3/20, Sunday, 4pm. Celebrate Asia at Benaroya Hall. I received an email before the concert saying that we are welcome starting at 2:30pm. There'd be performance before and after the concert. I didn't arrive until after 3:30pm, while a dragon dance was going on. After the concert, a drumming troupe.
Guest conductor Kahchun Wong from Singapore.
Toshio Hosokawa -- Meditation - to the victims of Tsunami 3.11 Tan Dun -- Trombone Concerto: Three Muses in Video Game Reena Esmail/Kala Ramnath -- Hindustani Violin Concerto Claude Debussy -- La merThe first piece is meditating over Fukushima disaster. Least melodic. 2nd one is US premiere. I didn't get the video game in the title. According to the program note, the 3 movements are muses of Bili, Xiqin, Sheng. Nothing sounds like any of these 3 Chinese ancient instruments. Why trombone? Also the arrangement sometimes buried the trombone in the orchestration. Kala Ramnath's violin concerto is interesting, more melodic. A world premier, commissioned by Seattle Symphony. She sat on a wooden box in beautiful sari when playing, and singing. Not much dynamic, sounds more like wailing, instead of singing. As for Debussy, according to the conductor, it's because of the ocean theme of today's concert. I'm sure Debussy's ocean is not the Pacific. Still, I'm glad to have come, to support the local arts community, and relex. Saw quite some nice traditional clothes in the audience. The auditorium was about 80% full.
