What's a Cadenza?!

Here’s a peek at my notes from our 2012-13 season preview wherein I’ve jotted down such fascinating phrases as: 

• “best-known trombone solo in orchestral literature”
• “dripping with Mediterranean sun”
• “poem about cuckoldry”

Any guesses as to which pieces I’m describing? ;) 

• Question: I haven't been to a classical concert since a field trip in fifth grade. I'm interested in going now, so how do I decide which concert to attend? - fancychickens
• Answer:

  Aah! Such a big and delicious question! (And one I’ve struggled with too.) 

  In the interest of brevity, I’m going to oversimplify but I’ll come back to this in the future. Here are two suggestions I have: 

  1. At least with the CSO, the season is broken into series. We have three: Masterworks, Boundless and Ascent, and each is meant to cater to showcase different kinds of classical music. Masterworks focuses on the timeless classics; Boundless is about discovering new music and is often where you’ll see work by living composers; Ascent is built around “a night on the town” and often has a superstar soloist. Again I’m oversimplifying but it’s a great place to start. I will come back and cover our Creative Directors in another post. 

  2. Figure out your instrument(s). This may be a very obvious statement for someone who studied music, but I didn’t. If there is an instrument that speaks to you, that narrows down the selection immensely. Almost every concert (of ours) has a piece featuring a soloist. The big two are piano and violin, but in 2012-13 we also have vocal concerts, percussion, alto sax, and a couple of others. If you’re into cello there are also two opportunities in our remaining season, including a world premiere of a Philip Glass cello concerto.