What about the Des Moines Symphony?

In my "awarding" of the annual "Huey's" for innovative concert programing, I have continually chosen to exclude the Des Moines Symphony.  This is not a rap on the ensemble, which--as I've heard on Iowa Public Radio many times--is a fine group.  It is simply a matter of geography:  Des Moines is nearly a four-hour drive from Dubuque.  If I'm going to travel that far for a concert, I'll take the shorter trip to the east and catch either the Chicago Symphony (if I have the cash) or the outstanding summer concerts presented by the Grant Park Symphony in Frank Gehry's stunning outdoor pavilion in Millennium Park.

The visually stunning Jay Pritzker Pavilion.  The acoustics, thanks to a state-of-the-art
sound system, are pretty darn good as well--even in the "cheap seats" (lawn seating is FREE!)

But, to be fair, here's a quick run-down of the upcoming season of the DSM Symphony, with my own even-more-brief annotations:


MASTERWORKS I:
Saturday, Sep 27, 2014 7:30pm
Sunday, Sep 28, 2014 2:30pm

Season ticket subscriptions are available! (I included this once; it's misspelled every time)
Nareh Arghamanyan, piano

RIMSKY -KORSAKOV Procession of the Nobles:  dead, though great band piece.

PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1 “Classical”
:  dead and overplayed.
KHACHATURIAN Piano Concerto:  nice to see a Russian concerto that's not by Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff (or Shostakovich/Prokofiev for that matter).

STRAVINSKY The Firebird:  Um, the whole thing or one of the suites?  Which?  Of course, this is "safe" Stravinsky, but 2013 was the year of the Le sacre orgasms.  Let's leave Igor alone for a couple of years.

Hoyt Sherman Place, former home of Des Moines Symphony: 1400 seats

MASTERWORKS II:  

Saturday, Oct 25, 2014 7:30pm
Sunday, Oct 26, 2014 2:30pm

Anne Akiko Meyers, violin

VERDI Overture to La forza del destino
:  warhorse
VIVALDI The Four Seasons:  another?
RESPIGHI The Pines of Rome:  well, they'll end with a bang.

One of these doesn't belong, although audiences may get to see Meyers show off her new fiddle.
MASTERWORKS III:

Saturday, Nov 15, 2014 7:30pm
Sunday, Nov 16, 2014 2:30pm

Beyond the Score – In Collaboration with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
:  Gerard McBurney, Creative Director
; Martha Gilmer, Executive Producer.

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5:  I'm wondering what they can tell me about this piece that I don't already know.

MASTERWORKS IV

Saturday, Feb 7, 2015 7:30pm
Sunday, Feb 8, 2015 2:30pm
Jorge Mester, conducting


Robert Edward Thies, piano

MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 “Scottish”

PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 1

DEBUSSY La Mer

Dead, dead and dead.  And what's the connection?  I like Prokofiev as much as the next guy, but give me Kabalevsky (did he write a piano concerto?) or maybe a non-Russian?

MASTERWORKS V

Saturday, Mar 28, 2015 7:30pm

Sunday, Mar 29, 2015 2:30pm
Jia Cheng Xiong, piano

MOZART Symphony No. 35 “Haffner”
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2: to me, the most boring work in the repertoire--maybe it was the performance, but I did hear it at the Boston SO.
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 6

LISZT Les Préludes

Everybody dead, white, etc., You know the drill....

MASTERWORKS VI

Saturday, Apr 18, 2015 7:30pm
Sunday, Apr 19, 2015 2:30pm
Joshua Roman, cello

John ADAMS The Chairman Dances; Foxtrot for Orchestra
:  THE go-to piece when considering a contemporary work, even though it's how old?
DVORÁK Cello Concerto
:  I love this piece.  That said, there are more than three concerti for the cello (Elgar, Dvorak and Schumann).
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2:  If you're doing Sibelius, this one (or 5) almost always appears.  If I'm going somewhere to hear a Sibelius symphony, I'd probably drive the extra hour to the Twin Cities and catch Osmo (Vanska) and his little band.

MASTERWORKS VII

Saturday, May 23, 2015 7:30pm
Sunday, May 24, 2015 2:30pm
Simpson College Choir & Chamber Singers
; Des Moines Vocal Arts Ensemble
; Timothy A. McMillin, Director

COPLAND Fanfare for the Common Man; A Lincoln Portrait; Appalachian Spring
Steve HEITZEG Symphony In Sculpture II

John WILLIAMS An American Saga: Music from The Patriot, Lincoln, Midway and Hymn to the Fallen from Saving Private Ryan

HANSON Song of Democracy

That's a lot of John Williams; all I can say...

The Des Moines Civic Center, a 2700 sear "all purpose" hall.
Slopes upward from the stage to the back wall...
That's a lot of tickets to sell, but maybe they do just fine.

All of this being said, I'll stay closer to home....