Here's another Postcard from Brazil - observations on the current two-city tour of Brazil by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Principal Conductor John Mauceri. We are in Rio. Once we had gotten settled into our hotel rooms here yesterday, we had the remainder of the day free to explore. Most of the orchestra took advantage of one of two city tours that were offered during the afternoon. The shorter of those tours lasted three hours and included a bus trip to a remarkable railway. This quaint cogwheel train winds its way up the steep slope of one of Rio's many distinctive mountains. Along the half-hour journey, orchestra members "oohed" and "aahed" at the sight of the comically large yellow-orange tree fruit that the locals call Jade (or "Jack") Fruit. Once the slow-but-sure train made its final stop, the Bowl Orchestra found itself atop, not just any mountain, but Corcovado. At Corcovado's peak there rises the 120-foot statue of Jesus with outspread arms, a statue that has become the best-known symbol for this incredible city. I'd be willing to bet that the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra burned up a hundred roles of film attempting to capture the breathtaking 360-degree vista.
And about Rio - "incredible" only begins to describe a place that, depending on the block, reminds this first-time visitor at least, of just about every place I've ever been. It's got L.A.'s intoxicating ethnic diversity ...the ocean waves of Carmel, the lush foliage of Fiji, the weather of Miami, the topography of Kauai, the horn- blowing mania of New York City and, yes, the traffic density of Waikiki. Today the orchestra is in rehearsal for its first concert: a free, outdoor, Saturday evening program on Copacabana Beach - under a replica of the shell of the Hollywood Bowl. The orchestra members can't wait.
And that is it for another Postcard from Brazil - observations on the current two-city tour of Brazil by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Principal Conductor John Mauceri. I'm Rich Capparela.
Monday, December 2 - Concerto for Bikini & Orchesra
Here's another Postcard from Brazil - observations on the current
tour of Brazil by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Principal
Conductor John Mauceri. We are now in Sao Paulo. Saturday night
the group gave the first of its three concerts on this tour: a free
outdoor event on the sands of Copacabana Beach. The Brazilians
built a replica of the famed shell at the Hollywood Bowl and,
though it was tad smaller than the Cahuenga Pass original, it
certainly had the shape and feel of a Bowl concert. Thousands of
Brazilians gathered at dusk on the white sands stretching north
toward Ipanema for a program comprised of scores written for the
silver screen and even a helping of dance music.
While visitors to Copacabana are used the sight and sounds of an
orchestra on the beach, this was the first time a major ensemble
played this kind of music in these parts. The result was an
audience whose enthusiasm for John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl
Orchestra was matched by that same audience's intimate knowledge of
most all of this music - a familiarity that manifested itself in
whoops and hollers at the start of the Lalo Schifrin theme from
Mission Impossible and an audible sigh at the start of (of all
things) John Barry's title music for the film Somewhere in Time
(a movie that obviously did better in Brazil than in the U.S.).
Of the entire experience, including fireworks accompanying Sousa's
Stars and Stripes Forever at the conclusion, the indelible moment
for me was the sight of a sizeable throng gathered at the foot of
the stage at the concert's end. Audience members were so taken
with John Mauceri's charisma that they were asking for his
autograph - without having brought either pen or paper. And there
was Mauceri, obligingly signing people's palms. That, ladies and
gentlemen, is star power.
And that is it for another Postcard from Brazil - observations on
the current two-city tour of Brazil by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
and Principal Conductor John Mauceri. I'm Rich Capparela.
Tuesday, December 3 - Murphy's Law Strikes
Here's another Postcard from Brazil - observations on the current
two-city tour of Brazil by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and
Principal Conductor John Mauceri. And this is the story of
Lemonade. When it comes to touring, it's bound to happen
eventually: a concert where everything doesn't go just right.
Sunday started in Rio as the members of the Hollywood Bowl
Orchestra were herded (yet again) into three buses for a trip to
the airport and the 45-minute flight to Sao Paulo. Upon arriving
at the hotel, the group was given a whopping fifteen minutes to
get their bags up their rooms before hopping aboard the buses once
more for a trip to the site of the second concert of this tour:
another free outdoor concert. It took place in the vast Ibirapuera
Park. The trouble was, it had rained earlier in the day and the
skies still looked pretty ominous, and the sound engineering team
had been given no time to set up the microphones, and the stage
wasn't ready, and the instrument trunks were late in arriving, and
there was no food and the lighting on stage started to fail.
Then, things changed. It started pouring. Let me put in this way:
looking at the musicians' faces as the concert finally got
underway, I found myself gazing upon a sea of bemusement. But
here's the happy ending: In large part because of their good
natured "Oh, what the hey" attitude, Mauceri's indomitable spirit,
the ensemble's collective talent as well as a large and resilient (if
somewhat soggy) crowd of music lovers standing in the rain - it all
came together. In fact, during the very first piece, a suite from
Max Steiner's score for Gone with the Wind, it stopped raining.
The sun even came out. The audience grew more and more
enthusiastic, dancing on the grass, clapping along with several
pieces and demanding encores. And then, when it was all over and
the orchestra members began leaving the stage for the trip back to
the hotel, their exits were punctuated by heartfelt applause from a
large group of music lovers who had surrounded the walkway leading
to the buses. Each and every player got to take a solo bow. The
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and John Mauceri had given a textbook
example of how to turn lemons into lemonade. The audience knew it
and appreciated it.
And that is it for another Postcard from Brazil - observations on
the current two-city tour of Brazil by the Hollywood Bowl
Orchestra and Principal Conductor John Mauceri. I'm Rich Capparela.
Wednesday, December 4 - Snake Farms
Here's another Postcard from Brazil - observations on the current
two-city tour of Brazil by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and
Principal Conductor John Mauceri. Later this morning the members
of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra will be reunited with family and
friends as we are just getting back into town, having taken a
red-eye out of Brazil last night.
Monday evening in Sao Paulo the orchestra gave its final concert of
this tour: a private dinner-concert at Estacao Julio Prestes, a
converted train station. The event was sponsored by Philips do
Brazil and was attended by 800 invited guests. The decor at Julio
Prestes is worth mentioning: it has to be the only rail station in
the world featuring ten palm trees - some reaching a height of over
thirty feet (the stage was built around four of the trees). Quite
a sight. The concert itself, being given indoors (and safely out of
the rain) was the least eventful of the trip. The music-making was
of the caliber one expects from this group comprised of Hollywood's
finest studio and concert musicians. By the way, the program began
at 10:30 and ended at midnight.
Then came a free day on Tuesday, a day that found the Bowl Orchestra
fanning out throughout the city in diverse activities including
Concertmaster Robin Olsen's general wish to "get in some shopping"
...keyboard player (and Assistant to John Mauceri) Mitch Hanlon
scheduling a game of squash with his wife ...harpist Mindy Ball,
second violinist Vivian Wolf and five others flying to Iguassu
Falls (said to make Niagara look like "a dripping faucet") ...Sound
Designer Joe Magee searching for an oil painting for the living
room wall ......drummer Bryan Miller's aim of "wandering
aimlessly," ...and Principal Timpanist Tom Raney's plan to "not
set the alarm." And, lest I forget, more than two dozen musicians
got together for a tour of a remarkable snake farm, part of the
world- famous Butantan Institute.
And that is it for another Postcard from Brazil - observations on
the current two-city tour of Brazil by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
and Principal Conductor John Mauceri. I'm Rich Capparela.
Thursday, December 5 - The Orchestra Speaks
Here's the last in the series of Postcards from Brazil -
observations on the just-completed two-city tour of Brazil by the
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Principal Conductor John Mauceri.
Click here for a :50 excerpt from this final report.
(MUSIC UNDER)
Williams: E.T. - Flying Theme
Mauceri/Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Philips 432 109 Track: 15 4:08
from "Hollywood Dreams"
To sum it up: the orchestra gave three concerts - the first on the
sand at Copacabana Beach in Rio, the second (in the pouring rain) in
a park in Sao Paulo and the final program (also in Sao Paulo) inside
a converted train station. And now that the seven-day odyssey has
come to an end, I'll bow out of giving you my impressions and,
instead, make room to hear from the most important people in this
group - the musicians themselves. What will be their lasting
memories of their journey to Brazil? Conductor John Mauceri. . . .
:30 John Mauceri, Principal Conductor
:23 Robin Olson, Concertmaster
:08 Bill Booth, trombone
:22 Pamela Gates, violin
:12 Carol McCallum, bassoon
:14 Eun-Mee Ahn, violin
:14 Dmitri Bovaird, viola
:22 Chris Reutinger, violin
And that is it for our final Postcard from Brazil - observations
on the just-completed two-city tour of Brazil by the Hollywood Bowl
Orchestra and Principal Conductor John Mauceri. Though I'm glad to
be home, I have to admit I will never forget the view of Rio from
atop Corcovado. I'm Rich Capparela.
(MUSIC UP AND OUT)
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