Beyond the Baton

Stop being polite and start getting real about classical

Comments (0) By P. Scott Cunningham Thursday, Sep 27 2007

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The way newspapers and magazines typically try to sell you on classical music is by convincing you there’s something edgy and dangerous about it: Wagner was a Nazi; Beethoven was a philanderer; Mozart had a derriere fetish. But New Times is gonna keep it real with you. Despite the bad habits of the composers, classical music’s truest appeal is that it will never incite a riot or a school shooting.

Popular culture has changed so much since the introduction of recorded music that the very sound of an orchestra creates the quaint feeling of the passage of time. It flatters us that we’ve survived, and it feels good to sit back and enjoy the soothing sounds of flattery. Will it also make your kids smarter? Perhaps. There’s certainly no harm in bringing them to the Alhambra Orchestra’s 18th season concert opener at Ransom Everglades School (3575 Main Hwy., Coconut Grove) tonight at 7:30 for works by Mozart and Vivaldi. Admission is free. Call 305-668-9260, or e-mail info@alhambramusic.org. For music the youngsters will be instantly familiar with, take them to the New World Symphony’s Heroes, Myths, and Legends concert at 1:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre (541 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach). Kids can partake in a pre-performance Instrument Petting Zoo and listen to classical renditions of music from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Superman. Admission is $10. Call the New World Symphony box office at 800-597-3331, or visit www.nws.edu.
Sun., Sept. 30, 2007