D-Rob

I’m not in New York City this week with music director David Robertson and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra - but the SLSO’s director of communications, Adam Crane, is there. (This time, unlike last spring, the soloist made it.)

The program, part of Carnegie Hall’s “Ancient Paths, Modern Voices” festival, is the same one played at Powell Symphony Hall last weekend: Igor Stravinsky’s “Song of the Nightengale,” Tan Dun’s “Water Concerto,” Bright Sheng’s “Colors of Crimson” (both with percussion soloist Colin Currie), and Bela Bartok’s “The Miraculous Mandarin” Suite.

Accordingly, I asked Crane to share some impressions of the concert, and he kindly obliged, posting on the run from his iPhone.

He wrote of the first half, featuring the unquenchably liquid delights of the Water Concerto:

Everything went swimmingly.  Audience stood in great appreciation. Tan Dun here. D-Rob ran out into audience to greet Tan Dun and to lead him enthusiastically on to the stage.

Susan Slaughter, Danny Lee, Mark Sparks, Erik Harris, Will James, John Kasica, Katy Mattis, David Halen all sounded great! and of course Colin sounded fantastic.

Liang Wang is here with me. Principal Oboe of NY Phil and friend. Matthew Muckey, associate principal trumpet of ny phil also here with us.

Now i’m talking to tan dun. He enjoyed it so much. He said that David conducted better than he did.

Now on to second half.

Then, of the second half, he wrote:

Bartok was OUTSTANDING! Audience went nuts. Orchestra sounded terrific. D-Rob also ran out to greet bright sheng. People are buzzing about this orchestra. And Scott Andrews of course was great too. I sat with my friend a.j. Benson from carnegie hall artist dept.

Robertson and the orchestra will be back this weekend to play something completely different on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon: “The Movie Music of John Williams.”