I might be the only one, and judging by the speed at which everyone leapt to their feet for the standing O, I probably was, but I didn't like it.

Before all the Itzhak Perlman fans scream in uproar, let me start with the fact that I truly believe he is a great violinist. However, everyone has less than stellar performances, and music is quite subjective. So while everyone else in Roy Thomson Hall may have loved Itzhak's interpretation of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, I did not.

Source: Violin

This is a piece to showcase the violin...the soloist. But I felt like the entire orchestra was held back, suppressed both in volume and speed to the point where they sounded bound and gagged. The piece didn't flow lyrically with grace and ease, but dragged cumbersomely with odd pauses in some spots and awkwardly rushed passage to catch up. There were times, too many times, when the orchestra was out of sync with the violin. This was even more noticeable when the violin solo had its "dialogue" with the flute solo and clarinet solo. It was, as the Chinese euphemism goes, like a duck and a chicken trying to have a conversation.

Source: Duck & Chicken

Many things about tonight's performance threw me off. Aside from the over all timing being messed up, there was also the matter of odd volume drops from the orchestra. This concerto already has very few full orchestra passages. So when the orchestra passages are being played, I expect that they should be prominent. Instead, the first bar came out the way I expected, only to be suddenly stifled for the remaining bars as if Peter Oundjian had shushed them.

Source: Metronome

Source: Shush

*sigh*

Maybe I just went into this expecting too much. It's one of my favourite violin concerti, and I listen to it every Sunday with my morning coffee (in place of going to church...yes, I know, I'm a bad Catholic). So yes, I did bust out the iPod on the subway and listen to the Joshua Bell version of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto...just to make myself feel better. This night wasn't supposed to go this way. And as much as it pains me to have to say anything bad about the TSO, I have to be objective. I can't say it was good if I didn't like it. I just can't.

Glee's Cory Monteith Recalled In Emmy Tribute

Yes, I get it. Your craft is what’s important to you. The skill with which you are able to pretend that you are someone else and do it so that it’s not just believable, but emotional, for your audience is of the greatest import. But you know what? If no one comes to see your show, your craft isn’t worth anything. I hate to be the one to tell you the brutal, cold, hard truth, but there it is.

So some people are pissed that Cory Monteith received an Emmy tribute for his “potential” rather than his actually “achievements”. They say that it lessens accomplishments of other actors/directors that received a tribute and insults the ones that did not – all this, just to “pander” to a narrow demographic of attention-deficient teenagers and young adults.

Honestly, where do they get off being so high and mighty that they don’t need to “pander” to young people? You know who unabashedly panders to young people and is incredibly successful? McDonalds. No one does it like they do. And they are not ashamed of it.

You are the entertainment industry. Your job is to entertain. Your industry is fickle because that’s the world of show business. Without fans (ANY fans), you will either be serving me a latte at Starbucks or playing an extra on that obscure TV show that is paying you with lunch.

I’m not saying Cory should have been included. I’m not saying he *shouldn’t* have been included. I’m simply saying that words like,

“It's an insult and it really seems typical of this youth-centric culture that has an extremely short attention span and panders to only a very narrow demographic [of young adults]" ~Adam Klugman

can only come from a hypocritical snob that has forgotten the fundamental reason film, tv and music industry people even have a career at all.

Without the fiery fandemonium of the youth, tv shows are worthless. And all the talented and gifted actors, producers, writers, and directors associated with these shows will be rendered worthless too.

Source: http://www.emmys.tv/sites/emmys.tv/files/photos/LAA2013.jpg