Review: Chris Thile’s Classical Jam with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra
By Wade Kwon
Chris Thile, February 2008
Review at a glance: Chris Thile brought fire and spunk to his performance with a game Alabama Symphony Orchestra, both as mandolin player and classical composer.
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When bluegrass trio Nickel Creek announced in 2006 that it was calling it quits, I wondered if I’d ever get the chance to see such magic again. But Birmingham has had two opportunities in the past 5 days to catch its members.
Sara Watkins played at Vulcan AfterTunes on Sunday. And this evening, accomplished mandolin player and singer Chris Thile returned to town to perform with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.
The event took place before a nearly full Jemison Concert Hall at the Alys Stephens Center.
Part-Bach, part-Bartók and part-Radiohead, the symphony accompanied Thile on several numbers but took on Bartók without the headliner. Thile and conductor Justin Brown took time to banter, with each other and with the audience, on several occasions. Stuffy, this was not.
Thile radiated enthusiasm while playing flawlessly; his vocals, however, were merely OK. But he took time to explain the selections for the evening, and how the mandolin makes for a fitting substitute for the violin (the tuning is identical, but the mandolin has frets and no sustained notes).
A special treat was the Alabama premiere of Thile’s concerto, Mandolin Concerto (Ad astra per alas porci). (The Latin translates to “To the stars on the wings of a pig.”) Six orchestras, including the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, commissioned the piece.
On numbers handled by the symphony itself, Thile didn’t go backstage as most performers do; instead, he sat himself on the steps leading up to the stage to enjoy the performance. When the symphony exited for Thile’s solo numbers, Brown returned the favor and sat down to listen.
The highlight was Bach’s Concerto in D minor for two violins. The Mandolin Concerto was also engaging and intriguing, showing Thile’s surprising range as a composer. Brown remarked beforehand that it may have been his first time as a conductor to perform a work by a composer who also sat in as a soloist.
For the encore, Thile and the symphony performed another Radiohead number.
And while orchestras at one point tried to reach the young people with all Zeppelin or Stones concerts, this collaboration felt like the real deal. Thile was generous in his praise of the orchestra and in his performance. The Alabama Symphony Orchestra would do well to schedule more mashups with talented artists.
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Also:
- “Creek rising,” my review of Nickel Creek’s 2005 performance at the Alabama Theatre
- Thile talks with Birmingham Magazine | Birmingham News | WBHM (listen to audio clip below)
[audio:http://www.wbhm.org/songs/christhile.mp3] - Denver Post calls Mandolin Concerto a “classic” | more on the concerto
- Birmingham News concert review
- Alabama Symphony Orchestra preview
[audio:http://www.alabamasymphony.org/symphony7/mp3/christhile.mp3]
Thursday, October 29, 2009, 11:10 pm
[…] the standing ovation. Nothing wrong with a public display of affection, but the show tonight had a standing O after the first movement of a concerto. Heck, you’re not even supposed to applaud at that […]
Friday, October 30, 2009, 10:06 am
It was a good concert–not great. The Bach concerto was sublime, due more to the contrast between Szaz’s violin and the pluckiness of Thiele. (I do think Justin Brown got more hugs in last night than he has in years.) But the mandolin, though technically well played, still can’t stand alone against the rich sound of our orchestra.
Friday, October 30, 2009, 10:19 am
Annette, I wish we had a chance to catch up last night. Thanks for your input.
If only he had his Nickel Creek bandmates with him, maybe that would’ve been a stronger balance against the full orchestra.