Standing in the Music Hall foyer brings to mind a grandeur of architecture with a European flavor. The 19th Century Building was clearly built with a European style. Classical music was born in Europe and this performance showcased the European born Paavo Jarvi and in my opinion the second greatest composer: Beethoven.
The performance contained 3 pieces:
- Deep Wood – A world premiere from Charles Coleman, who was on hand for the performance.
- Beethoven's Concerto Number 3 in C Minor for Piano and Orchestra – That's a big mouthful to me. I had not hear this piece before. It was a lot to take in. The guest pianist, Olli Mustonen has far to much show in his playing style, it interfered greatly with my appreciation of the piece.
- Beethoven's Symphony Number 6 in F Major – The first movement is a famous one that was very nice.
The performances tonight were not stellar. Even to my untrained ear I could sense something was off. The crowd was still good, except for the old lady's cell phone going off 4 times until someone told her to take it outside. I normally have a wonderful time at CSO concerts, and it is not that I didn't enjoy myself or the music, I just felt it could have been much better. This is what I would call an off night with a guest pianist who did not shine. This was disappointing mostly because this is the final weekend of the season and the first weekend since the CSO announced signing Paavo through at least 2011.