IRIS show pushes envelope

Photo by AP

Martin Short

Not everybody loved Saturday night's IRIS Orchestra's season opening concert.

But nobody will forget it.

The first number to open the 12th season at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre, Copland's "Latin American Sketches," was deceptive, promising a standard program. The lush, precise performance was the caliber we've come to expect from IRIS.

And then it changed.

The departure was not a move away from quality, however, but rather in the direction of adventurous musical work. On top of that was the live-wire performance of actor and comedian Martin Short, who seized the evening with two separate compositions.

It's not easy to categorize H. K. Gruber's mind-bending "Frankenstein!!" Maestro Michael Stern described it frequently using the word "weird." He also invoked Salvador Dali from the visual art world, and Sachertorte from the culinary universe. The piece is an eclectic mix of influences, from children's rhymes to John Wayne to monsters, amplified by not only the orchestra, but toy instruments and exploding paper bags.

Tying it together was Short as "chansonnier," one who sings, narrates, recites and does some of his own sonic exploding. The net effect was a brilliant foray into the senses, not anarchic but non-linear and dreamy. If "Finnegans Wake" had a contemporary musical companion, this would be it.

After intermission, the orchestra performed Prokofiev's popular symphonic tale "Peter and the Wolf." But it was like you've never experienced it before.

Short came out in his persona of Ed Grimley, that maximum nerd whose catchphrases are "I must say," "totally decent" and "makes me completely mental," to name a few. The script for "Peter and the Wolf" was clearly just a guideline, as Grimley cavorted all over the stage, calling up audience members, sitting in the laps of violists, trying to kiss the concertmaster, gyrating to his happy dance, doing Katharine Hepburn impressions and breaking Maestro Stern's baton. Several times.

It was probably the funniest classical concert Memphis has ever had. Certainly one of the most fun. It's also a testament to Stern's boldness in continuing to come up with programming that not only brings quality music to the GPAC stage, but puts a premium on pushing the envelope.

Because even with all the glorious mayhem, the IRIS orchestra played gloriously.

© 2011 Go Memphis. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.