The Fredösphere

Two Americas.  In one, the blue bloods who donate big bucks to UMS, or who can afford subscriptions, get to order their UMS tickets early.  In the other, poor starving artists like me who deserve the good seats wind up in the second balcony nursing bloody noses because we have to wait until Monday to order.

Excuse me, Mr. Fredösphere sir, but as a member of the technological elite who can order UMS tickets online, you don't have to wait until Monday.  You can order this Friday.

Ah!  Now there's a elitism I think we can all agree with!

So, the wifeösphere and I are in intense negotiations over which events we will attend this year.  Follow the link above if you want to see the whole schedule; here's what we're looking at:

October 
Paul Taylor Dance Co.  This is a family performance and we've promised Der Drübermensch he can attend a few orchestral concerts this year.  I'd like to know what kind of music ensemble the dancers tour with.  The program promises Le Sacre will be included -- hey!  I could finally get to see it.
November 
Kremerata Baltica, a chamber orchestra.  They are playing Shostakovich and Schnittke.  The latter's instrumental works are unknown to me, but his Choral Concerto only grows in my estimation every time I hear it.
January 
Lahti Symphony Orchestra.  Canadian pianist Louis Lortie will play concertos by Tchaikovsky (#3) and Prokofiev (#1).  That will be good.  And we'll get to hear Sibelius #2 again -- can they outplay the Israeli Phil, who performed it last season?  Will their security detail be as impressive?
Audra McDonald.  We had tickets last year but she canceled on us when some movie offer came along.  Like some codependent abuse victim, we may get tickets again.
February 
Lorin Maazel and the New York Phil come to town for two concerts.  Will we choose Mozart & Mahler (#5), or Dvorak & Bartok (Concerto for Orchestra)?  Or neither?  Why am I not excited by this?
Soweto Gospel Choir.  I'm not excited about this either, but we gotta have some choir music in this list, right?  And unlike the Trio Mediaeval or the Le Concert Spirituel this won't be at St. Francis, the most painful concert venue in town, and that's worth something, right?
Midsummer Night's Dream by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Choir of the Enlightenment.  This is a semi-staged performance with Mendelssohn's famous incidental music.  Okay, now I'm excited.  Here are the details.
March 
Dan Zanes.  He performs folk music for kids.  But will Der Drübermensch like it if he doesn't bring violins and oboes and tubas and all that orchestra stuff?
Oslo Philharmonic.  Okay, this Previn/Mutter concerto has me curious, and the Afternoon of a Faun would be very easy on the ears.

Why is it, every year, the cram so many of the concerts I care about into February and March?  I will give them credit for scheduling nothing during Holy Week.  In 2003 Tom Sheets conducted the Brahms Requiem on Good Friday and I had to give my tickets away, and this year Bill Bolcom's lollapalooza fell on Maundy Thursday.  Church Musicians Not Welcome, I guess.

We'll probably go to half these.  We'll have to rely on what is provided by the Ann Arbor or Detroit orchestras for kiddie koncerts.  Once again, I'll miss the vocal offerings, because most of them are all-early music and that's too hard on my attention span.  Somebody please tell UMS to bring back the modern choir music.