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Jenine Baines

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When the Mobile Symphony Orchestra (MSO) established its annual "Beethoven and Blue Jeans" weekend of casual-dress performances nearly ten years ago, it couldn't have come up with a more perfect title...and for reasons far beyond its catchy alliteration.

It's probably safe to say that Beethoven never wore a pair of jeans; blue jeans as we know them originated during the Gold Rush. Nevertheless, Beethoven was without doubt a blue jeans kind of composer. A bit of a clotheshorse in his youth, he became decidedly less dapper as he grew older. In fact, his hair and clothing were once so disheveled and unkempt that the police arrested him.

While the MSO is not encouraging music lovers to follow Beethoven's example and don concert attire so free and easy that it runs afoul of the local authorities, conductor Scott Speck is looking forward to stepping onstage at the Saenger Theatre in Mobile on Saturday, November 10 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, November 11 at 2:30 p.m. and seeing a sea of denim before him.

"The point is to be comfortable," the MSO's Music Director explains. "Attending live performances of classical music is not some stuffy, elitist experience. It can be as regular a part of your life as your favorite pair of jeans."

"Of course, if your idea of comfort is a coat and tie or cocktail attire," adds Stephen Hedrick, Executive Director of the orchestra, "dress accordingly. There's no requirement at ‘Beethoven and Blue Jeans' except to come prepared to enjoy an exhilarating and inspiring performance of great music."

Blue jean-clad MSO patrons will hear more than Beethoven at the concert, however. Following the opening work - Beethoven's short but powerful Overture to Egmont - are Mozart's elegant and sparkling Violin Concerto No. 5, featuring MSO's co-concertmaster Enen Yu, and Shostakovich's epic Symphony No. 5, written to regain favor with the Soviet government after Stalin branded him an Enemy of the People for his earlier works.

Both the Overture to Egmont and Symphony No. 5 reflect the personal struggles of the men who composed them, says Speck. "For Beethoven, the enemy was his deafness," the conductor explains. "That was the great musical theme of Beethoven's lifetime - the titanic struggle to control his own fate."

Two hundred years later, the ‘titanic struggle' for Shostakovich was to survive the Soviet regime. But, at the same time, the composer was committed to revealing the truth about life under communism through his music.

"The Fifth Symphony has moments that are big and bright and triumphant," says Speck. "But there is also an undercurrent of satire and even fear, as if Shostakovich were crossing his fingers behind his back. These are sections of the most searing passion that are amazing to hear live. It's about time we played this piece!"

Speck first conducted Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5 in 1996, when he made his Chinese debut in Beijing.

"It has all the elegance and sparkle of Mozart's other concertos," says the conductor, "plus a really cheeky Turkish section in the third movement, which is a lot of fun for the orchestra to play."

No doubt many MSO patrons will have fun as well, since soloist Enen Yu - co-concertmaster of the MSO and Concertmaster of the Mobile Opera Orchestra - is a longtime audience favorite. In fact, it was when Yu appeared with world-renowned violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama in Mozart's Sinfonie Concertante that the orchestra presented its first sold-out performance in history.

"Enen has a lovely, pristine sound that is perfect for Mozart," says Speck.

Sarah Wright, Education Director, is equally impressed by Yu's artistry in the classroom. "Enen is a superb violin teacher, one of the best in the region," Wright says. "I'm sure busloads of her proud students will be out in the audience for this concert."

As the maestro sees it, attracting busloads of music lovers is what "Beethoven and Blue Jeans" is all about.

"We want people to realize that there's nothing scary about the kind of music we play," says Speck who, among his many accomplishments, co-authored the bestselling book, Classical Music for Dummies. "The greatest composers were huge populists -- they wanted everyone to enjoy their music. Beethoven would have loved this concert."

For more information about the Mobile Symphony Orchestra, its performances and educational outreach programs, visit the orchestra's website at www.mobilesymphony.org. To purchase tickets - which range from $15 to $55 - calll 251-432-7080 or order online. The Saenger Theatre is located at 6 South Joachim Street in Mobile.

The Mobile Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1970 as the Symphony Concerts of Mobile. Its mission was to present world-class touring orchestras such as Alabama Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for six evening concerts.

In 1996, the board of directors decided that to serve the educational, quality of life, and economic development needs of the community, it should create its own orchestra of local professional musicians.