Watched the concert yesterday on KCET 28 (LA public TV) & was sorely disappointed with the program: it was like a high school orchestra concert! Very very conventional: New World Symphony/Dvorak, Gershwin, Wagner overture...and then Bizet. I also heard some bad playing, especially from the brass & woodwinds...ah well, the players were probably nervous and stressed with all the attention. The arrangement of "Arirang" had some nice parts, but generally I don't like it when folk songs are transcribed for orchestra because they tend to become overblown and overcomplicated, and the one that the NYPhil played was no exception. Apart from the music, the surrounding content was interesting: footage of North Korean rallies, interviews with some of the citizens, some brief explanations on history/politics...but some of it was clearly recycled from other TV programs and hastily put together. Nevertheless, I'm glad that it was televised, especially since public TV seldom shows anything "cultural" anymore...
The Korean is a Korean American living in Washington D.C. He lived in Seoul until he was 16, then moved to Los Angeles area. The Korean refers to himself in the third person because he thinks it sounds cool.
Watched the concert yesterday on KCET 28 (LA public TV) & was sorely disappointed with the program: it was like a high school orchestra concert! Very very conventional: New World Symphony/Dvorak, Gershwin, Wagner overture...and then Bizet. I also heard some bad playing, especially from the brass & woodwinds...ah well, the players were probably nervous and stressed with all the attention. The arrangement of "Arirang" had some nice parts, but generally I don't like it when folk songs are transcribed for orchestra because they tend to become overblown and overcomplicated, and the one that the NYPhil played was no exception. Apart from the music, the surrounding content was interesting: footage of North Korean rallies, interviews with some of the citizens, some brief explanations on history/politics...but some of it was clearly recycled from other TV programs and hastily put together. Nevertheless, I'm glad that it was televised, especially since public TV seldom shows anything "cultural" anymore...
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