BRIDGE OVER TREBLE MUSIC

When most people think of “crossover artists” they think of contemporary transformations of well-known singers: country to pop (Garth Brooks), Christian to pop (Amy Grant), pop to classical (Josh Groban), classical to Broadway (Kiri Te Kanawa), or that triple-threat Carrie Underwood, who leapt from country to pop to her recent musical theater debut as Maria in the live televised version of The Sound of Music. There are also “crossover albums” that create fascinating mash-ups. My favorites: Barcelona, featuring Montserrat Caballé and Freddie Mercury, and Our Favorite Things, featuring Tony Bennett, Charlotte Church, Plácido Domingo, and Vanessa Williams. But crossover artists have existed for centuries. Mozart wrote religious and secular works, Brahms wrote commercial music for women’s choruses and symphonies for the concert hall. In Ye Olde Twentieth Century the opera singer Ezio Pinza shocked the opera world by taking to the Broadway stage for South Pacific, turning “Some Enchanted Evening” into a number one hit in 1949. Dave Brubeck studied composition with Darius Milhaud and Arnold Schoenberg before becoming a jazz legend. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Paul McCartney have each written several concert works in a more traditional mode, with Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, and Brian Eno offering edgier combinations with the classical idiom. We cannot really call tonight’s composer-performer a Ben Folds crossover artist because, from the beginning of his career, he defied labels. A native of North Carolina, he learned piano by ear and, while in high school, played piano, bass and drums in a variety of bands. He attended the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. He first found mainstream success as the leader of the Ben Folds Five, crossing alternative, rock and folk-jazz-blues-infused vocals and piano. He is both a consummate solo artist, as singer and pianist, as well as well-respected collaborator, and a well-respected producer, including an album with William Shatner. (Yes, that William Shatner). A resident of Nashville, he is a member of the board of directors of the Nashville Symphony. If that isn’t enough you might also recognize him as a judge from NBC’s a capella competition “The Sing Off.” Folds is also making a foray into the classical realm. A resident of Nashville, he is a member of the board of directors of the Nashville Symphony, with which he debuted his new piano concerto in May. Using a word unfamiliar to those of us accustomed to hearing structured works described in quaint Italian terms, like Andante or Allegro, Folds has been quoted as referring to his piano concerto as “kick ass.” In an interview with the Nashville Scene, Folds called his concerto as being “proudly and overtly derivative.” Among his influences are Prokofiev, Gershwin and Ravel. Tonight Folds shares several sides of his talents with “The Ben Folds Orchestra Experience: A Tour of Symphonic Proportions.” Folds fans will be delighted to hear his popular (or shall I say "familiar," since it is certainly not pop!) music fully orchestrated, not just with the lush sounds of the NSO as back-up, but with a thoughtful, thorough integration of genres. As an improvisatory artist, Folds will most certainly accompany his programmatic works with a variety of musical surprises. Warning: if you demand an encore, expect the unexpected: in Nashville audiences were treated to a sing-along rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze.” Now if that’s not “kick ass,” what is?

Emil de Cou NSO at Wolf Trap Festival Conductor