Again, why Lileks is a genius and I am a loudmouthed lout. While discussing emceeing (spelling????) the symphony, he states:
It went well. They laughed in the right spots, although one line got exactly one (1) laugh; when introducing the scherzo from Shostakovich’s 10th, I noted that it was a criticism of the horrors of Stalin’s tyranny, and that the secret of being able to criticize Stalin in your 10th symphony was to not criticize Stalin in your first. (The conductor of the orchestra barked a laugh from back stage.) The last number was “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Dukas, and the Symphony Orchestra – that’s the big kids ensemble – blew the roof off the shed, as usual.