You Should've Been There: Yo-Yo Ma w/the Eugene Symphony [Hult Center, 9/30/08]

Now he's serious, now he's happy. The weird facial expressions of Yo-Yo Ma.

• Given the astronomical ticket prices to Tuesday's special engagement with Yo-Yo Ma, I expected to see only the upper-crust of Eugene and Portland's art-o-cracy in attendance. I was surprised, then, to see so many young people in the audience, including a few couples who appeared to make it their "date night." After the show I attended a going-away party for a friend who lives in the Whiteaker. The twentysomethings at the party knew who Yo-Yo Ma was and were in awe that I could attend. This is why we, and performing arts companies, need superstar artists and athletes.

• Beethoven's Leonore Overture No.3, Op. 72b was a lovely prelude to the evening, but definitely sagged in spots. At one point the First Trumpet got up and left the stage in the middle of the piece. I figured he had to go to the bathroom, but a few minutes later a mournful battlefield trumpet sounded from off-stage. It was a brilliant move and reminded me how much I love this human invention called music. Haydn's Cello Concerto in C Major had a few inspiring moments but didn't really showcase Ma's cello skill very well. After intermission, the Symphony came back for Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32, and had a few sleeper passages intermingled with bursts of energy, especially from Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, who likes to have precise "hang time" when he jumps up during emotive sweeps. But the real show-stopper was the final piece, Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33, when Ma rejoined the orchestra (and once again the brass had to exit) and proceeded to shred a seriously engaging evening to bits. Mind you, the string section of the ES deserve proper credit; especially Concertmaster Kathryn Lucktenberg, who had a few flirtatious back-and-forth with Ma going during the allegro and andante passages (for your dirty mind's information, it was all in the script).

• The most exciting aspect of Ma's performance (for those who are not close enough, or without binoculars, to see his myriad facial expressions) is his hand movements across the fretboard. Lightning quick and organically expressive, the movements directly correspond to the rich sound coming from Ma's hundreds-years-old cello.

• I love it how you can tell virtuoso performers from standard orchestral performers by how much their instrument seems to be an extension of their bodies. Last night, it was easy to see that Lucktenberg truly is one with her violin. Too, Yo-Yo Ma seemed to embrace his cello like it was the love of his life. This stood in contrast to other ES musicians, who have a bit of distance from their instruments, a bit of wariness and hosility, even. Well, I mean relative to Lucktenberg and Ma.

• Ma's cello performance was what you'd expect from one its masters — brilliant in his technique, unique in his execution — but did it deserve two standing ovations? It's now customary and polite to give visiting artists a standing ovation at the Hult Center. To do anything else would seem rude. The Hult Center is not exactly a coveted venue for soloists, so to give off the impression that Eugeneans are unthankful would probably be disasterous for company's like ES trying to secure the heavyweights. But still ... it's starting to feel ridiculous.

• Though thanks to one of those standing ovations, Ma returned to the stage with his cello to give a solo encore. I didn't recognize the piece, but it seemed like a facile one from Ma's repertoire. The audience was pleased.