Last night was the Season Opening Celebration for the Portland Symphony Orchestra at the Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine. All three of Transparent’s founders: Carl Smith, Karen and Jack Sumner were in attendance. Carl Smith brought his grandson Zach, age 13, to enjoy the symphony for the first time. Demos and his wife Jen, Brad and his wife Gina, and Amy were all in attendance. Here’s a peek at the program:
Richard Strauss Don Juan, Op. 20
Giovanni Bottesini Concerto for Double Bass no 2 in B minor
Edgar Meyer Concerto for Double Bass in D major
Tchaikovsky Symphony no 4 in F minor, Op. 36
The evening was off to an energetic start when Robert Moody conducted Don Juan with serious enthusiasm. Gina foldly remembered Heath Ledger in the movie Casanova (Don Juan is Casanova in Spanish).
Richard Strauss Don Juan, Op. 20
Giovanni Bottesini Concerto for Double Bass no 2 in B minor
Edgar Meyer Concerto for Double Bass in D major
Tchaikovsky Symphony no 4 in F minor, Op. 36
The evening was off to an energetic start when Robert Moody conducted Don Juan with serious enthusiasm. Gina foldly remembered Heath Ledger in the movie Casanova (Don Juan is Casanova in Spanish).
Amy’s favorite piece of the evening was the Bottesini because the double bass solos were phenomenal. Karen described Meyer’s performance last night as masterful. The always entertaining Demos said he had a visual of Tom Hanks wrestling a bear watching Meyer perform. The audience responded with such excitement from Meyer’s performance that he received a standing ovation.
Later with Tchaikovsky, Amy thought the symphony sounded confident. The musicians worked well together and they were off to a bold beginning in the first movement. The second movement builds and comes back down to a sweet tone that sounded sad in the end. The third section changes completely to a fun, fast pace with lots of plucking and then back to bold, multiple crescendos. Demos described this piece as sonorous and it was one of his favorites along with the Bottesini.
