A Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas Many years ago, while listening to Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol, it seemed to me a shame that such great classical music had been allowed to fall into disuse. Pieces like Capriccio are clearly of interest to today's youth and rock culture, but just need a re-interpretation by some good musicians with a populist sensibility and modern instruments. Last night, I got to see my idea live on-stage.The Trans-Siberian Orchestra brings classical music alive with electric guitars and drums and bass - Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Mozart, Pachelbel, with distored guitars, throaty vocals, and colored flames, sparks and lazers. So, my vision came to be, right? Well, not exactly.The show was a Christmas show - a Christmas Story told by a narratator and punctuated with rousing renditions of traditional Christmas songs and classical pieces, sometimes with lyrics written for them. Even putting aside the amateurish writing (of lyrics and narration) and the frequently comical juxtaposition of suggestively dressed females singers with the Christams themes, the music was not what I envisioned. Although they played a variety of Tchaikovsky and Mozart and Beethoven pieces, they managed to make them all sound alike. A little keyboard intro leading into a wall of guitar/bass sound. With 2 keyboardists, a drummer, bassist, 8 cello/viola/violin musicians, and 2 guitarists, they pretty much managed to fill every slot in the harmonic territory, leaving no gaps for the listener to enjoy himself. The Tchaikovsky pieces were especially out-of-place as they missed entirely the lightness of the pieces. But there were moments of very good music, thankfully. Their rendition of Pachelbel's Canon in D was done in markedly different style to good effect, and even the lyrics added to the piece were inspiring. Another piece I didn't recognize, also done in a change of style away from the wall-of-rock-sound was excellent - mostly due to the excellent vocalist Jay Pierce and the gospel-bluesy guitar work of Alex Skolnick. Later, the thudding of the electric guitars plus bass worked well for the Beethoven inspired finale, featuring variations on the 9th's second movement and the 5th's first movement. One can easily imagine a deaf Beethoven appreciating being able to feel his music in his very bones. Mozart played in the same style, while fun and amusing, just didn't work as well.The light show was very entertaining though, and the whole production very impressive. I just wish more rock groups, especially the older ones like Kansas and the like, would allow themselves to move on and see themselves as a band, not a group - the difference being the a band plays music live from any composer (not just their own pieces), reinterpreting it for a live audience. Bringing up-to-date the pieces that have made music history. But it needs a little more musical sensibility that what TSO brought last night.

Many years ago, while listening to Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol, it seemed to me a shame that such great classical music had been allowed to fall into disuse. Pieces like Capriccio are clearly of interest to today's youth and rock culture, but just need a re-interpretation by some good musicians with a populist sensibility and modern instruments. Last night, I got to see my idea live on-stage.

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra brings classical music alive with electric guitars and drums and bass - Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Mozart, Pachelbel, with distored guitars, throaty vocals, and colored flames, sparks and lazers. So, my vision came to be, right? Well, not exactly.

The show was a Christmas show - a Christmas Story told by a narratator and punctuated with rousing renditions of traditional Christmas songs and classical pieces, sometimes with lyrics written for them. Even putting aside the amateurish writing (of lyrics and narration) and the frequently comical juxtaposition of suggestively dressed females singers with the Christams themes, the music was not what I envisioned. Although they played a variety of Tchaikovsky and Mozart and Beethoven pieces, they managed to make them all sound alike. A little keyboard intro leading into a wall of guitar/bass sound. With 2 keyboardists, a drummer, bassist, 8 cello/viola/violin musicians, and 2 guitarists, they pretty much managed to fill every slot in the harmonic territory, leaving no gaps for the listener to enjoy himself. The Tchaikovsky pieces were especially out-of-place as they missed entirely the lightness of the pieces.

But there were moments of very good music, thankfully. Their rendition of Pachelbel's Canon in D was done in markedly different style to good effect, and even the lyrics added to the piece were inspiring. Another piece I didn't recognize, also done in a change of style away from the wall-of-rock-sound was excellent - mostly due to the excellent vocalist Jay Pierce and the gospel-bluesy guitar work of Alex Skolnick. Later, the thudding of the electric guitars plus bass worked well for the Beethoven inspired finale, featuring variations on the 9th's second movement and the 5th's first movement. One can easily imagine a deaf Beethoven appreciating being able to feel his music in his very bones. Mozart played in the same style, while fun and amusing, just didn't work as well.

The light show was very entertaining though, and the whole production very impressive. I just wish more rock groups, especially the older ones like Kansas and the like, would allow themselves to move on and see themselves as a band, not a group - the difference being the a band plays music live from any composer (not just their own pieces), reinterpreting it for a live audience. Bringing up-to-date the pieces that have made music history. But it needs a little more musical sensibility that what TSO brought last night.