Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1

By Justin

A few weeks ago I returned home from a week on the road to find that Holly had bought me a surprise. It was tickets to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra at the Myerson. I was super pumped. So following in those people from Chicago and their refined reviews, here is my take on the concert. Now some of you might think I know something musical. I played in the high school band, as did Holly, but our limit to musical theory is whether or not it sounds good. So what follows is the ‘Texan’ review of our evening.

The valet guy was super nice and not too expensive. We drove up in our Ford and he parked it right next to a Jaguar, so that was cool. We had never been and were obviously turned around and he pointed us in the right direction. We really like the valet guy.

The Myerson is beautiful. You can tell it was designed by a really small Asian guy (I.M. Pei for you architecture types). The aisles are long and the rows are narrow. He needed to account for Texas boots and American stomachs, but the seats were comfy.

We arrived in time to hear musicians warming up. That was fun. They sound good even when they are not all playing the same thing. Maybe that is a sign of talent.

The order of the evening was as follows:

Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Connesson: Une lueur dans l'âge sombre, "A Glimmer in an Age of Darkness"
Ravel: La Valse

The Piano Concerto was by far the hit of the evening. It was 33 minutes with great crescendos and movement. Parts were familiar which always increases the entertainment value for me. Holly and I even resisted the temptation to clap during the first and second movement, however I think that is because we read a beginners guide and knew not too.

The third piece was by a newer French composer (sorry couldn’t resist). What was nice was the conductor spoke after the intermission to explain how the piece was about a new star filling the vast darkness of space. He went on to explain melodies and movements within the piece. Holly and I hate interpreting art and music so it was great to hear what he was talking about and visualize what the composer envisioned in writing it.

The final piece was great. It was a really fast waltz, a very peppy and lively tune. I was really getting into it and bam it was done. I really wanted to hear it again.

I will also say that intermission was interesting as well. My critique is that they should put how long intermission is going to be on the playbill. Having never been I didn’t know how long I had to down my glass of champagne. I finally asked a really nice usher who explained that it is 20 minutes and that we will hear bells when it is time to return to our seats. Bells? Sure enough bells were piped in. Why bells? I always thought you just flashed the lights, with one minute till. Sure enough they did that as well! Good planning guys.

Our only critique of the concert itself was a certain French Horn musician. Having played the FH in high school I spent a lot of time listening for their parts. It was annoying me at times to see a FH slumped over his horn while he was not playing. I know the concerto has long piano solos, it is a PIANO concerto, but still no one else looked bored. He, on several occasions, put his elbow on the bell of the horn and propped his head on his palm. Nothing says can I go home more than that. It was very distracting to me. Holly noticed it as well. She also noticed another player of a fairly large “baritone like” instrument fold his hand over his horn.

So we like the symphony. My final critique is the Myerson is beautiful and has great valet, ushers and champagne! Was that B-flat suppose to be sharp?