks celli, for all your work on that lick. You know which one I’m talking about. I’m here to tell you, it was worth it. Sounded awesome.) Metropolitan opened their program, but the orchestra had several other fish to fry—Messrs. Bartók (featuring the scary-talented Yoshihiko Nakano in the Concerto for Viola), Smetana, and Sibelius followed. Dark, thick, yummy, frozen music. Love it. Brilliant and intriguing programming.

The WFMT broadcast of Metropolitan (along with program host and producer Lisa Flynn’s interviews with me and Maestro Tinkham) will air sometime in December, likely sometime near the next performance, at this year’s Midwest Clinic, where the CYSO is the featured orchestra. So if you are a Chicagolander, stay tuned. Literally.

But I must say, in that box in Orchestra Hall, after AT and the orchestra had blasted a hole in the ceiling with the premiere, surrounded by MJS, NB & VO, and N & JB, listening to the CYSO joyously explode in the Sibelius Fifth, I was one ecstatically happy camper. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Some time ago I decided this was to be a text-only notebook (I don’t know why, no good reason really, but I’m sticking to the original plan), so for some light visual stimulation, visit the BCM blog to enjoy the Chicago pics postings. A couple are up now, with more to follow…

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