I attended the Saturday night performance. The "Sister Aimee" piece by Daugherty was a delight and was reminiscent of Gershwin. The follow-on "Toscanini" was not as good to listen to - perhaps I was still "digesting" the first one and was not yet ready for some substantial "listening work" at that point. However, it would not have been a good idea for St. Clair to have stayed with the original planned sequence, as the new work would have destroyed the reflective ambience of the Adagio. By the end of the Tchaikovsky, I was exhausted, and could hear no more. So, I believe that the program was neither inspired nor lame, but rather, overly ambitious for this listener. I appreciate the effort.
Mike Kleinman - 12 years ago
Since I am not familiar with Dougherty I am not sure about your intent. Is is a bad thing to have a mix of modern and familiar pieces? I don't think so. Maybe I'll think differently after I hear them. However, when I am introduced to any new music (regardless of genre) I usually have to hear it several times before I decide to like it (or not). So I appreciate St. Clair for introducing me to new things but not by "total immersion."
I attended the Saturday night performance. The "Sister Aimee" piece by Daugherty was a delight and was reminiscent of Gershwin. The follow-on "Toscanini" was not as good to listen to - perhaps I was still "digesting" the first one and was not yet ready for some substantial "listening work" at that point. However, it would not have been a good idea for St. Clair to have stayed with the original planned sequence, as the new work would have destroyed the reflective ambience of the Adagio. By the end of the Tchaikovsky, I was exhausted, and could hear no more. So, I believe that the program was neither inspired nor lame, but rather, overly ambitious for this listener. I appreciate the effort.
Since I am not familiar with Dougherty I am not sure about your intent. Is is a bad thing to have a mix of modern and familiar pieces? I don't think so. Maybe I'll think differently after I hear them. However, when I am introduced to any new music (regardless of genre) I usually have to hear it several times before I decide to like it (or not). So I appreciate St. Clair for introducing me to new things but not by "total immersion."