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Austin Symphony Orchestra Centennial Gala at the Long Center
A centennial celebration should be grand. After all, how many times does one turn 100?
Austin Symphony Orchestra comprehended this ritual obligation. Its birthday party on Thursday saluted the ensemble’s first century and welcomed its second.
Sherri and Gary Davis
And it was so Austin. Downstairs in the Rollins Theatre, upright patrons in black ties and gowns dined. Upstairs, more casual catering awaited folks in cocktail dresses and business suits. In the lobbies, every permutation of denim, linen, shorts or slacks adorned guests cozying up to various bars or relaxing on cushy benches.
Then everyone trooped into Dell Hall. Trim, smart, likable conductor Peter Bay led the orchestra in two unusual selections, Mozart’s silky Symphony No. 28 and Luigini’s frothy “Ballet Égyptien.” Turns out they were on the original program, April 25, 1911.
George Elliman and Sharlene Strawbridge
“I don’t know if they have been performed since then,” quipped symphony president Joe Long as he introduced program’s superstar, violinist Itzhak Perlman. Long and his wife, Teresa Lozano Long, are not only the namesakes for the center, they are the chief backers of the orchestra and they sponsored Perlman’s performance. (His fees are usually triple or quadruple what other fiddlers ask, according to our sibling newspaper in Atlanta.)
Perlman approached the stage slowly and with great dignity, then played Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with tremendous focus and feeling. For the duration of the short concerto, time was suspended. Everyone in the house poured their attention entirely into Perlman’s singular manner of propelling each magnificent note.
For a formal review, go to Seeing Things.
Hallie Martin and Ashley Beall
The concert proper closed with Respighi’s “Pines of Rome” — a Bay favorite — which lilted from birdsong, then thundered with the full sound of the orchestra, finally at home in a house that fits its sound.
Outside on the plaza, folks gathered around cupcakes and champagne to watch a light show that, while diverting, was clearly meant to take a backseat to fireworks, canceled because of dry conditions. People picked up beautifully bound memorials to the symphony’s first 100 years, courtesy of Tribeza, as they left.
Joe Long and Vicki Rado
Was there talk of the controversy, reported in the same day’s newspaper, over the Women’s Symphony League’s original plans to theme its upcoming Jewel Ball around the “Old South,” a concept since withdrawn on support group’s website?
Yes, in whispers and nods. Some agreed with the objectors and couldn’t believe the idea was floated in the first place. Others denied any racist intentions, though they allowed the idea might have been insensitive.
We may never know what the party organizers were thinking, since they have not responded to requests for interviews. Some community members who had complained about the concept in the first place now seem content that their objections were aired.
Though symphony executive director Anthony Corroa reported a stream of hate calls and e-mails — from both sides of the issue — directed at his organization rather than the League, the wrangle didn’t distract from the grand centennial celebration at all.
Happy birthday.
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By adam parker
April 29, 2011 2:53 PM | Link to this
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By ASO patron
April 29, 2011 12:41 PM | Link to this
I enjoyed the Bruch but found it less than transcendent--Perlman frequently seemed on the verge of rushing. True that it's the orchestra's job to follow the soloist, but the best soloists give and take with the orchestra, and I did not observe that in last night's performance.