DaveCon 2005
Helen's Huge Honkin' Trip Report, Part I
I gave my last final exam of the semester on Friday, May 13, and managed to get everything done and pass in final grades by the end of the day. This left me all day Saturday to run errands, do laundry, etc., in preparation for the big trip. Traci called around 10:00 p.m. to talk about some last minute details; neither one of us had finished packing at that point, and Traci was considering just staying up. I went to bed around midnight, and with the alarm set for 4 a.m. to make a 6:00 a.m. flight out of Burlington, I tossed and turned and got very little sleep. I kept waking up thinking "Is it time yet? Is it time?" Well, soon enough, it was time!
It was dark when I left the house, and just getting light by the time I got to the airport. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a direct flight to NYC this year, and had to go via Boston. Kind of a pain, but what can you do. Anyway, while I was waiting for my connecting flight (the Delta Shuttle from Boston to Laguardia), I called Traci's cell number to ask what her ETA was, thinking maybe we could share a ride into the city. I got Traci's voicemail, and figured she was probably in the air. Well, just as I was boarding the plane and about to turn off my phone, Traci called me back to say that she was stuck at the airport. Her plane had taken off but had to turn back after hitting a flock of birds. Mechanics were inspecting the plane, and she had no idea when she would get out. Yikes-a-hooty.
Anyway, I got to Laguardia and took a cab into midtown. I really could have used a nap when I got to the hotel, but it was only 10 a.m. and they didn't have a room ready, so I checked my bag and went out for a walk. At 12:30 I headed to the Park Cafe to meet Karen and Steve for lunch. I got there first, and for some reason the waitstaff would not give me a table until the entire party was present. I was exhausted and starving at that point, and really wanted to sit, but was forced to stand around and wait for ten or fifteen minutes before they finally relented and gave me a table. Steve and Karen arrived about a minute later.
After lunch, we walked over to Carnegie Hall for a concert by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim conducting. The program comprised Richard Wagner's Prelude to Act I of Parsifal, Pierre Boulez's Notations for Orchestra, and Beethoven's Symphony Number 7.
I've been wanting to attend a big-time symphony concert every time I've been to a DaveCon, but this is the first time it worked out. (Usually DaveCon is in June, which tends to be a down time for most symphony orchestras.) I was especially happy to have Karen and Steve come with me to the concert. I'd been fully prepared to go by myself, but having company was even better.
We arrived early enough for the pre-concert talk, which was an interview with Pierre Boulez, who turned 80 in March. Boulez discussed the origins of his Notations, which he originally wrote as a set of twelve short piano pieces back in 1945 while still a student. Decades later, he reworked them into a set of orchestral pieces. The original piano pieces were only 20 - 30 seconds each, which really wouldn't make sense for full orchestra. So, rather than just orchestrating the Notations, Boulez used them as a jumping off point, expanding them in length and adapting them to make sense in an orchestral context. Of the twelve Notations, we would be hearing numbers I, III, IV, VII, and II, in that order. (The order is more or less up to the conductor. When Boulez conducts them, VII and III are interchanged.) Toward the end of the talk, the interviewer played a recording of each of the Notations that we would be hearing, first in the original piano form, followed by an excerpt from the corresponding orchestral version. Neat!
The concert itself was wonderful. The Wagner and Beethoven were great of course, but really the Boulez Notations may have been the coolest thing on the program. Contemporary works aren't always very accessible to an audience on a first hearing, but after the pre-concert discussion, and especially after hearing the comparison between the piano and orchestral versions, it all made sense. The Notations call for a huge orchestra, by the way. We counted, for example, nine percussionists, three harps, four bassoons plus contrabassoon, and nearer to my heart, six horns (seven with the assistant). During the intermission after the Notations, the stagehands took away half the chairs and stands.
Steve and I both got a kick out of the enormous conductor's score for the Notations. They had to bring out a special table for it; it was far too large for a music stand. It was fun watching Barenboim turn these giant pages. Another highlight for me was the muted tuba in the Notations. Tuba mutes, which you don't get to see/hear very often, are absolutely *gigantic*, yet somehow the tuba player managed to get the mute in and out of his tuba with one hand, while playing.
Boulez came up to the stage for a bow after the Notations, and received a standing ovation. Of course, we stood up again for Barenboim at the conclusion of the Beethoven (which he conducted without a score, by the way, just to show off I guess). During the applause, I noticed there was more music on the musicians' stands, and suspected we were going to get an encore. Sure enough, after going on and off the stage a few times -- to wild applause -- Barenboim finally returned with baton in hand for an encore. (We're not entirely sure what the encore piece was. Steve thinks it might have been one of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances.)
I enjoyed the whole thing immensely. I was so glad to finally get to see the inside of Carnegie Hall and hear a concert there. The hall itself is gorgeous, and it has such a rich history. And needless to say, the acoustics are phenomenal. Brad "Veteran Carnegist" Cronin-Hill-Hall is probably correct that there's not a bad seat in the house. We were on the orchestra level, in the very back, on the end, and could see and hear everything perfectly.
After the concert, Karen, Steve, and I met up with Traci, Carl, Rona, Pat Fleet, and Traci's friend Dan for dinner at the Trailer Park Lounge and Grill, a kitschy/tacky/fun place with things like tater tots on the menu. (The tater tots were surprisingly good. They were crispy, tasty, and not at all like the frozen ones we grew up on.)
After dinner, most of us went to a tiny firetrap of a theater to see the Upright Citizens Brigade, an improvisational sketch comedy troupe. It was, well, interesting I guess, but not exactly to my taste. It probably didn't help any that I was running on fumes by that point, but I'm quite certain that Dake, had he been with us, would have given it the coveted "Awful, awful, awful" rating. Some of it (not much) made me laugh, but overall it earned a grade of "Eh, whatever" from me. (Everyone else seemed to enjoy it, though.)
After the show, most of the group decided to go back to the Trailer Park for drinks or whatever. I passed on that, and instead went back to my hotel, where I reclaimed my bag and got checked in and settled in my room. After channel surfing for a while with my eyes shut, I finally turned out the lights.
Helen Read