It was a little early for Valentine's Day, but Cheryl and I went to the Symphony tonight to attend a concert of Romantic Piano music. This is the first in a series of four concerts which Cheryl received as a combination Christmas/birthday present.
Naturally, the weather decided to change from its heretofore mild setting to one of heavy snowfall, which made our sojourn downtown an interesting event all by itself. But our fellow travellers were gracious enough to keep the speeds down to a manageable level so that no one slipped or slid into anyone else (or any thing else) and we arrived safe and sound.
It was wonderful to be out and about, all dressed up, just the two of us, with an evening's entertainments ahead of us.
We first walked the length of the Concert Hall building, as the parking entrance was located on the north side and the restaurant to which we were headed was located south of the building. We really didn't feel up to walking all the way around the building outside in the cold, snowy wind. After this brief exercise, we walked about a block (or perhaps slightly less) to the little Thai restaurant where we had a bit of dinner: some yummy tom kha gai soup to warm us up, followed by a mildly-spicy repast of noodles and such.
Thence back to the Concert Hall - through the wintry air and blinding snow! - to our seats, which were down front, close enough to see the faces of the first chair players, but too close to see over their heads to the percussionists in the back. Still, the music was wonderful.
The sequence of the pieces was redone at the last minute, owing to the fact that several members of the Symphony - and several members of the audience - were delayed by the inclement weather. So first we listened to the rhapsodic Piano Concerto No. 2 as played most beautifully by the French pianist, Lise de la Salle. She received two standing ovations, after which she graced us with another composition (whose identity escapes me) which thoroughly dazzled the audience. I'm not sure if it was because no one recognized it, or because its style was so completely different than the previous one, but we were all stunned. And Lise looked particularly exhausted. I wondered at the time if perhaps the jet lag was getting to her.
The next piece was quite interesting as well but for very different reasons. Called "Sukkot Through Orion's Nebula", it is a commissioned work for James Lee III, a graduate of the University of Michigan, and is described in the following manner by the Grand Rapids Press:
Suffice to say that it was ... interesting. Not "romantic" in the sense of sentimental, but very brassy and percussion-filled and definitely not the type of work to use in wooing your Lady Love. Unless she's into John Philip Sousa marches, which this reminded me of at times.
Then on to the climactic Brahms Symphony Number 2, which was, for me, a wonderfully relaxing way to end the evening, especially when my tummy was full, my body was warm, and my Lovely Lady was sitting beside me, holding my hand. Frankly, it might've been a bit too relaxing; I nodded off a couple times. I attribute this to the fact that the hour was late, the day was nearly done, and the music was very soothing.
After all that, it was difficult to jump back into reality and walk over to the parking deck and get into the car and drive out into the bitter, windy cold of our tentative Michigan winter. But jump we did. Back to reality, back to home, back to warmth of family and hearth. And cookies. I think we had cookies.
Lovely, lovely evening with a lovely, lovely lady.
Naturally, the weather decided to change from its heretofore mild setting to one of heavy snowfall, which made our sojourn downtown an interesting event all by itself. But our fellow travellers were gracious enough to keep the speeds down to a manageable level so that no one slipped or slid into anyone else (or any thing else) and we arrived safe and sound.
It was wonderful to be out and about, all dressed up, just the two of us, with an evening's entertainments ahead of us.
We first walked the length of the Concert Hall building, as the parking entrance was located on the north side and the restaurant to which we were headed was located south of the building. We really didn't feel up to walking all the way around the building outside in the cold, snowy wind. After this brief exercise, we walked about a block (or perhaps slightly less) to the little Thai restaurant where we had a bit of dinner: some yummy tom kha gai soup to warm us up, followed by a mildly-spicy repast of noodles and such.
Thence back to the Concert Hall - through the wintry air and blinding snow! - to our seats, which were down front, close enough to see the faces of the first chair players, but too close to see over their heads to the percussionists in the back. Still, the music was wonderful.
The sequence of the pieces was redone at the last minute, owing to the fact that several members of the Symphony - and several members of the audience - were delayed by the inclement weather. So first we listened to the rhapsodic Piano Concerto No. 2 as played most beautifully by the French pianist, Lise de la Salle. She received two standing ovations, after which she graced us with another composition (whose identity escapes me) which thoroughly dazzled the audience. I'm not sure if it was because no one recognized it, or because its style was so completely different than the previous one, but we were all stunned. And Lise looked particularly exhausted. I wondered at the time if perhaps the jet lag was getting to her.
The next piece was quite interesting as well but for very different reasons. Called "Sukkot Through Orion's Nebula", it is a commissioned work for James Lee III, a graduate of the University of Michigan, and is described in the following manner by the Grand Rapids Press:
Ambitiously conceived to honor the Old Testament harvest holiday and the arrival of the Messiah, not from the heavens, but from outer space, Lee's festive piece was full of heroic gestures, rich internal melodies and an expansive palette of percussion. Brawny, striking, tuneful in seven movements.
Suffice to say that it was ... interesting. Not "romantic" in the sense of sentimental, but very brassy and percussion-filled and definitely not the type of work to use in wooing your Lady Love. Unless she's into John Philip Sousa marches, which this reminded me of at times.
Then on to the climactic Brahms Symphony Number 2, which was, for me, a wonderfully relaxing way to end the evening, especially when my tummy was full, my body was warm, and my Lovely Lady was sitting beside me, holding my hand. Frankly, it might've been a bit too relaxing; I nodded off a couple times. I attribute this to the fact that the hour was late, the day was nearly done, and the music was very soothing.
After all that, it was difficult to jump back into reality and walk over to the parking deck and get into the car and drive out into the bitter, windy cold of our tentative Michigan winter. But jump we did. Back to reality, back to home, back to warmth of family and hearth. And cookies. I think we had cookies.
Lovely, lovely evening with a lovely, lovely lady.
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