Events around and about Dartmouth College and Hanover, New Hampshire
The first half of this concert was relatively short, starting with a Flute Concerto by Mercadante. I hadn’t heard of this composer before, but it was a nice piece. The second piece was Oblivion by Piazzolla, not in the program.
The second half was what I came to hear: Mahler’s first symphony. This was with a very crowded stage, and many performers beyond the student code. And what a great symphony it is, especially the moody “Frère Jacques” movement.
I am a big fan of the original Blade Runner, as well as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, so of course I had to go see this movie.
I liked the rain and snow, and gloom, reminiscent of the earlier one. The initial scene, with the desolate dead tree, set the dystopian tone. It was certainly appropriate to have the wooden Ryan Gosling play a replicant. The plot was a bit confusing, but the details fit into place eventually. The birth storyline seemed a bit thin, and it lacked the punch of the first one, the “what is human” angle. .
A great concert in Spaulding that ended with a giant NH conga line through the aisles.
I didn’t know what to expect, but it was thoroughly enjoyable. Although the songs were international, the congas and percussion gave everything a great latin feel.
It was a nice touch to do Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman” and have women in the audience join them on stage. The stage was packed and everyone was dancing and clapping. My only complaint was that the second half was too short….
I do have a vague memory of the Billie Jean King / Bobby Riggs tennis match. And all those cracks about women’s libbers and male chauvinist pigs were pretty common in the 70’s.
The movie was well done, and engaging, with many famous faces in the cast: the leads as well as many of the supporing roles.
The tennis seemed a bit slow, compared to recent pro tennis, but then I read about Riggs’ style: drop shots and lobs. And they did use “tennis” body doubles in the movie.
This concert was in Rollins Chapel, and was an eclectic mix of modern music. Del Sol is a string quartet, and ZOFO (ZO=20, FO=finger orchester) is piano for four hands. I particularly enjoyed the 6th movement “Adios a Churin from Milagros, a nice cello part in particular. The Wheel & Mythic Birds Waltz was nice too, although I didn’t get how the explanation tied in.
In the second half, there were two Promenade parts, where first Eva-Maria walked around, and then Keisuke walked around. I enjoyed the Paisaje and the Praying Mantis Rag (which was in fact ragtime).
The last piece was a bit comical, as it involved toy pianos, an instrument I had not seen before. Each performer took a turn coming to one of the two to play a section.