Please forgive my need to quibble with the sentence “The Phil has had a long association with the music of Frank Zappa”. Yes, they did first perform Zappa in 1970 at Pauley Pavilion on a series called Contempo ’70. Their second performance of Frank’s music was when David Robertson conducted Dupree’s Paradise in 2008. That is a “long association” indeed but it does not reflect the hard feeling which came in between. In 2008 I wrote a little bit about this gap and the ill will which filled it: http://mixedmeters.com/2008/01/paradise-pomp-and-puppets-performing.html

The Zappa set on the Green Umbrella concert Tuesday night was nothing short of impressive. I thought that the enthusiastic audience reaction at the end was mind blowing, especially given the complexity of three of the five pieces. That was a tribute to the audience development of the Philharmonic’s new music series. I hope it also marks the beginning of a continuing presence of Zappa’s specifically concert works in concert halls. Maybe, sixteen years after his death, this performance of Frank’s music will mark the beginning of a long – and positive – association.