Thursday, September 22, 2005

Out of a concert, back into oblivion

Here I am, just back from my first concert as a season subscriber of the Seattle Symphony. It was a wonderful concert, with 3 pieces:

Aaron Kernis's Musica Celestis: the only piece in the program that I hadn't heard before, and I was positively impressed. Celestis it is, arranged for string orchestra. Peaceful with powerful moments, but just plain soothing.

Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto, Op. 14: I was never a big fan of Samuel Barber's work and unfortunately this is another of his works that I can live without. It's not bad, especially the soloist, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, was impressive (although I don't trust musicians with their own web page that have worked a lot with "crossover" stuff). But... I just can't say I can really feel the music. Hopefully it's just me.

Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 8 in E minor, Op. 94, "From the New World": Well, this does not need a lot of introduction. Just a wonderful work of art. The guest conductor, Andreas Delfs, was amazingly energetic, although he made the piece a little faster than I would conduct it myself. The first movement was crazy with amazing tempo changes, congratulations Seattle Symphony! Just delightful.

Now I'm back to my office, but just waiting for the next bus (that will be out in 10 minutes, so I have to run). I'll get back to the oblivion another time.

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