Beethoven's Ninth by the AASO

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The first was in September 1988, under music director Carl St. Clair, and it was truly hair-raising. This was only a few years after the orchestra turned professional, and though paid players plus a talented and ambitious conductor certainly helped, it was only in the finale that they got on top of the piece. But in that finale--a setting for soloists, chorus, and orchestra of Schiller's "Ode to Joy"--St. Clair and the orchestra took flight, and joy resounded in the Michigan Theater for the space of about half an hour.

The second was in September 2002, under the current music director, Arie Lipsky, and it was truly thrilling. Lipsky took the job after the departure of the talented and ambitious but demanding Sam Wong, and Lipsky's dedication and musicality plus the orchestra's much improved technique created a performance that left me and those near me at the Michigan Theater reduced to tears of joy.

Will it happen again September 15 when Lipsky and the Symphony perform the Ninth in Hill Auditorium? It'll certainly sound better. Superb a venue as the Michigan Theater is for movies and concerts from blues to folk to jazz to rock, its acoustics are less well suited for classical music than Hill Auditorium, arguably one of the Midwest's best classical music halls. In previous Hill performances, the hall gave the symphony's sound a warmth, clarity, and bloom that the theater can't match. And at more than twice the size, Hill allows far more ticket sales, always a good thing for revenue.