Great music + great music

It was Blogger's Night at Severance Hall where the Cleveland Orchestra was performing Dvorak's Cello Concerto and Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra.

I've never sat this close. The hall look gorgeous, and the performers looked like actual people. Being able to see their faces (I usually sit way up in the nosebleed seats) made them much more human.

A bass player looked like he'd be right at home behind the counter at an auto parts store. One of the cellists could easily pass for a children's librarian. I'd never thought of them as workers before, but they are. Just a different job from most.

The music was lovely. Alisa Weilerstein's cello playing was something to watch from this distance, even though I wasn't thrilled with the piece itself. Also sprach Zarathustra, on the other hand, had me from the familiar 2001 A Space Odyssey opening notes all the way to the end. Loved it.

But wait, there's more

I have to admit that for me the after-party, one of the Orchestra's Fridays@7 series, was the best part. Standing in the jam-packed lobby listening to Jamie Haddad & Friends was more fun, and everyone who stayed seemed to agree.

Even though the audience was older than you'd see at a rock concert, the energy level was almost as high.

It was great to see Ms. Weilerstein really get into it with Michael Ward-Bergeman playing a souped up electric accordion. While the classical concert had gone on long enough for me, I was really sorry to see this after-party end.

The Fridays@7 series, which combines a shortened classical program (no intermission) with upbeat modern music in the lobby afterwards is a great idea. I'm looking forward to the next one. Unfortunately I couldn't find a section of the Cleveland Orchestra website that lists future Fridays.

I did discover, though, that students can buy tickets to orchestra concerts for $10-15. How great is that? The Orchestra is obviously working hard to attract a younger audience and I wish them great success. More Clevelanders need to enjoy this great asset, not just talk about it.

[Nov. 23 update: Thanks to Jennifer Schlosser, Media Manager for the Orchestra, here's the schedule for January-April 2010. Tickets for the 3-concert series save money vs. buying them one at a time.]

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