Tis the season to be what? Is it Jolly? Merry? Both or None? How about Hopeful!?
Last Sunday afternoon, we heard another fine concert of The Hartford Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Carolyn Kuan. I expected a very traditional Christmas concert with at least a few of my favorites carols. I expected to be soothed, as if by a lullaby.
BUT. . .I was jarred to attention, every muscle taut, readied.
We heard a musical portrayal of CHANGE—specifically, climate change, featuring the solo work of violinist, Curtis Stewart, b. 1986, whose extraordinary composition and solo performance was part of a program designed to present and promote recognition of excellence in classical music while addressing systemic obstacles within Black and Latino communities. How do you do that?????
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This is what we saw and heard following the opening talk offered by Kuan and Stewart who described his violin as extraordinarily versatile for its size. He demonstrated various sounds, such as a bike crunching gravel, a car’s screeching brakes, children laughing, traffic horns, door slams, even the flush of, yes, a toilet—and much more.
FIRST: The entire large stage was filled with stringed instruments ONLY. Where were all the drums, the woodwinds, the brass, all horns and even the tiny piccolo I always watch and wait for? All gone. But wouldn’t you need all of these for Vivaldi’s Four Seasons? Well, you would if this wasn’t a RE-composition by violinist, Curtis Stewart, the identified soloist and composer of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.
THEN: A movie screen dropped down behind the orchestra. On it appeared verbal interpretations of the experience the composer had when he first came to America and walked the streets of Phoenix, AZ. searching for HOPE among the poor people on the streets and finding none, as in the experience of being in a wilderness, groping. The words on the screen were all about unanswered questions—searching and searching, seeking hope and finding only constant change. I followed yet found myself longing for a melody, just ONE tune. There was one but it seldom appeared, and when it did I felt, very briefly soothed.
THE MUSIC: This orchestra of strings played this piece with remarkable accuracy and alertness. Their heroic intensity of attention included perfectly-timed thigh slaps, foot stomps, patting the instrument itself (basses)—all perfectly synchronized and chaotic at once. Every player and the conductor had to pay close attention to what I’d call unreliable reliability.
All I could count on was CHANGE. As I listened I had to remind myself to INhale AND EXhale. I had to stop looking for a single melody to soothe me. I listened AND watched the faces of the players. I saw heroic intensity of attention. Was this RE-composition of the familiar Vivaldi music really a musical warning about climate change control?
YES! It was a demo of exactly what former Vice President Al Gore meant when he produced his film “An Inconvenient Truth”? When I first saw his movie, I felt terrified. I saw that our beloved planet breathed in and out—evenly—Oxygen (O2) in and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) out. If that even rhythm were disturbed we all could suffocate. Too much exhaled CO2 or waste gases such as those emitted from garbage or car exhaust, prevents O2 from being inhaled = the Earth can’t breathe. Inhale deeply, then hold your nose against the exhale. See what I mean?
P.S. Asking for feedback from a few concert regulars as I left, I heard, yes, praise and awe . . . AND quite a bit of negativity. One concert regular actually screwed up her face, shook her head from side to side, and said: “Not fair. It’s Christmas!”
BLESS YOU ALL WITH HOPE IN ADVENT… HOWEVER YOU RECEIVE IT.
