Philadelphians Brubeck mix well

by Don A. Metivier, The Post-Star, August 22, 1980

Combining the Dave Brubeck Quartet with the Philadelphia Orchestra Wednesday evening provided one of the summer season’s best musical evenings.

Associate Conductor of the Philadelphians, William Smith was on the podium at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, as an audience of nearly 4,000 and the musicians thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Smith is at home with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and it is a shame the Saratoga audience only gets to see him once a year. While visiting guest conductors can showcase their individual talents and style with the Philadelphians. Smith brings out the style and fabric of the orchestra.

The musicians are relaxed when Smith has the baton in hand, and this was never demonstrated more fully than in the concert with Brubeck and his talented quartet.

The first half of the evening included the orchestra performing Victor Herbert favorites and songs from the Hit Parade of 1924. The famed strings of the Philadelphians are as much at home with the “Italian Street Song” as they are with Mozart and Beethoven.

Smith opened the second half of the concert with a medley from Cole Porter’s “Kiss Me Kate,” which was excellent, but it was the combination of the orchestra with the quartet on three pieces from Brubeck’s cantata, “The Light in the Wilderness,” that spotlighted the immense talent within the orchestra.

While best known for its string sound, the orchestra has a brass section which need not take a back seat to any group of brass players.

As the section poured forth sound in the “The Kingdom (Repent, Follow Me)” portion of the cantata, members of the quartet turned toward the brass players and the drummer raised his hands to applaud.

The orchestra returned the favor moments later as the quartet led the way through Brubeck’s “Out of the Way of the People,” and members of the violin section stood to watch the quartet players and the four Philadelphia percussion players cheered the outstanding drum solo.

Cheers greeted the conclusion of the regular program, and the quartet stayed on stage to play two encores, as the Philadelphians stood in the wings to applaud.

All in all, it was one of the finest pop concerts in the 15-year history of the Philadelphians at Saratoga.

This evening Eugene Ormandy returns to the podium to conduct his next-to-last concert as music director. He will feature first chair players as soloists.

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