Bits & Bytes

NWMO scores with rare Turangalila Symphony, Arnaldo delights at Crepe, Engerman opens tonight, three major theaters open new shows

by Milton W. Hamlin - SGN A&E Writer Every now and then, Bits&Bytes works a column around the word of the week. Often its a single word or a phrase, something like must see or dont miss. This week an old, old military saying comes to mindsnafu (or, to some, s.n.a.f.u.) Read on for details: MAHLER ORCHESTRA TRIUMPS WITH RARE TURANGALILA SYMPHONY The Northwest Mahler Orchestra (NWMO) risked a great deal with last Sundays Seattle premiere of Olivier Messiaens challenging Turangalila Symphony. Written in the late 1940s and premiered in 1949, the complex, demanding work requires a huge, huge orchestra and an unusual assortment of instruments, including the almost unknown ondes Martenot, one of the worlds first electronic musical instruments, introduced in 1929. The instrument and a musician who can play it are both so rare that NWMO had to import Thomas Bloch and his instrument from France for the performance. Pianist Jay Gottlieb, another imported soloistfrom New York--was in polished form throughout the evening. Seattles classical music world was excited about the rare performance. NWMO, which normally attracts a respectable Mostly Mahler crowd to Meany Hall on the University of Washington campus, took a big leap and booked the concert at Benaroya Hall, the home of the Seattle Symphony. While the Sunday night crowd was decidedly up for the performance, a markedly modest crowd reflected the limited appeal of electronic music to Seattle classical music lovers. Friends and families of the sprawling orchestraa energetic mixture of professional musicians, amateur players, talented students and othersdominated the audience with serious fans of electronic and/or modern music another major factor. A lot of its a once in a lifetime chance of curious music fans (including this scribe) were also measurableand vocal. Only one word describes the rare concertTRIUMPH. With a lot of the little orchestra that could gumption, NWMO pulled off a triumphant performance in every department. Geoffrey Simon, conductor and music director of the group, fulfilled a life long dream with the nervy programming and the assured performance. The huge orchestra, drawn from virtually every source in the Northwest, was in polished form for both the 80-minute Messiaen symphony (roughly the same length as Beethovens Symphony No. 9) and the evenings opening work, Duke Ellingtons elegant Harlem, a joyous 1950 tone poem that deserves better recognition. Seattles vast musical community pulled together for the glorious evening of challenging musicplayers represented hundreds of local, Northwest musical groups, ranging from the 133rd Army Band to the Garfield High School Band to the Everett Symphony to the Up Sound Rhythm Kings. The symphony is so demanding and the appeal so limited that it is unlikely that any major all-professional Northwest musical group could ever dare to program it. It would cost a fortune for the Seattle Symphony to rehearse and perform it with its dedicated group of professional musicians. Both the Ellington Harlem and Messiaen Turangalila Symphony, both written just a few years apart, were highlights of the Seattle musical season. Its unlikely that any other concert will have such energy, such open affection, such astounding success. With all of the well deserved praise, it must be mentioned that some elements of the evening illustrate Bits&Bytes word of the week: snafu. An old military term, standing for situation normalall fouled up, Bits&Bytes grew up with the word in common conversation. (And, being a true innocent, believing that all fouled up was, indeed, the correct phrasing.) The evening began with the box office opening late. Using a volunteer crew, it seems, the NWMO staff found a long, long line waiting impatiently to buy tickets or pick up will call. The line never seemed to endcausing the program to start about 20 minutes late. For a Sunday night classical music crowd, a 7 p.m. curtain has a clear appealMonday is a work day for most. An early evening of rare, electronic music has more appeal than a late evening of rare modern works. Play the Ellington, one patron nearby hissed, Ive got a ferry to catch when it was announced that there are still nearly 100 people in line at 7:15 p.m. Friends and family of the musicians passed the time playfully, waving at orchestra members who were clearly killing time on the stage. Lets do the wave! one boisterous audience clod nearby encouraged his friends. Some orchestra members gave into the audiences casual behavior and waved back. One string player left her seat and crouched at the edge of the stage to chat with a friend. Finally the program beganand it was glorious musical quality. A short break after the Harlem, found the conductor and the two soloists back on stage in iridescent sport shirts in electric neon colorsa sharp contrast to the formal, ultra-professional black tie and tails uniform of the orchestra members. Why? Maybe it was a nod to the modern music or the electronic nature of the Turangalila, but it was certainly a distraction. Then, the audience discovered that a Music Appreciation 101 lecture/demonstration would introduce the evenings major work. Beautifully organized and well executed by the orchestra, the soloists and the conductor, beaming with obvious pleasure, the unannounced (but clearly well rehearsed) preview lecture added another 15 minutes to the evening. As the performance grew in its intensityagain, a wonderfully satisfying musical outingthe iridescent maroon shirt of the conductor began to strangely change color. Slowly, it became apparent that the shirt was getting soaked with perspirationunderstandable but very distracting. (One advantage of the traditional black tuxedo uniform of formal orchestras is the nature of black not to show moisture or stains. Leonard Bernstein, another energetic conductor, changed shirts and jackets as many as five times during a concertthank heavens for Velcro.) Enough of the quibbles. NWMO had a huge musical triumph with Turangalila Symphony. Its obviously a milestone for the group and for Northwest musical fans. Future programming information and concert dates are available at www.NWMahlerOrchestra.org. ARNALDO! CHARMS, ENGERMAN GROOVES AT CREPE DE PARIS Arnaldo, Seattles favorite drag chanteuse, packed Crepe de Paris last weekend with a preview of his upcoming New York cabaret show, Just And Old Fashioned Girl. As predicted here last week, the all new show of old favorites found the talented vocalist introducing new songs to his repertoire and reviving classic numbers and routineshis Patsy Cline Ive Got Your Picture literally had the audience falling off their chairs. Introduced years ago in a Seattle Mens Chorus concert, the unforgettable, prop heavy staging, finds Arnaldo dragging amazing things from his Gone With The Wind-style ball gown. New songsa Helen Kane tribute with I Wanna Be Loved By You and Thats My Weakness NowSomebody Loves Me, the clever The Boy From&. were major delights. Old favoriteshis tribute to Eartha Kitt with Im Just An Old Fashioned Girl, his spirited (and tongue-in-cheek) I Enjoy Being A Girlwere other highlights. Arnaldo plays Sept. 27-29 at the Duplex in New York. Right in the heart of Greenwich Village (as the song goes), The Duplex is at Christopher Street and 7th Avenue. Information and reservations are available at (212) 255-5438. The cabaret series at Crepe de Paris continues this weekend and next with the return of John Engerman, a talented Seattle-based composer who has found a new performance life as a singer and cabaret artist. His cabaret act, previewed at The Crepe last spring, finds him singing/growling his own compositions in a Randy Newman-like (and thoroughly engaging) manner. Joanne Klein, a good musical buddy, emailed news about Engermans showEngerman Grooves at Crepe de Paris, screamed her email. Engerman plays tonight and tomorrow and next Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Information and reservations at 623-4111. (Snafu timeremember the Word Of The Week: at SGNs deadline, no press release about Engerman had reached Bits&Bytes. Thank heavens for the info line of buddy to buddy, artist to artist news. THREE MAJOR THEATERS OPEN THREE MAJOR SHOWS IN JUST TWO NIGHTS Its a busy week ahead for serious Seattle stage fans. The 5th Avenue Theatre is previewing the Broadway-bound Lone Star Love which officially opens this Wednesday night. Thursday night brings a major snafu to theater fansIntiman and the Seattle Rep open major productions on the same night, a rare, rare occurrence in the Emerald City. Intiman ends its season with its now annual American Cycle production, a stage adaptation of the beloved To Kill A Mockingbird. The show and the Cycle format make the opening A Very Big Deal. Anticipation for the show is so intense that Intiman has added a week to the performance run before the official opening night. The production now runs through Nov. 3. Details in next weeks SGN. Just a short distance across a driveway at the Seattle Center, the Seattle Repertory Theatre opens its 2007-08 season (another Very Big Deal) with a highly anticipated production of Shakespeares Twelfth Night. (The Rep is using the old English spelling and billing the show as Twelfe Night, a decision that is an affectation for some, a nightmare for copy editors and Spell Check users and a confusing snafu for otherstheres that word again.) Pitting one major production at a major theater against another major production at another major theater is a questionable decisionand a scheduling nightmare for newspaper reviewers and loyal opening night patrons. Snafu time is what Bits&Bytes calls it. (Shakespeares full title for Twelfth Night is Twelfe Night, Or What You Willwhich is a good exit line for this weeks column.)