We (heart) Edo!

Milwaukee’s love fest with Edo de Waart continued last Thursday night, and he gave back in sonic spades. The Music Director Designate conducted Holst’s The Planets in the informal setting of the Milwaukee Symphony’s Classical Connections series. Taking the stage after a snappy promotional video, De Waart received a standing ovation from the substantial crowd even before he lifted his baton.
Classical Connections concerts are designed to appeal to the less snooty music fans. This one featured a video program with images (both real and computer generated) from around the solar system. It was originally scheduled for all the concerts, but the MSO scrapped the screen for the “serious” weekend program. The Connections concerts are also shorter, and are peppered with conversations about the music in between selections. Tonight, however, there was very little said about Holst and a whole lot said about De Waart. Both concertmaster Frank Almond and principal cellist put on their Regis Philbin hats to ask De Waart about his history and his path to Milwaukee (they have both worked with him in the past). Charming but hardly gregarious, De Waart chatted about his early years.

Read the rest of the review in Culture Club.