Imagine a symphony concert hall [Davies Hall in San Francisco] with 22 symphony musicians on the stage and an audience of amateur musicians who also have instruments. Put Michael Tilson Thomas in front of them. Think of the drama of the moment when he gives the downbeat to begin Terry Riley's "In C". How will this fusion of professional musicians and sandal-shod ladies clutching their violins work? According to the cheering and the standing ovation (for everyone) that erupted 40 minutes later, it was a grand success. This work is in 53 bars. The rehearsal was during the interval, but I stayed to hear it rather than wander the lobby. The score was projected on two huge screens. Each bar was numbered. It was easy to follow the music. At first, we heard the sym members play. As the audience got braver more people joined in. Saxophones, clarinets, flutes, lots of violins, and other wind and brass instruments were represented. So were drums, and for a tiny moment, a bicycle horn. Those of us who don't play, hummed. There's a constant pulse so you can't get off rhythm. You can stay with a bar you like for awhile, or move on to the next one. There were times when it seemed some people were stuck on their favorite bars. I'd heard the work TWICE while driving to SF. That's the Piano Circus 20 minute version. So, I rather knew what to expect, and of course, that isn't what happened. It's never the same. The players had a great time, judging by the big grins on their faces. Those of us not playing kept turning around to survey the audience (I was near the front). MTT jumped down from the stage and walked through the hall, pointing at various folk and encouraging them to play loudly. They did. They were (mostly) good. The woman three seats down from me did not play her tambourine, thank goodness... That was the climax to a quite varied concert. It started with Charles Ives' Quarter-tone piano piece (for 2 pianos). Ives had been fascinated by the sounds between notes. He tuned two pianos just a quarter note off, and they play together. It's an unworldly sound. I found it startling and yet vaguely attractive. It seems wrong to our ears, but that's just because we're not used to it. People who try to sing this make bitter faces, said MTT. My favorite work was John Cage's Credo in Us. It's an early work, from 1942. It's for a radio or phonograph, four percussionists and a piano. Yes, the piano is "prepared" (while the piece is being played). The percussion section has gongs, tin cans, tom-toms, and an electrical buzzer. We heard old radio pieces in snatches as well as bits of music. Everyone would play at once, then suddenly stop for a pause. There's lots of pauses. It's very funny. I didn't understand Morton Feldman's Piece for 4 pianos. I'd listened to some works of his for orchestra on the way down) and I liked them. But this is a very challenging work. A player would play one note, then there's a pause, and another would play a simple chord. Another pause. This went on for awile. Feldman's famous for the slowness in which his music unrolls. His String Quartet No 2 clocks in at 5 1/2 hours. ... Milton Babbitt's Philomel for Soprano and Tape was beautifully presented. Lauren Flanigan sang to a 4-track tape that accompanied her -- it contains her voice as well as synthesized computer sounds. It's a sad tale by Ovid about a woman who's been ravished and had her tongue cut out. The gods turn her into a melodious nightingale. This was a vocal and emotional tour-de-force. The moral here: go to new music concerts. Listen. You may not like all the music, but it sounds quite different in a concert hall than it does on a CD. I probably won't play this music on the air, because it really is a "you have to have been there" expericnce. Coming up Friday night: Meredith Monk, Carl Ruggles, Ruth Seeger, Lucas Foss, and Ives. It's Ives' Symphony No. 4! I've heard it a number of times on a CD, but never in person. Lucky me... Susan [log in to unmask]