“Let the rhyhtm move you…”
computers, dining and cuisine, education, everyday glory, food for thought, games, health, history, music, news and info, people, science and technology, the world, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! May 28th, 2011Saturday – 28 May 2011
The sun is up and playing Hide and Seek among the clouds. This is good.
Last night, SaraRules! and I, along with our friends Marie and Josh, had an evening out. We had dinner at Settebello (all of us had variations of the same pizza), dessert at Capo and then attended Utah Symphony’s final concert of the 2010-11 season:
The program consisted of:
- Charles Ives – Three Places in New England
- Richard Strauss – Four Last Songs
- Igor Stravinsky – Le Sacre du printemps
I’d not heard the Ives nor the Strauss pieces before. The Ives was a chaotic and frenetic piece; it was the aural equivalent of a hurricane. Yet, in the midst of the storm, Maestro Fischer did a fantastic job of coordinating the musicians. If Three Places in New England was the leading edge of the hurricane, Four Last Songs was the calm eye of the storm. The movements were melodic and serene. Soloist Janice Chandler Eteme‘s performance was beautiful and very well-received — very nearly the entire hall gave her a standing ovation, with three curtain calls. The program closed with La Sacre du printemps (“The Rite of Spring”), another hectic and wildly energetic piece. As the symphony played, I realized that this piece is, in my opinion, one of the musical compositions that should be experienced as a live performance.
During and after the performance, I pondered Director Fischer’s choices for the selections used in this concert. I found there to be something of a counterpoint to the selections — the upbeat and chaotic sounds of Three Places and Rite, contrasted against the mellow tones of Four Last Songs. I also came to the conclusion that ending the season with pieces as energetic as Three Places and The Rite of Spring was akin to ending the season with a very emphatic exclamation point. It closed the season on a very strong note, so to speak — showing that even at the end of a season, Utah Symphony was able to end things with a bang.
All told, the concert was a fine finish to Maestro Fischer’s first season as Music Director and was an excellent end to Utah Symphony’s season.
Stray Toasters
- Gil Scott-Heron, Poet and Musician, Has Died
- Ow. Yesterday’s workout is now having its revenge upon me.
- RSA SecurID breach linked to hacker attack on Lockheed Martin; other US military contractors may be affected
- Too Young for Kindergarten? Tide Turns Against 4-Year-Olds
With a late October birthday, I was four when I started Kindergarten… and I think I turned out alright. Being the youngest in my class never really bothered me. - Saudi woman wants to give women the right to drive in her country
- From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” AND the “Only in Utah…” files comes: Headline of the Week: “Horse herpes outbreak forces rodeo queens to ride stick ponies”
- Anchor from Blackbeard’s ship raised after 293 years off North Carolina coast
The first thing that came to mind when I read this was, “I wonder if raising the anchor has anything to do with the new Pirates movie coming out…?” - Blue Angels commander steps down after subpar performance
Namaste.
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