Berkeley Symphony Orchestra
2013-03-28 Zellerbach Hall Auditorium
U.C. Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA
8:00 PM, Thursday, March 28, 2013

[7:58 PM rolling; 8:05 lights down; W3elcome and deeication by RM; Introduction by JC and SS; 8:13 ready to go!]

1. Happiness
   2. the Sun
   3. the Bird Kingdom
   [set ends 8:27 PM… applause, thanks and announcements until fadeout]

1. Una Furtiva Lagrima (from Act II, Scene III of L'elisir d'amore by Gaetano Donizetti)
   [set ends 8:35 PM]

[9:00 PM lights down, musicians onstage; Introduction by ?]

1. Allegro molto moderato
   2. Andante quasi allegretto
   3. Scherzo - Trio
   4. Finale
   [set ends 10:04 PM]

* Joana Carneiro: conductor, music director;
* Noah Stewart: tenor vox; * (unidentified members of the BSO)

With no disrespect to BSO or the commissioners of tonight's new work, to me, Stucky's triptych came off as sort of trite … inoffensive orchestral swells and warbles as wallpaper to small little poems. By contrast, the Donizetti encore was powerful, emotional and involving… it made me want to go hear Noah sing again, despite the guaranteed markup involved in attending opera.

Similarly, my experience of the Bruckner piece was that it offered too much of a good-but-not-great thing. There were plenty of neat ideas, but some judicious editing could make for a more engaging, less tiresome presentation. It was one of those works that seemed like it lasted for hours and hours …