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p Monk Meets Mozart:

 

The VSO and Fred Hersch,

  

BY TIM EVANS

ften an evening out on
the town is an exercise
in routine fun.

Occasionally, though, a night
out will shine in our memories
like a bright star. Friday,
January 29 was one such_night
for my partner and me. The
Vermont Symphony Orchestra
performed at Burlington’s
Flynn Theater with special
guest Fred Hersch. That,
delightful, warm concert will
forever remain in my mind as
a very special event.

Billed as “From Monk to
Mozart” the evening’s music
included Mozart’s Piano
Concerto No. 27 in Bb Major,
K. 595, a solo Hersch perfor-
mance of Thelonious Monk
compositions, and Schubert’s
Symphony No. 9 in C Major.

This was the third of five
performances in the New
Attitudes Series the VSO runs
between October and May.
The series is aimed at a broad-
er, non-traditional classical
music audience; Amy
Barcomb, the VSO’s market-
ing and development associ-
ate, calls it “classical with a
twist.”

This particular perfor-
mance selection of Mozart’s
piano concerto was a collabo-
ration between the ‘VSO’s
director and Fred Hersch.

Since the late 1970s,
Hersch has played with jazz
greats such as Art Pepper, Joe
Henderson, and Art Farmer.
In the late ‘80s, he set up his
own studio, recording works
by Kenny Barron, Don
Pullen, and Hank Jones.
Since 1985, he’s recorded as
part of duos and a trio as well
as solo. In 1992 he wrote
“Blues for an Imaginary
Valentine” for the AIDS Quilt
Songbook. ‘

In 1996 he began a series
of songbook works on the

It was selections from his
Thelonious Monk songbook
that he played solo at the
Flynn Theatre. Hersch has a
gift for communicating the
spirit of Monk’s tunes without
copying them note for note.
After brief, sometimes humor-

attending more musical
events like this one.

Fred Hersch’s' most

recent CDs are available at«

most music stores; I highly
recommend both the song-
book series and his latest
release, Songs We Know

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andthe

A rest of the llermont

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  nut on a dazzling eon-

cert that left me looking
iorwarrl to attenrling
more musical events

like this one.

ous introductions, he offered
wonderful interpretations of
tunes such as “Round
Midnight,” “Ask Me Now,”
“Crepuscule with Nellie,”
and “In Walked Bud.”
Despite his jazz back-
ground, Hersch easily made
the crossover to classical for
this performance. He had a
part in writing the piano
piece for the night’s perfor-
manceand did_ an excellent

job of delivering it to the

Flynn audience. Conductor
Ignat Solzhenitsyn and the
rest of the Vermont
Symphony Orchestra put on
a dazzling concert that left
me looking forward to

with guitarist Bill Frisell.
There is also a solo live CD
scheduled for an early May
release that will include
compositions by Irving
Berlin, Join Mitchell, and
Kurt Weill.

Hats off and a standing
ovation to Vermont’s own
symphony orchestra and to
the talented and gregarious
Fred Hersch for a superb
performance. I strongly sug-
gest that all Vermonters get
out to shows such as this.
You don’t haveto be a clas-
sical music lover to appreci-
ate the artistry and talent of
these performers. V

 

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153 Main Street, Burlinqton. VT 802.863.5966

   
 

 

153 Main St., Burlington, VT 8o2.863.5966

NEW GROUP THEATRE OF VERMONT

PRESENTS ITS PREMIERE STAGE PRODUCTION

 a play by John Murrell

Sarah Bernhardt, greatest actrexr of the FR} gy SAT, FEBRUARY 25, 27

FRI 86 SAT, MARCH 5. 6
Essex Memorial Hall, Essex

 
  
 

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FRI 8C SAT, MARCH 12, 13
Hannaford Center, Middlebury

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Shelbume Town Hall, Shelburne
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INFO: (802) 877-3646