Photo by Kevin Lynch
Bradley Symphony Center
It was like a microscopic trip into the deepest facets of a diamond. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s new performance home debuted last weekend in extravagant fashion.
Things may never look the same again for this flagship Milwaukee arts organization. The Bradley Symphony Center is the fully re-furnished Warner Theater (212 W. Wisconsin Ave.), a grand artifact of the Art Deco period hidden away in disrepair from public view for decades like a great urban mystery. The venue now transports the MSO concert experience into an era of cultural splendor, something “The Great Gatsby” would have eagerly yearned for. This wholly befits an organization that, by its nature, mines a cultural treasure trove of the past, the classical music repertoire, while striving to attract an audience distracted by a myriad of 21st century entertainment possibilities.
The tension between those two eras was evident, as people attending last weekend’s Doors Open event were requested to take no photographs or recordings, and to turn off all cell phones, while the orchestra performed. Yet this place begs to be adored by camera lenses. Fortunately, the seven-hour tour event allowed ample time for that.
Breathtaking
If the quality of the experience, on its own terms, was any indication, the sumptuous new venue will give our myriad of media distractions a run for their money. The place is breathtaking, from the moment you step inside a grand foyer that rises far above a viewer’s craning neck, with warmly gleaming low-relief metal sculpture and elegant light fixtures hovering imperiously. Even the wide, red-carpeted staircase to the mezzanine level boasts a freestanding railing, straight up its middle, adorned with finely burnished flora and fauna.
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Stepping into the orchestra hall, once a “movie palace,” is a bit like growing sudden visual wings of exultant fancy. The hall is enormous, with walls boasting bucolic murals and more vintage Deco ornamentation, rising to a mighty indirectly lit ceiling. The elegantly stylish hanging lamps are some of the most stunning examples of Tiffany-style light fixtures I have seen.
For elegance, the hall’s only local competition is the Pabst Theater, topped with its classy array of relief sculptures of great cultural figures. But this place is far bigger, a true symphonic hall. When music director Ken-David Masur stepped on stage and cued up the orchestra, it took little time to realize how exquisite the acoustics are.
Waves of Music
If you haven’t heard a live symphony orchestra in virtually ideal audio conditions, get yourself some tickets to the upcoming MSO season and, at least aurally, you shouldn’t be disappointed. Virtually every conceivable detail of the vast instrumentation was vividly audible from the mezzanine. Of course, classical music is primarily aged wine, and not everyone’s delectation, which the youthful new music director seems quite aware of. So, he balanced his program with relatively short, easy-to-swallow pieces of layered flavors, such as Rossini’s stirring William Tell Overture, better known as the theme from The Lone Ranger. But this listener gives Mazur kudos for playing a piece beyond the standard repertoire, by 20th century American composer Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, which was deftly scored for a limpid string orchestra and went down like a spiced chocolate latte.
This is the sort of concert where you might want to sit back, close your eyes, and let the waves of music wash over you. But if so, you miss the chance to see that huge stage of magic in action, part of the intrigue of witnessing a rich orchestral piece.
Other less-exalted traditions of the evening concert experience are preserved, most notably a big bar in the intermission audience area, highlighted by a skylit circular staircase to the lobby. Also, restrooms for patrons are increased from the original building design.
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Photo by Kevin Lynch
Bradley Symphony Center
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Photo by Kevin Lynch
Bradley Symphony Center
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Photo by Kevin Lynch
Bradley Symphony Center
