Classical Revolution and OperaMission teamed up for salon evening in NYC

I had the pleasure of attending an amazing evening of music last night in Manhattan. After a red-eye flight back from a paradise far, far away called home (Honolulu, Hawaii) and my body still six hours behind the rest of the gang at the comfy Gershwin Hotel, I was up for pretty much anything. What I found behind the red velvet curtain was even better. About 30 musicians (predominantly pianists and violinists of course, though the odd bassoon did make an appearance, occasionally moonlighting as a viola or cello) lounged on couches and propped themselves up on (very decent) folding chairs in a cozy, dark-orange room at the back of the lobby while munching on salads and sipping Merlot. A joint effort by Classical Revolution and Operamission produced an evening of firsts for many. Already building a following in several large cities around the world (New York, Berlin, Sydney, San Francisco), Classical Revolution may be setting the stage for a completely new way to enjoy classical music.

According to its mission statement, Classical Revolution exists "to present concerts involving both traditional and modern approaches while engaging the community by offering chamber music performances in highly accessible venues, such as bars and cafes, and collaborating with local musicians and artists from various styles and backgrounds." This is not a terribly new concept, of course, and we see opera and classical music enthusiasts seeking out their fix in the oddest of places with increasing ease and comfort (Opera on Tap, steadily building more and more chapters around the country is but one example). What they don't mention, however, is that there's no rehearsal... not at all. Most of the players have never met each other let alone performed together.

Though a few of us present last night agreed that actually the evening would have made more sense and flowed more smoothly had there been an order of performance and someone actually playing a more official role as emcee, the impromptu nature of the performances was charming in its own way. I did wonder why the excellent Operamission was involved, however, given that the evening was solely instrumental save for one brief interlude for two Turina songs by yours truly about halfway through the evening. I had a couple people in the audience mention to me afterwards that they wished there had been more singing. I assume that the organizers (possibly rightly) assume that if they opened it up to vocal-piano duos that many would simply come with their audition rep. However, if they set parameters such as asking only for art songs or set a time limit for each performing duo, it could only add to the overall evening, certainly.