Ethan and I made a last-minute trip to the theater where Beth plays in the orchestra. I was expediting the publication of a booklet that accompanied an anniversary gift for the maestro. After my work was done, Ethan and I stayed around to listen to a bit of the rehearsal, since he doesn’t go to the concerts yet.
We went up to the balcony of the theater, where Ethan looked on at the playing with sustained interest as the orchestra concluded a short piece. With the music stopped, Ethan’s interest waned, and so we made our way to the balcony exit ramp. As we started down, the orchestra began playing another piece. Ethan turned around to see, and we headed back to our front row seats. Ethan was captivated throughout the whole piece, which the orchestra played without interruption from the maestro for about five minutes.
The opus was a jazz violin concerto. Among its unusual features was an ending with the solo violinist playing a squeaky high note on his E string backed by a dissonant chord from the orchestra. The last measure concluded, and the hall fell into a momentary silence, broken by a brief commentary from Ethan: “uh oh”.