Enjoying a Musician's Night Off

Friday, July 7 14:17

It was a perfect Vail summer evening - it drizzled for a few hours in the late afternoon, until about 10 minutes before the concert was to start at 6 p.m. As Mozart did not include a 2nd flute part in either the "Jupiter" Symphony or his Requiem, I had the night off from performing and got to hear my orchestra from the other side; in this case halfway up the hill at the breathtaking Ford Amphitheater. I was joined on our Rochester Redwings blanket by our son Rob, and other orchestra kids Michael and Dana.

At 6:05, the skies were light grey and the sun suddenly came out, brightening the many-colored rain jackets on the lawn like a field of Colorado wildflowers. You often hear the phrase "nestled in the Vail Valley": sitting on the hill at the amphitheater, you feel surrounded by the mountains, rising up all around you. The hillside seating is surrounded by rows of evergreens and glistening birches, and the Gore mountain range is the backdrop behind the shell's angular rooflines.

During the first half of the concert, Mozart's Symphony No. 41, it was a new experience for me. I was amazed at how people seemed mesmerized by the music - all was very calm and still, except for a few children dancing and conducting to the music, on the hillside and on the pavilion area. The music was perfect - what else can I say? - with sparkling clear crispness and soaring melodies, and what seemed like natural acoustics enhanced by an excellent sound system.

Just like at home, the audiences greatly enjoy Christopher Seaman's pre-concert chat, except that here it is just a few post-intermission comments in order to shed a little light on the program and give people time to get back to their seats.

On the second half, the Requiem was a repeat performance from the Eastman Theatre, with even more emotional intensity and range. The New Mexico Symphony Chorus was a perfectly matched partner to the orchestra, and the orchestra and soloists were well balanced as well. However, nothing could match the emotional power and simple beauty of the encore, Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus for chorus and strings. I think you will hear more from some musicians on stage who will tell you more about the musical experience of the concert. [Ed. note: see posting by Ingrid Bock Yang on July 4]

My seat on the hillside was a perfect spot to view the early evening shadows move across the mountain range; the expansive feeling of the mountains is awesome, and one that returns anew each summer when we return to Vail.

--Joanna Bassett, Flute
RPO member since 1984