Another all-around musical genius, unfortunately largely ignored by the good people of Alabama

Mrs. S and I drove through the rain (why does it always rain when we have a concert out of town to go to?) last night to see Edgar Meyer and the world premiere of his third concerto for double bass and orchestra. It was doubly challenging because I was still feeling the effects of a delayed return flight from Mexico that left me with an eight-hour, beer-laden layover, but I was feeling okay after dinner. (Turtle soup and straight rum to the rescue – try that next time your hangover threatens to turn into a cold.)

For those of you who don’t know Edgar Meyer, go ahead and google him now (then come back and finish reading).

Edgar Meyer, in concert (not the concert described)

 The guy’s famous. Played with all the big names: Joshua Bell, Bela Fleck, Yo Yo Ma, etc. His third concerto, commissioned by the Alabama Symphony, was for some reason performed by a stripped down version of the orchestra. And, the hall was less than half full. The people who were there looked even more tired than I felt.

But Mr. Meyer’s piece was fascinating. He introduced it by saying, “It’s 22 minutes long. There’s a 7-minute first section...a 7-minute second section...a 7-minute third section, and somewhere there’s another minute in there.” He also said he wrote his first concerto 20 years ago, his second ten years ago, and he hopes this, his third, is his last (!). His bass playing was flawless. The performance was captivating, and I was happy to have been privileged to be among the first to hear it performed. The audience clapped, he took a bow, and that was it. Then the orchestra hacked their way through a sullen Shostakovich piece (well, Shostakovich’s pieces are all sullen, aren’t they?), the first time I can honestly say they did not sound very good at all, and then we drove home.

I saw and heard history, and hardly anyone knows it. Now that all the readers of my blog know it, oh, never mind.

(sigh)