Yesterday, I took Alex and Nicholas to a children’s concert by the Missouri Symphony Orchestra. It was a multimedia presentation of “The Planets,” which is one of my all-time favorite orchestral works, and the concert was at the Missouri Theatre. I’m trying to introduce the kids to classical music early enough that they take it for granted, so I look for these kinds of opportunities.
It was a pretty good concert, even for pops, and it was good to be back in the old hall now that they’ve finished the renovation. Between U. Phil and SWE, I spent a fair amount of time there in college—I even played the Griffes Poem (sorry, can’t link that one; all I can find quickly is the arrangement for fl/pno) on that stage—and I’ve always loved that theater. I used to imagine how it would look if they could replace the water-stained curtains and repair the crumbling plaster. Well, they did. I was afraid they would change everything, but basically the auditorium looks the same, just repaired. It’s a cool old building, and there’s much more to it than I ever realized, whole corridors that’ve been hiding behind walls for years. For those who’ve read Beggar’s Queen, you know I’m all about hidden passages. 🙂
But I digress.
They projected stars on the ceiling and started in the dark with the opening from Also Sprach Zarathustra, more popularly known as the 2001: Space Odyssey theme. The lights came up on stage slowly and then, on that final sunrise chord, burst into full power to reveal Kirk Trevor, the conductor…wearing a Star Trek: Next Gen uniform. Of course he turned around and introduced himself as “Captain Kirk.” Personally, I thought he looked more like Q.
Anyway, the Planets section was really enjoyable, with commentary between movements on the makeup of each planet. I didn’t know that Mercury is cooler than Venus, for instance, or that most of what we see of Jupiter is atmosphere. Alex just liked the pictures they projected on the screen. I think, though I’m not positive, that they did some cuts in the music. In other circumstances that would annoy me, but I had a 4 year old and a 3 month old with me, so that worked just fine.
Nicholas managed to sleep through Zarathustra but the first big moment in Mars, his whole body jerked, and his eyes popped open. He then spent the rest of the concert wiggling. At one point, he started guffawing—which is a supremely cute sound, but one that you really have to coax out of him, so you can imagine I was startled to hear it when I was focused on the stage. I pulled my head back and saw that he was staring up over my shoulder. When I turned around, I saw one of the theater staff women making googly eyes at him.
All in all, a good couple of hours, which I really needed, because I was in a really foul mood most of the weekend. Lack of sleep will do that to you.
Kathleen M. Basi 