This weekend pops come to San Jose State University on Tower Lawn. Two concerts: Saturday July 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday July 28 at 5:30 p.m. Norman Rockwell will preside, over baskets and blankets, in the light heat on a midsummer’s eve. And it’s all free. Peter Jaffe conducts Symphony Silicon Valley, with soloist Christina Mok, playing golden oldies from the 1720s (Vivaldi), the 1870s (Mussorgsky), the 1920s (Sibelius), and the 1960s (Piazzolla).
“All very enjoyable, toe-tapping light classics,” Mr. Jaffe noted earlier this week. “And of course, with summer there’s always insects and we include Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee for good measure.”
Then on Sunday afternoon, The Wild Wild West, with baritone Ralph Cato singing Rawhide and the theme from Blazing Saddles, plus film music from The Magnificent Seven; Once Upon A Time In The West; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Bonanza; High Noon; Shane. Not to be missed if you grew up in that golden age of movie and TV westerns.
“There are two axioms to describe the appeal of these kinds of pop concerts,” Jaffe told us. His career extends from Stanford to Stockton, from Aspen to Oberlin, and he was recently named music director of the Auburn Symphony.
“One is in the nature of live music. I’m old enough to remember the Moog synthesizer in the 1960s. People were predicting the end of live performances, but of course nothing can replace the synergy you find in a live performance, when you can see and feel the effect of real collaboration. It’s quite inspiring. The other axiom is the notion of what I call ‘elegant risk.’ If it’s live, things can go wrong; there’s no safety net, no retake, and so that it’s always interesting to watch such a wonderful human challenge.
“But also it’s really going to be fun! — whether you’ve experienced this kind of concert or you’ve never heard a symphony in your life. And it’s free!”