Spend some evenings at Artpark, with strings attached.
As hardcore fans of heavy metal and punk rock start to get older, they often exhibit some paranoia that their favorite art form will somehow vanish from their lives (these are the gospels of teen rebellion, after all). “Metal lives!” or “Punk’s not dead!” are common rallying cries, and when compared to the current state of classical music, they seem a bit unnecessary. While bands supported by “the establishment” are usually poor imitations of the real thing, any true fan of either genre is well aware that its underground scenes are very much alive. The classical scene, on the other hand, could really benefit from the support of fanatics screaming “Orchestral music lives!” or “I bleed for reeds!” or “The concerto’s not dead!”
That’s not to say that classical is on life support. The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s annual Summerfest Program at Artpark is a great example of how the music fits quite snugly into 21st Century life. By bringing the orchestra to one of the most serene settings in Western New York, these are resoundingly therapeutic occasions (with the exception of the auditorium seats, which are the bane of human butt cheeks). And as opposed to a traditionally formal Kleinhans affair, the mood at the Artpark shows is loose and casual. This throws a big wrench into the stigma that classical music is reserved for the rich.
Maybe you don’t subscribe to this stereotype, and that makes you a better person than me. My rational brain knows that all music is for the masses, and all art for that matter, but part of me still associates Mozart with caviar-snorting snobbery. 
Perhaps I watched too much Masterpiece Theatre as a child, but it’s tough to shake the idea that people who listen to classical are “the establishment” itself. They sit in posh mahogany dens, drinking sherry and laughing at one of Ogden Nash’s particularly wry observations. They get their kicks from firing and rehiring Pilar the maid. They love to call The Beatles “overrated,” because they know how mad it will make the plebeians who prepare their food and do their dry cleaning. Summerfest at Artpark exposes my ignorance, year after year, and the 2006 lineup is sure to attract plenty of people who don’t own smoking jackets and prefer Funky Winkerbean to Ogden Nash.
Music Director JoAnn Falletta and company will explore an impressive array of art forms this July, including opera, ballet, acrobatics and old orchestral stand-bys. The two shows with the most across-the-board audience appeal are rooted in athletic ability – Cirque Symphonique on July 16 and the Peking Acrobats on July 30. The latter show will find the BPO accompanying the surreal athleticism of ex-Cirque du Soleil performers Ninon Parent and Peter Boulanger (who go by the name of Tesseract - see bottom photo). If avant-garde circus performers ain’t your thing, just close your eyes, because the orchestra will be backing Tesseract with selections from Mussorgsky, Strauss and Stravinsky. The Peking Acrobats (see top photo) will close Summerfest with a gravity-defying exclamation point. Judging by the crowd response to their 2004 Artpark show, Western New Yorkers love flying Chinese people.
For the traditionalists, there’s also plenty of highlights to choose from. Falletta will lead her faithful minions in well-planned tributes to Mozart (July 9) and Beethoven (July 23). By paying homage to classical’s two biggest superstars, this is like a symphonic Bennifer, an 18th Century Brangelina, an orchestral Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman. Speaking of superstars, the world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell (see photo on right) will have a night to himself (July 14), where he is sure to bow the hell out of Max Bruch’s famous Concerto No. 1. Now Mr. Bell’s talent is undeniable, but why is it that a 37-minute solo by Poison drummer Rikki Rockett is seen as indulgent, while violin boy can drink up the spotlight on a fancy “concerto”? Because life isn’t fair, Mr. Rockett. You can twirl a stick and hit a drum at the same time, and you’re seen as unsophisticated. I guess every rose really does have its thorn.
Before I start a rant about Ratt’s drummer, let’s get back to the subject at hand. For me at least, the two most shimmering nights on the program are devoted to ballet and opera. On July 22, the dancers of WNY’s Neglia Ballet will be in the house, and the BPO will dish out some of ballet’s greatest hits, including snippets from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Khachaturian’s Spartacus. It’ll be interesting to see how they fit the dancers onto the humble Artpark stage, but they did a fantastic job with the same spatial constraints for last year’s production of The Barber of Seville. “A Night At The Opera,” on July 28, promises to be the most riveting evening of the lot. Falletta will add some top-notch soloists and the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus to her arsenal, which will tackle a program of operatic masterpieces that should be familiar to all, even fervent ignoramuses like myself. As of this writing, the only selections that have been announced are from Verdi’s Il Trovatore and Mozart’s Don Giovanni (I’m crossing my fingers for “The Flower Duet” from Lakme).
As great as most of the Summerfest schedule is this year, there are still the obligatory Hollywood revues, which seem to me like a telling sign of an orchestra that needs to fill seats. This year, at least, the two movie-themed shows are focused towards children. The first show of the season will feature the BPO accompanying a big-screen showing of The Wizard Of Oz (July 8). Unless this is a grandiose attempt to sync up Dark Side Of The Moon with the movie, I’ll be washing my hair that night. The second kiddie fest is entitled “Fantasies and Fairytales,” featuring guest vocalists Jodi Benson (the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid) and Burke Moses (the voice of Gaston in Beauty and the Beast). This is sure to be something special for both young children and weird adults.
With all of the stigmas attached to classical music these days – stuffy, boring, elitist, too old, etc. – it’s tough not to subscribe to at least one of them. And if you’re at all interested in challenging these ideas, taking in a Buffalo Philharmonic show in the lovely confines of Artpark is easily your best option in Western New York. Whether you’re in the seats (hopefully with a “bleacher creature” for valuable lumbar support), or chillin’ out, maxin’, and relaxin’ all cool in the lawn area, Summerfest shows are healthy reminders that this isn’t music for Rockefellers or Kennedys. This is music for everybody. And by the way, it’s not dead.
Appeared in the July/August 2006 issue of Buffalo Spree.