New York Philharmonic – Very Young People’s Concert. April 9, 2018.

Merkin Concert Hall, New York.

Program – Make Believe

Fun with the Philharmonic.

La Revue de Cuisine (The Kitchen Revue) Suite for Clarinet, Bassoon, Trumpet, Violin, Cello, and Piano, H. 161 (1827) by Martinu (1890-1959).

Artists

Rebecca Young, host; Amy Zoloto, clarinet; Roger Nye, bassoon; Christopher Martin, trumpet; Quan Ge, violin; Alexei Yupanqui Gonzales, cello; Eric Huebner, piano.

In our attempt to instill some love of classical music in our grandson Reid, we bought him a book recently on the instruments of the orchestra.  We also thought this would be an interesting event to bring him to.  Many of the weekend concerts were sold out, but the auditorium was less than half full this Monday morning – I guess between class and culture, most parents opt for the former.  While the program is designed for 3 to 6-year olds, there were quite a few toddlers in the audience today.

When we got into the concert hall, the bassoonist and the clarinetist were demonstrating to kids on stage how the instruments sounded, and how they could mimic different animals.  Reid joined them for the last part, and was quite mesmerized.

The theme of the concert was how the music can be interpreted as what happens in a kitchen.  At one point the host Rebecca Young pretended to throw food onto the projected screen and came up with the first line of “twinkle twinkle little star.” Her commentaries would precede individual movements of the Suite, which in and of itself is quite pleasant to hear.  The movements are Prologue, Tango, Charleston, and Finale.

For the Finale, Young was asleep on stage, and her dream projected onto the screen.

The artists taking a bow after the concert.

Reid clearly enjoyed the event as a spectacle.  When asked what his favorite part was, it was when Young in her dream was eaten up by a whale.

We took the bus in from Hoboken, followed by a subway ride from Port Authority to Lincoln Center.  I am sure Reid enjoyed the journey as much as the event itself – isn’t that how life should be?  And he was hungry when we stopped by Au Bon Pain at Port Authority to grab something to eat.