Ah, classical and rock music — who said that never the twain shall meet?
(In the Adagio portion of the first movement of Carl Nielsen’s Fifth Symphony, lush strings open the proceedings — but soon the snare drummer is instructed to improvise. A lot. And loudly. If done well, the effect is that of a single drummer and the orchestra attempting to silence him or her. It’s a shame that my college orchestra wasn’t up to the task of trying this particular piece; I’ll bet Aaron’s wife would have had a grand time sinking her teeth into that one. Come to think of it, the Nielsen Fifth Symphony should probably always be programmed after a performance of Ravel’s Bolero, as an apology to the snare drummer.)
