Here Comes Cacophony

continued

Plus there's Tilson Thomas's deep and abiding commitment to American music of all kinds. He's done killer recordings of Gershwin's musicals and murderous recordings of Ruggles' complete works (they fit on two LPs). He's recorded virtually definitive Copland and certainly definitive Ives. A few members of the local audiences are likely still hearing stars from Tilson Thomas and the SFS's knockout performance of Ives' heavyweight Fourth Symphony back in 2002.

And that's just the orchestral concerts in Hill. There's also a chamber concert in Rackham with more of the same scored for smaller forces and featuring a new work by Meredith Monk performed with the composer.

For as much as $267 or as little as $50 per person, all four concerts can be yours. I'd call that a once-in-a-lifetime bargain ... if you can take the pain.   

[Originally published in March, 2012.]