My friends in Nashville had been imploring me to come visit their beloved Nashville Symphony in its new hall, the spectacular Schermerhorn Symphony Center, for years.
As luck would have it, the weekend that I took them up on their offer was the weekend of the largest flood in Nashville's recent history. Despite 36 hours of torrential rains and another 36 hours of living with no electricity, it was a surprisingly memorable weekend on many levels.
Nashville is a beautiful city, nestled amongst green hills, horse farms, and - yes - rivers. Many folks think that Nashville is the home of country music ONLY. Let me firmly say: that is not the truth! The mid-south city calls itself Music City for a reason. The symphony orchestra is impressive and there is chamber music, jazz, ragtime and of course country music galore. It seems like everybody within the city limits makes music in some fashion.
The town is justifiably proud of its four-year old concert hall. Named for the orchestra's recently deceased, long-time conductor, the $120 million (paid off) Schermerhorn Center is a neo-classical building with a stunning interior. It opened in 2006 to rave reviews from across the country for its acoustics and technical innovations. The 1800-seat main hall is a "shoe-box" design which is known for excellent acoustics.
Similar to the Dallas Meyerson Symphony Hall, the orchestra sits out in the audience, with about 200 seats behind the orchestra and in front of the 3500-pipe organ.
While most modern halls make a daring architectural statement, the new Schermerhorn is staid, classic and understated - and in a way the designers took a chance. Most donors want to see a bang for their buck and 120 million is quite a lot of bucks - especially since the orchestra only has a budget of (give or take) $12 million (by contrast, Detroit is $29 mil.).
But the fact that the hall was built and paid for shows a great commitment to the arts by the city of Nashville and reveals the substantial financial health of the community.
The interior of the hall is open, sunny (yes there are windows that allow natural light to creep in) and comfortable. And let's not forget about the acoustics. The music sounds immediate, live and the notes pop out at the audience. Although the sound is balanced and warm, it may be a bit too resonant - I would have to hear more music in there to say for sure.
The concert I heard featured the orchestra's new conductor, the energetic Giancarlo Guerrero conducting a program of Chopin and Mahler.
The Piano Concerto No. 2 of Chopin featured young pianist Ingrid Fliter, playing fluidly and with passion. I was quite disappointed in the music however, as the orchestra had little material to communicate with the soloist. It did not compare with the great concertos of Brahms or Beethoven. Guerrero did not seem to be engaged either. The timpanist's (positioned directed opposite the conductor and hard to miss) playing lacked definition and tone quality.
Following the concerto, the stage's elevator stealthy lowered the $130 thousand Hamburg Steinway grand to the lower level, making the orchestra set up for the Mahler easy.
After intermission, the orchestra was superb as they performed the demanding Symphony No. 5 by Mahler. Challenging the ensemble at every level, the Mahler was exciting and dramatic. It revealed a confident brass section, but a relatively weak violin section. This is Guerrero's first year. I am certain changes will be made.
Mahler's music is raucous, romantic, Klezmerish, and soloistic. Guerrero brought forth grand musical gestures and great passion.
As we left the concert, exiting into the non-stop rain, we went to our friends' house which is perched on a hill. Another couple joined us for dessert, leaving afterward to return to their house. 30 minutes later they rang the doorbell saying that the roads were under water - could they sleep over?
So for the next two days, three couples shared one house with no electricity, heat, air-conditioning, TV, Internet, or land-line phones. The grocery store located nearby was being run on generators, so dozens of people were sitting on their lawn chairs on the outside of the store, using the outside outlets to plug in powerstrips and give juice to their laptops and charge their phones.
Sadly we heard that the two gorgeous grand pianos and the organ console stored in the basement of the Schermerhorn Center were destroyed by the flood waters. The hall was closed until further notice.
Meanwhile back at the house, the three couples found ways to amuse ourselves. We were forced to connect - to talk with each other without interruption, take walks, read, play music and play cards. We had no choice but to relax. The gas stove and propane grill provided food and we all got to know each other again, for the first time.
When the lights burst open after 35 hours of darkness, we made a pact to get together next year, on the first weekend of May, to have three days of quiet and peace.
It was a weekend I won't soon forget.
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