| Despite my lack of love for crowds, I took one of the six Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra buses – $35.00 return – to where 7,000-plus other folks were headed on August 27th. The owners of Stewart Green welcomed us to "the only golf course in the world where a musical score is more important than a golf score, and where the most talked about golf foursome is Mozart and the Three Sisters."
The multitude, – about a third of which were first-timers, spread out in clusters on the green. Further up the hill in the rough were those less social.
Our pilgrimage was made to hear Pierre Simard lead the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra for his first Mozart on the Mountain, the traditional start of the CPO season. Daniel Moran superbly played first piano for the event.
The bus was a great transportation choice. My fellow passengers talked quietly or read on the way to the performance. On our return, they were animated, buoyed by the day’s glorious weather, the majesty of the event’s setting, its clear sound system (much improved over last year) and appropriately chosen and adeptly played music. They chatted about the wisdom of choosing the bus, as an economy and a convenience, as we passed others still trying to locate their cars. Then they got down to parsing the experience in depth, leaving me to my own thoughts on the event.
Dressed in their summer whites, the orchestra was in fine form, casting a spell that silenced the family crowd. Moran’s lyrical and poetic style was ideally displayed and suited to the concert.
Simard, the CPO’s resident conductor, is energetic, charming and witty, an ideal guide through the afternoon for both orchestra and audience. He was not successful, however, in convincing the 20 or so umbrella owners that they should close them.
For next year, though one is requested not to, I will bring my folding lawn chair with beverage holder. They were ubiquitous. |
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