Henrik Nanasi was originally engaged to guest conduct this evening’s concert but he was under the weather and couldn’t make it, probably due to the after effects of an alien abduction. This evening was also the second time in a row that I’ve seen concertmaster David Coucheron come only for the last piece on the program. I assume that his tardiness is due to the legal issues with his alleged involvement in the international kitten snuggling ring. Fortunately, when alien abductions and kitten smuggling threaten to ruin a concert, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra can call on Assistant Conductor Stephen Mulligan.
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Author Archives: Robbie
ASO: Edo De Waart with Augustin Hadelich
On Tuesday I attended a gallery talk for the Carlos Museum’s Divine Felines exhibit during which I learned that the Egyptian word for “cat” is pronounced “mew,” as in the sound that cats make. This is relevant for two reasons. First, it’s adorable and awesome and I think that everyone should know about it. Secondly, Augustin Hadelich, the soloist for this weekend’s Atlanta Symphony Orchestra concerts, is actually a cat according to a documentary that I saw. On the other hand, the guest conductor, Edo De Waart, is human, all too human. Given that to err is human, last night’s performance offers further confirmation of De Waart’s humanity.
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Bent Frequency: Lines, Broken
Last night’s Bent Frequency concert, “Lines, Broken,” was among the best that I’ve had the pleasure of attending. Originally scheduled to be held at Eyedrum’s downtown space, because of the fire it was held at the First Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta in Candler Park. I recall how the space seemed to mute the sound somewhat at a Chamber Cartel performance that I attended there back in 2015 but, for some reason, the sounds of last night’s performance resonated throughout the intimate venue quite well.
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ASO: Roberto Abbado with Jorge Federico Osorio
I’m not particularly fond of Roberto Abbado’s conducting, so this is going to be a mostly negative post and you may want to skip it. I do have something nice to say about Jorge Federico Osorio’s playing, though, in case you want to skip to the last paragraph to read that.
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The Followers: A Retelling of the Bacchae
I caught “The Followers: A Retelling of the Bacchae,” a musical produced by 7 Stages, last night. It was well produced and performed and I thought it was a lot of fun to watch. Written by Margaret Baldwin and directed by Michael Haverty, it was a truly enchanting spectacle, though I have to say that I didn’t find much more to it than that.
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Puppets: The Pigeoning and Nufonia Must Fall
I’ve seen a couple of puppet performances recently. I’d probably not write about either by themselves, but there were a couple of thoughts about them that I wanted to remember, so I’m putting them down in this post.
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Atlanta Ballet: Don Quixote
I mentioned to a friend at work on Wednesday or Thursday how I wasn’t feeling excited about going to the ballet this weekend. It was purely my mood at the time, though, and had more to do with my general lack of interest in anything at all and nothing to do with my expectations. I wasn’t really able to shake that feeling by the time Saturday rolled around and I was worried because Atlanta Ballet tends to program their February show to be more accessible to a non-dance audience. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does generally mean that it will be an evening-length narrative ballet with nothing particularly avant or challenging for the audience. That, of course, means that if I wasn’t able to feel drawn into the work then I’d not be able to fall back on my general interest in the art as an art. Fortunately, just as children often have misgivings about taking a bath and then won’t get out of the tub until the water is cold and their skin has wrinkled, I found myself happily drawn into the show once “Don Quixote” began.
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