Oompah? Not Really (109)

It was German night at the St Louis Symphony but not the oompah type music that might bring to mind.  It was Brahms, Webern, Strauss, Jr., and Strauss.  Lovely stuff.

The first Brahms was Song of the Fates with full chorus accompanying the orchestra.  Not bad but not my favorite over all.  There was something about having a full size screen hanging down from the ceiling with the words to the ‘Song’ translated into English.  I would have preferred not to have the distraction and just to have let the music carry me through it all.

Of all the music presented, most people would have recognized parts of the J. Strauss, Jr. piece, Artist’s Life.  But, my favorite was the final presentation.  Der Rosenkavalier Suite by R. Strauss had everything in it from moving, lyrical passages, to booming tuba, to the richness of harps and the pounding of kettle drums.  It also has several ‘false’ endings that didn’t fool me at all.  The ‘real’ final ending was spectacular and got everyone to their feet with a pretty rousing applause.

What I liked best about Der Rosenkavalier was that it seemed like it would fit in an early 1950s movie about men returning from war and having sad memories but longing for a new life and love.  I could feel the passage of time, the longing, the memories, the conflict, and finally the exuberance.  It’s actually the music of a comic opera about a woman with a younger lover.  The young man then falls for a young woman and the older woman steps out of the picture after much intrigue by many people.  I’m not sure why I can make it the music for a 1950s movie, but that’s the way I heard it.  At least it had a happy ending.

It might not have been the music of an oompah band, but what the heck?  It still put me in the mood for beer and pretzels.