Photos courtesy of the SPCO and Sarah Rubinstein
This past Sunday, before the snow and before the Super Bowl, I and a friend had the distinct pleasure of enjoying a most civilized Sunday afternoon in St. Paul.
We paid a visit to this place: the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's Music Room, located in their headquarters downtown St. Paul. I've seen the SPCO in other places and loved it, but this was the perfect place for them; as I said on Facebook, it was like seeing a splendid wild animal in its natural habitat. It's a warm, intimate, inviting space, and in the case of last Sunday's concert, there were never more than five musicians playing together at any one time, so the audience chairs were seated on three sides of the musicians, and very close.
The concert opened with Jean Marie Leclair's Sonata in F for Two Violins, Opus 3, No. 4.
Have I ever mentioned how much I love the stringed instruments? No? Silly me. This was a perfect performance for me, as the violin duet was followed by Luigi Boccherini's Quintet in C for Two Violins, Viola, and Two Cellos, and after the intermission was Alexander Borodin's Quartet No. 2 in D for Two Violins, Viola, and Cello.
The music was beyond lovely, and what I also was pleased to see was how many young (as in: under 40) people there were enjoying the music, including what looked to be some teenagers seated up front and rapt with attention. Many orchestras and classical music organizations have worried about getting younger generations to attend their concerts, so it was wonderful to see the mixed age groups. It also helps that they have kept their ticket prices quite reasonable--for the upcoming 2010-11 season, all tickets will fall into the categories of $10, $25, or $40.
The SPCO does reach out to those groups. They have the Club2030, which offers discount tickets to 20- and 30-somethings, and the Orchestra also takes its show on the road. Besides performing at the Music Room, you can find them at the Ordway and the University of MInnesota-Minneapolis. But they also reach out to the community by holding concerts at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie (I've seen them there, and it's a great venue for them); Wayzata Community Church; St. Paul's United Church of Christ; Trinity Church in Stillwater; Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Apple Valley; and Temple Israel in Minneapolis.
You can also hear recorded broadcasts of their concerts on MPR.
Trust me on this--you need some beauty and civilization in your life. You'll find it with the SPCO.
And for those of you out there in the SW suburbs? The SPCO is performing a free concert at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie on March 26. Details here.
My thanks to the fine folks at the SPCO for providing tickets for me.
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