As famous for their controversial views as for their irresistible melodies, the Beach Boys were one of the first musical acts who dared to speak out in favor of surfing, having fun, and girls from California. Today's Groupon helps you understand what all the fuss is about: for $18, you get a Pavilion B ticket to Endless Summer: The Music of the Beach Boys by the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra (a $37 value). The performance is at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 17, at the J. Ralph Corbett Pavilion. Seating is for Pavilion B only, and will be assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Endless Summer: The Music of the Beach Boys recasts the music of the Beach Boys in a pops-orchestra style, with conductor Matt Catingub leading the sun-splashed melodic proceedings. As the celebrated orchestra transports its audience from the beaches of Cincinnati to the beaches of California, you’ll surf an aural wave of classic tunes from one of America's top-selling musical groups. Accompanying the Cincinnati Pops in the evening will be the rock group Jeans 'n Classics. To help music lovers of all ages get in the mood for nostalgic summertime fun fun fun, pre-concert entertainment includes a steel-drum band, a limbo contest, games of cornhole, and a cavalcade of classic cars. Post-concert side effects may include good vibrations, increased fidelity to one’s school, and an inexplicable desire to sing everything in a falsetto.
Endless Summer: The Music of the Beach Boys is a fun and fascinating introduction for Beach Boys beginners who don't know the difference between Caroline and Barbara Ann, as well as an entertaining new way to hear the band's hits for longtime listeners who regularly introduce themselves at parties as "Al Jardine's Biggest Fan." Ditch your piano in the sandbox and let the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra fill your ears with pet sounds far prettier than the turtle’s belching or the parrot’s bitter political screeds.
Reviews
The Cincinnati Symphony and Pops orchestras have received a great deal of press, including a feature on the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in the Cincinnati Enquirer. Classics Today gave the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's Bela Bartók album a 10/10 rating:
- As if it had been [Music Director Paavo Järvi's] goal throughout, he poured all of his ardor into the final melody, then charged lickety-split to the end. Bear hugs, bravos and a standing ovation followed… – Mary Ellyn Hutton, Enquirer
- The brief Fanfare for Orchestra (1985), in the composer's later, aleatoric style explodes in a brilliant flourish of brass, which the Cincinnati musicians tackle with real gusto. – Victor Carr Jr., Classics Today
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1895, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra—under the direction of Louis Langrée—has matured into one of the nation's melodic heavyweights. Not only was the ensemble the first American orchestra to tour the world, backed by the US Department of State, it also hit the road stateside, playing Carnegie Hall 47 times since 1917. With such an enormous history, it's no surprise that some of classical music's biggest names are associated with the institution. It has housed famous conductors such as Leopold Stokowski and Max Rudolf, and has premiered the works of Debussy, Mahler, Ravel, and Bartók. It's not only responsible for introducing Aaron Copland's A Lincoln Portrait to audiences, it also commissioned his Fanfare for the Common Man into existence. Attracting only the finest players from Ohio and around the world to its stable of musicians, the orchestra continues its second century as an ambassador of symphonic culture.
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