Roving Pittsburgher Report - Science and the Symphony A Review of the PSO's The Planets- An HD Odyssey Feb. 7th 2014 Performance

Science and the Symphony
A Review of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's
The Planets- An HD Odyssey Feb. 7th 2014 Performance

From: Roving Pittsburgher and PositivePittsburghLiveMagazine.com

Written By: Sunita Pandit,  Host of Mrs. Cardiology  |   Feb. 08, 2014

Mrs. Cardiology believes we must control stress in our lives. So-o-o with Valentine's day falling on a Friday making a quiet relaxed evening with Cardiologist hubby Santosh Pandit a challenger. . .  Proactive Solution: I "preponed" Valentine’s Day by one week and took him to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for their performance titled: The Planets – an HD odyssey.

Manfred Honeck
(photo courtesy: PSO)

As always, the symphony played up to its stellar reputation under the graceful guidance of Maestro Honeck. They impressed hubby (who does not enjoy sitting still for a classical piece!). . .

His comments: "The performance was excellent! It was a very good experience… I enjoyed it thoroughly!" That's a mouthful of praise coming from a cardiologist. The video complemented the music allowing us to fully appreciate the intricacies of the composition. The NASA pictures kept us engaged with the music. I wonder if the PSO could use the video screen to show us the musicians that are sitting the back especially when they are actually playing the instruments? My husband and I could only appreciate visually the violinists…He especially would like to definitely see the rest of the orchestra. We hope the PSO arrangers are listening. Santosh hopes wife takes him for a post Valentine's Day date! Thank you to PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com for providing the tickets and giving us the opportunity to review this amazing musical odyssey.

(photo courtesy: PSO)

The concert opens on earth with "The Elements, a PSO commission and world premiere, five small pieces about Pittsburgh's land and history written by local composers for the PSO's Year of Pittsburgh Composers.

Bomi Jang's "Awake," is about Pittsburgh's dwindling urban forest. Ms. Jang used a water gong, rolling bass drum, scratchy strings piccolo to create musical pictures for the audience.

"Eliza Furnace," by Mathew Rosenblum, musically depicts Pittsburgh's iron mill workers effectively using metallic instruments, brass and percussion to capture the sound and effect of the inside of a working steel mill.

Amy Williams' chaotic "Flood Lines" auspiciously about the 1936 flood culminated in an almost upbeat piano solo.

Reza Vali's "Ravan," represented well the Youghiogheny River. We could almost feel the river dancing. And during all of these wonderful pieces NASA pictures allowed our imaginations to soar, "Where no man has dared to go."

Mrs. Cardiology a raving Starwars, Star Trek, Star-anything fan sat mesmerized. . .  Dang! I was expecting a star ship to show up. . . ‘Hailing Captain Pandit… this is the interstellar Star Patrol. Please respond. Your mother is looking for you… you are late for dinner!’ Ah sci-fi fantasy at the PSO. . .  I never thought I would experience it. Awesome! Out of this world! . . .  Ahem. . .

Just make sure you experience not only my favorite part but the rest of the story! We puffed our chests with pride of knowing that Pittsburgh boasts real live music composers this talented ‘who needs New York?’ What an extraordinary way to experience nuances of Pittsburgh life! Another notch in the Most Livable City on Earth! ET come home to the classics like no other place in the world!

Additional Concert Times:

Saturday, Feb. 8th  |  8:00 PM  |  Heinz Hall
Sunday, Feb. 9th  |  2:30 PM  |  Heinz Hall

Mrs. Sunita Pandit and
Dr. Santosh Pandit

Written By: Sunita Pandit
Host of Mrs. Cardiology

Anchor Internet Radio Show on PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com

Weekly program on heart tips not tricks garnered from Fireside Conversations with her cardiologist husband, Dr. Santosh Pandit.

For more information visit http://MrsCardiology.com

Posted By: Stephanie Curtice

Good News and Cultural Reporter

PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com

RovingPittsburgher.blogspot.com

TheNewGirlintheBurgh.blogspot.com

(c) PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com 2014

Slapstick is Back in My Life and I am Lovin' It

Slapstick is back in my life and I am lovin it!!!!!!

Around the World in 80 Days

Thanks you from the bottom of my heart – Pittsburgh Public Theatre – for bringing the onstage play    version of Around the World in 80 Days…. to Pittsburgh…

As I entered the O’Reilly Theater to sit down… the stage OMG! it was void of any … wait that is a stage with people sitting right and left? Hmmm well then how in the world are these actors going to make me feel like I am witnessing one of the greatest journeys of our theatrical times? All I can say is that I am all too pleasantly surprised!

The rendition started off a little slow for me – in retrospect because I knew not what to expect… I did not have knowledge of the crew at all.  And then, hardly 10 minutes into the story, I was sitting up in anticipation of every next move.

Hats off to all 5 actors who under the graceful direction of Marcia Milgrom Dodge and the rest of the production crew took me on that wonderful journey.  With only 4 chairs, an umbrella, sections of railings, a wearable building (just gotta see it), very well done costumes, innumerable wigs and an elephant (yes it is big) the talented Tom Beckett, Ron Bohmer, Jeffrey Kuhn, Meera Rohit Kumbhani (Yesss another Indian on stage!) and Richard B Watson took me to far off lands that I have been to before!

The slapstick performance is what took me by surprise and simply made a story watched multiple times – alive again! Actually, I thought that the actors were having too much fun with this one! Good for you all!
All 5 actors are seasoned and I felt like they have been training for this particular effort. Even though all the actors performed well beyond expectations, my favorite is Jeffrey with his acrobatic dancing abilities and the accent allowed for the lively slapstick to put icing on this live cake!  He says ‘piss’ so elegantly – go see it to understand please…. Meera you rock because I did not know you were the same actor throughout all the different people you played! Tom – chameleon shall we say? And you were lovin every minute of it pausing just enough to get our reaction? Richard, I never knew a guy to swing hips the impressive way you do! And Ron, nice commanding voice!

Throughout the performance, the actors perfectly synchronized their actions to the point that one scene made me sea sick! Did not know that could be done but they sure did it! The most dramatic action on board ship during a typhoon presented the whole crew at their peak… the amazing synchronicity kept the audience in the palm of their hands.

Thank you again for a chance to get away and be purely entertained. This definitely cleared my mind to face another day in my busy life.

Sunita S. Pandit (AKA mrscardiology)
Sunita is the wife of Dr. Santosh Pandit and is responsible for running his cardiology office. As the wife of a cardiologist, she has become passionate about combating the "perils of the heart." Constantly in pursuit of preventive care, she is dedicated to recording her husbands observations on what keeps a heart healthy.