RPO at Hochstein – Music and Dance

This was my first time attending a Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra concert at Hochstein, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I invited my friend Linda to join me.  Since the performance was going to involve dance, we sat in the front row of the balcony, to get what we thought would be a better view.  The performance was reasonably well attended, although I was disappointed to see that the audience makeup was similar to the regular evenings at Kodak Hall…

There is something more leisurely and informal about an afternoon performance, and this venue is also more intimate that Kodak Hall (and it was lovely to see the sun shining through the stained glass windows).  This was my first experience watching Michael Butterman conduct, and he was extremely engaging.  His entertaining introductions of each piece not only set the context for the music, but also gave the audience a mini music history lesson by the end of the afternoon.  The repertoire consisted of pieces that were either meant to be danced to, or influenced by dance (such as Bartok’s Dance Suite, which incorporated fold dances into his orchestral score), and reflected the “biological connection between music and movement.”

The first several works featured a pair of uncredited dance professors from Nazareth College, demonstrating the Baroque bourrée, and the minuet.  It became clear to us that our vantage point was not ideal, since the part of the stage allotted for dancing was partially obscured.  Nevertheless, we were still able to enjoy the beautiful choreography of Jamey Leverett, Rochester City Ballet’s Artistic Director, set to Piazzolla’s Tangazo, which was inspired by the notion of dance but not composed for a dance.  In her introduction, she explained that she had created an abstract dance, which attempted to translate the mood and rhythm changes of the music, within the constraints of the limited stage.  She definitely succeeded, and the four dancers from the RCB gave a terrific performance.  The balcony only missed the parts where the action took place totally downstage or in the audience. 

Butterman’s introduction to the final piece acknowledged that he knew it was late, but there was “a lot of music to be played,” and the tradeoff was dispensing with a Q&A, which normally follows the performance.  That was fine with Linda and me – we were happy to leave the auditorium uplifted by the music, and hoping that the Piazzolla piece becomes part of RCB’s regular repertoire.