I grew up a fan of National League ball thanks to the Houston Astros. Even though they’ve now defected to the American League, I still hold a place in my heart for NL teams, so I’ve been rooting for the Cubs to win the World Series.
And while the both the Chicago Symphony and Cleveland Orchestras have long storied histories with many, many great recordings to their credit, I was delighted to see Cleveland bring their ‘A’ game to Game Seven for a Classical World Series win. Members of the orchestra's string section were invited to play "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the start of Game 7.
As I write this (9:48 p.m.), the Cubs are ahead 6-3 at the end of the seventh inning. So, Go Cubs, but "bravo!" to the Cleveland Orchestra and kudos to Major League Baseball for choosing a real institution to open this historic game.
UPDATE: Holy cow, it's tied going into the ninth inning. Oh, and here's a little classical-themed perspective on this World Series:
Last time the Cubs won the Series, the principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera was Gustav Mahler.
— Richard Brody (@tnyfrontrow) November 3, 2016
FINAL UPDATE (11:48 p.m.) The Cubs win the World Series!!!!! Over a century since their last World Series win!!! The Chicago Symphony Orchestra hadn't even been recorded when the Cubs last won. Wow...
Okay, so check out the Cleveland Orchestra strings' performance and the audience sing-along in the video below.
What a job by the @CleveOrchestra tonight! Beautiful anthem! (Photo: Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/nUlJpXf64R
— WKYC 3News (@wkyc) November 3, 2016
