Just Curious

Philadelphia Orchestra concert

I just went to a Philadelphia Orchestra concert with my friend Jim Snyder the urologist. It was an absolutely amazing feast for the ears, the senses and the soul. To quite a few of the musicians, all of whom have been a part of the Philly Orchestra family for more than 30-40 years, tonight was their last public performance, as they will retire immediately after this season. I have never seen such an occasion, where the Orchestra received standing ovation from the entire audience.

The piece they played include an English Horn concerto by a contemporary composer who was present in the audience (!) as well as Sheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov. Neither my friend Jim nor myself (despite being amateur musicians ourselves) actually knew what an English Horn is, and it was after a brief introduction by the soloist that we realized that an English Horn is "neither English nor is it a 'horn.'" It is instead an Oboe/Clarinet-ish woodwind instrument, sometimes used interchangeably with the Oboe (back in older days, the Oboeist would basically pick up the English Horn in an orchestral performance and play a passage whenever it is needed.)

posted by James Chang @ 10:50 PM