Luckily, AASO had a program just within the deadline.
I wore a black suit although I was sorely tempted to wear my tuxedo. I made Mister wear his orchestra outfit (black shirt, pants, and shoes--but no tie. He complained. I insisted.
Truth be told, we could have gotten away with much more casual dress--even jeans. But I thought it important to do more than what we can get away with. We wear Red Wings garb to Joe Louis Arena and Michigan gear for the Big House, so we can dress right for an orchestra.
I was clearly one of the best dressed in the audience. Mister, too, for that matter. Ann Arbor is a casual town. As I understand it, only attorneys wear suits. If the drunks happily stumbling out of one bar I was at are to believed after work one day some years ago. But their assumption was wrong--I didn't work in Ann Arbor. But I digress.
I confess I know little about classical music. I have a partly read classical music 101 book and a couple of CDs solely because I briefly (sad to say) dated a highly cute lass some years ago, who had this music as a major part of her life. Oh, and I have the tuxedo, of course. But this was a Mozart birthday bash so I at least knew I wasn't accidentally going to have to endure an opera as I did a couple years ago.
Also,years ago I did write a tribute honoring the departing AASO conductor as he left the job. That was one of my prouder moments when you consider I knew even less about classical music then than I do now. But when the state legislator read it on stage, my words apparently brought the man to near-tears according to a colleague who was there that night. So I've got that going for me.
Mister endured it. He's not really into classical music. He said he enjoyed the first several minutes of each piece and then lost interest. He even saw several classmates at the performance. Me? While it isn't something I'd want to do on a regular basis, I enjoyed it. I'd certainly take a date to one.
But I was greatly amused by one piece called a divertimento. Mozart wrote it especially for his sister's birthday. Apparently, this type of music was considered background music for a party and was played quietly so as to not disturb party conversations.
And 250 years later, we sit silently with phones off to listen to the music and nothing else!
It was once live Muzak and now it is classical music.
I now live in fear that the instrumental version of Billy Idol's White Wedding that I heard in the supermarket will one day be played by men and women in formal orchestra attire to an attentive audience.
