solos grow like trees

tonight we went to the cincinnati symphony where they performed 'life and death' (strauss), 'on the transmigration of souls' (john adams), and 'the dharma at big sur' (adams) with *drum roll please* john adams conducting! the strauss was beautiful, and adams was full of life leading the orchestra. the second piece, 'on the transmigration of souls,' was simply stunning. it was my favorite of the three. it was deep and meaningful without being too much, and featured the may festival choir, children's chorus, and pre-recorded city sounds/voices in addition to the orchestra. it was sometimes disjointed (as i'm sure was adams' intention), and the voices over the loudspeaker with sounds, names of those missing from 9/11, and quotes from the same event added a poignant and sometimes unsettling note to the music. the last piece, 'the dharma at big sur,' was a piece for orchestra and electric violin. the whole piece had a feeling of improvisation, which was fascinating. the solo line rose over the orchestra and practically grew like a sapling out of the featured violinist, who was dressed in a vibrant orange dress. it was wonderful.