Concert Spans Classics, Rock
by Don A. Metivier, The Post-Star, August 21, 1972
A unique evening of diversified music was offered at Saratoga Performing Arts Center Saturday by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dave Brubeck Quartet with Gerry Mulligan and Chris Brubeck and the New Heavenly Blue rock group.
William Smith, assistant conductor of the Philadelphians, was certainly the right man to conduct the Saturday concert. He has made the afternoon student matinees very popular and the evening program drew scores of young people as well as the regular, excellent Saturday night crowd.
The youngsters got a taste of the classical and the symphony fans got a full blast of rock. Both seemed to enjoy the in-between performance by Brubeck and Mulligan.
The rock group and the orchestra opened the evening with three excerpts from Brubeck’s cantata “Truth Is Fallin.” As Brubeck warned the audience, “You are going to hear the loudest 10 or 15 minutes you ever heard with a symphony orchestra.” He was right! The rock group, with every instrument amplified including the harmonica, blared its 1972 sounds. The loudness of rock being a vital part of its whole, was never more evident. But the piece was an excellent example of the ability of one musical form to fit in with another and create a new sound.
Brubeck, Mulligan, bassist Jack Six and drummer Alan Dawson joined the orchestra for excerpts from the oratorio, “The Light in the Wilderness.” If anyone thinks the big bands are dead, they never heard the Philadelphia Orchestra swing. Even Arthur Fiedler would have been proud of the “pops” style of the Phildelphians.
The set with Brubeck and his quartet featured Mulligan on his baritone saxophone and Brubeck on the piano. The highlight was their lengthy performance of the Brubeck classic, “Take Five,” which saw Brubeck toss in a few extra classical passages as a tribute to Saratoga.
The program got a little long as the rockers came on to play alone, then joined by the quartet. But the courage of SPAC officials to schedule such a program must be applauded. It was, overall, an excellent evening of music.
Recent Comments