JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: This past Sunday, I had the pleasure of seeing the Portland Symphony Orchestra perform Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. To say it’s one of my favorite pieces of classical music is hardly cutting edge – almost everyone in the world has heard at least part of the choral symphony. According to IMDB, the composer has over 1,200 movie and TV music credits to his name. That’s not bad for someone who died in 1827. (Note to Beethoven lovers: start lining up your tickets now for 2027 concerts. It’s going to be lit!) One of my personal favorites is its use in that classic Christmas movie, DIE HARD, where the theme appears over and over again, first shyly, as a few violin notes, and then eventually to a rousing climax.
This performance kicked off the 100th year anniversary of the PSO (one of the few places where the Other Portland beats us out: the Oregon Symphony was formed in 1896.) The PSO did an amazing walk through its recent history as part of the opener. They invited three past Music Directors, going back to 1976, to conduct each of the symphony’s movements in order.
It was a literal passing of the baton, ending with our current Maestro, Eckart Preu, and as you can imagine, it inspired the audience to both sentimental sighs and rabid cheers. (For those of you who aren’t symphony lovers, let me assure you, the most excited fans at a baseball game have nothing on a concert hall full of classical music fans. I think it’s because we have to be SO quiet while the performance is going on. We really let ‘er rip when we’re finally released to applaud.)
So Sunday will definitely go down in my memories of Top of the 9th. (See? I also like sports!) My other two favorite moments? One was a few years ago, when my dear friend Tracy Leu, who works for the Boston Philharmonic, got me tickets to see their performance. The music was rousing and rapturous as always, but the polish on the apple was experiencing it in Symphony Hall, an extraordinary Renaissance Revival building with an extravagantly decorated interior and, according to the National Register of Historic Places, the finest acoustics in the United States. Plus, the long, shoe-box-shaped design means the people watching is excellent as well.
The first? I was listening to the start of the symphony in my car on the way to attend class at Maine Law. I remember it was winter. I don’t recall what the class was. When I found a space in the law school lot, instead of turning off the radio and hoisting my heavy backpack, I lingered to hear more. And more. Yes, dear readers, I skipped class to listen to the entirety of the 9th Symphony in a running, parked car. One of the early signs, perhaps, that I wasn’t cut out to be an attorney.
How about you, dear reader? Do you have cherished memories of
performances, either classical or not, that you like to revisit?
