Great Concert

Bravo the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra! Today’s concert was so well played, so much fun to listen to, and so full of new things. “Really?” You say. “Vivaldi new?” Yes and no. The first piece was old in the best sense of the word. Pure vintage Vivaldi. Only change was two guitars instead of two mandolins. They were played by two great guitarists, one the conductor of the orchestra who also happens to be a classical guitarist.

Then things started to shift. We heard a clarinet concerto made up of arrangements of Vivaldi opera arias for clarinet in 1956 by Andreas Tarkmann. It was the US premiere of this work. And Erika Block did a superb job.

After the intermission we heard a new piece by Max Richter called “The Four Seasons Recomposed.” So cool. And hard to describe. Richter pulled apart and put back together each season. You could hear the Vivaldi but with a new, minimalist twist. It was musical meditation and really wonderful. The audience loved it. We were right there standing and cheering with the rest. I almost forgot to mention the mastery of Denise Dillenback. Just wow!