OREGON SYMPHONY APRIL FOOLS' CONCERT TO SATIRIZE CLASSICAL MUSIC
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Portland Ore. … Vacuum cleaners, cell phones, a floor polisher and rifles will become orchestral instruments in a program of musical wit when the Oregon Symphony presents its April Fools' concert Monday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Resident Conductor Murry Sidlin will conduct.

A hilarious program of music chosen by Sidlin will include Malcolm Arnold's "The Grand, Grand Overture," originally composed for a one-night music festival dedicated to "funny" music. The work employs three vacuum cleaners, a floor polisher, rifle shots and assorted percussion instruments. It culminates in mayhem as the piece echoes Tchaikovsky's "1812" Overture and the rifles "silence" the vacuum cleaners one by one. The program also will include a new version of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf," called "Peter vs. the Wolf," in which the Wolf is on trial for "Duckicide," followed by Peter Schickele's (PDQ Bach) "Iphigenia in Brooklyn," a witty spoof of the cantata form for "bargain countertenor."

The concert will end with a performance of the renowned final movement of Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony, in which players sneak off the stage one by one by a variety of contemporary comical ruses that update Haydn's original instructions.

The April Fools' concert is scheduled for Monday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets range in price from $19 to $57 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office (923 S.W. Washington), Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or charged by phone at 503-228-1353 or (800) 228-7343. Tickets also may be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets (503-790-ARTS) or through Ticketmaster Online, via the Symphony's Web site at www.orsymphony.org. Service fees may apply.