Kennedy Center Honors: Review
The Kennedy Center honors, taped in early December but broadcast last night on CBS, were very watchable. It’s always a kick to see the President feign interest in the arts (though Obama’s interest isn’t feigned, even if during the broadcast Michelle was much more into the music than her hubby). As for the performance highlights, as much as I enjoyed the Broadway divas’ tribute to Barbara Cook, and as much as Anne Hathaway’s doing the splits in a couture skirt topped anything she did at the Oscars, and as much as it was amusing to hear Bill Cosby’s speech about Sonny Rollins, I’d have to say that the highlights for me were the musical tribute to Rollins that crescendoed with “St. Thomas,” and the tribute to cellist Yo-Yo Ma that featured a wonderfully textured (sonically, I mean) rendition of “Turcaesca,” by The Silk Road Ensemble. The final movement of the Ma tribute was conducted by none other than John Williams.
