Wow

I have just heard one of the most astounding masterpieces of music in my life: “Styx,” by Giya Kancheli, who spent most of his life in Soviet Georgia. Just as impressive was the performance of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

As you may know, I studied a great deal of incredible classical music as a Music major at Stanford (and continue to study new fine art music on my own), I have conducted award-winning high school choirs, and I’ve attended countless incredible concerts by the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas, one of the finest orchestra / conductor collaborations in the world. But the performance I recently witnessed at the Colorado Symphony (under the baton of another Bay Area native, Jeffrey Kahane) was right up there with MTT and the SFS playing Mahler’s 8th.

The performance demonstrated an absolute commitment to the music and a perfect synergy between conductor, symphony and a magnificently unified choir. It featured technically impeccable but emotional performances all around, and an incredibly innovative program: a great established master in Haydn followed by two — not just one — innovative and totally different pieces of music, showing the full range of the orchestra.

The only thing that was not impressive about the evening was the attendance — the hall was far less than half full. Take an evening off from your pop music or fun TV shows and GO SEE YOUR SYMPHONY. ESPECIALLY when they program such innovative, relevant and meaningful programs that move the performers and audience alike, as the Colorado Symphony Orchestra did at this performance. I was not alone in my appreciation of this event — the audience rose to its feet instantly after the final crashing note and burst into cheers and applause, visibly moved by the experience. From the light perfection of Haydn to the soul-baring, gut-wrenching genius of a composer raised under the stifling conditions of Soviet rule — don’t get so inundated by pop culture that you miss out on the finest technical and emotional artistry life has to offer you. Be a modern-day rebel and sometimes seek out something more than a three minute pop song or a thirty minute sitcom.

You’ll be glad you did. And please let me know when you come across something that really moves you, as “Styx” moved me. And no, I don’t mean the 70’s/80’s cheese rock band…

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.