Tuesday night the New York Philharmonic Orchestra gave a free concert in Central Park. In the morning we laid down a sheet and when we came back in the evening we had a front-row seat to the whole thing.
The past couple of years, this concert’s initial schedule date has been rained out and they’ve had to re-schedule it. This time around, despite a weather report that predicted “scattered thundershowers” - there was no problem. The weather was great.
The evening’s program was:
Shostakovich: Festive Overture
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, Italian
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture
Sousa: Washington Post March
Sousa: Liberty Bell March
Sousa: The Stars and Stripes Forever
Just a note about Sousa’s “Liberty Bell March” - it’s also been used (and may be more commonly known) as the theme music to Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
In that spirit, this year the NY Philharmonic did something that was “completely different” than past years. They allowed the audience to make a choice as to what the orchestra would play for an encore. The conductor, Bramwell Tovey (who had everyone laughing with his humorous remarks between pieces), gave us directions as to how to vote using text messaging and the two choices were between “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov or “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix.
The votes were counted by the end of the intermission and according to the director more than 60,000 votes were cast. The votes were “overwhelmingly” in favor of “Purple Haze.” It was awesome.
The experience was even better because of a couple of good friends who were with us. I won’t divulge any names but will simply say that it was a couple I’ve known since my 1993 BYU Jerusalem study abroad experience.
1Poppy on Jun 29, 2008 at 9:13 pm:
Your sharing about the concert brings back memories.
Concerts and plays in the Park (of which mom and poppy have probably attended only one or two–way back when, one with the Ricks–which we loved) also bring thoughts about Robert Moses, whose monumental bio on tape by Robert Caro I recently completed.
Moses built so much of what is now NYC and Long Island–beaches, parks, highways, bridges, and housing. Early on a public service minded idealist, he learned and ascended the path of power and position, working many wonders in the categories listed above, but also working many desolations on the city and its people. He built beaches and parks but not for the poor and not for the minorities. He milked and then became the prime feeder and controller of Tammany Hall, city hall, union, and mafia corruption for over three decades. He ram-rodded huge highways through both the most densely built-up and also the through many most preservation-worthy of the city’s then surviving nature settings.
He championed the automobile, highways, and parks for the well-to-do, along with other public works, but effected utter neglect for decades for the sake of highways, of schools, hospitals, public transportation, and affordable housing for the poor. He dispensed contracts, jobs, publicity, and spent unequaled sums of federal, state, city, and public authority dollars.
He cared nothing for the many neighborhoods, families, and lives that he destroyed. He cared little for the powerful, unless it served him, because, in his domain, he was more powerful than mayor, governor, and even the president of the country. He acquired and maintained at his disposal fleets of limousines, his own police force of hundreds, and the most choice of park, office, and restaurant facilities, publicly constructed, all dedicated to his own use, either 24-hours a day or whenever he chose to use them.
He controlled the newspapers almost completely, including the NY Times, having them publish his lies, glorify his person, and cover up his ongoing outrages. One of his two public gaffes and defeats was an attempt to abolish the nascent tradition of free park concerts and plays as championed by Joseph Papp. The other mistake was to steamroll some mothers who wished to save a playground in Central Park, for themselves and their children, which he intended to replace with parking lot for restaurant Tavern in the Green, with which he maintained a corrupt relationship.
It is unfortunate that a number of prominent structures, parks, and thoroughfares still carry his name. Though he alone was able to do complete many great projects that were needed, he also wrought great destruction, human and otherwise, through his brutal wielding of absolute power and absolute corruption.
Poppy
2Karen on Jul 2, 2008 at 3:04 pm:
Danu, that is one awesome concert. I’m about to submit my request to spouse for season tix to the symphony. (Since it is Keith Lockhart’s grand finale.) If only they would throw in some Hendrix for their encores…