Did I mention and C & I took c to her first Symphony on Friday. I wanted to pick one that would keep her awake and when I heard the Utah symphony would be performing Carmina Burana I thought. Perfect!Camina Burana is about wickedness. Dang it. Although critics may argue with me, I choose to believe that it has the wholesome message of "wickedness never was happiness" because it ends with O Fortuna (or maybe Orff just thought is sounded so amazing he'd put it in twice). I love, LOVE Stravinky's Rite of Spring.. same thing, so apparently I like music about springtime wickedness. However, I have always been able to make up my own stories about music.. which is fun and I usually make them a bit more G rated OK.. PG/PG13 a girl need a little romance in there. Rite of Spring just sounds like things growing and the violent parts could be like when it snows and has dark clouds in April that bug. Or, it could be like an East wind. I even like to make up my own lyrics to Broadway musicals.. but I have to kind of keep them to myself.. because it's a big pet peeve of C's (he always remembers the right lyrics and is never forced to make up his own).
My imagination has a tougher time when they flash super titles over the stage. When they got to the point of "untying the chains of virginity" or something like that.. there was actual sniggering in the audience. I did not snigger! But the soloist was so funny and fun to watch.. I did have to smile!
I like to watch the orchestra and what a sight it is when they perform Carmina Burana. I think there are like 300 people on the stage. Am I exaggerating? I counted and the choir had more than 150 members. Wow! They could really sing too! The soloists were amazing. There were two concert grand pianos and they seemed to have all the instruments.. even a celesta (is that what you call the tiny piano?) One thing about the symphony.. they don't always have all the instruments. Some pieces just don't call for a trumpet (almost always sad I think:) But Carmina Burana has all or almost all the instruments. Can you tell I'm not an expert on music? Little c likes the clarinets best.
Anyway, there must have been some musical experts in the audience.. and there was a standing ovation with 3 call backs... (However, if you don't get a standing ovation with at least one call back.. you're not in Utah!) But still! It was really, really great. C loved it and so did c.. so the evening was a success and now a great memory. .. I like that part too.
6 comments:
What a nice idea! I remember attending my first symphony performance w/ my parents. I felt so grown up. I'm excited to share that experience w/ my kids when they are old enough.
Carmina Burana is great! What a powerful piece of music. Rite of Spring too. I've seen both live.
I like your observations about the instruments too. This consideration works into the symphony's budget. The cheapest repertoire to play is Baroque (Bach, Vivaldi) and Classical (Mozart, Haydn) because they're mostly just strings with a smattering of woodwinds. Music from the Romantic period (Brahms, Schumann, late Beethoven, Wagner) are more expensive because they'll contain brass and percussion as well.
There you go: insider tips :)
Awhile back, I heard a fun thing about Rite of Sping on NPR's radio lab. The first time it was played for an audience it caused everyone to go crazy because of the dissonance. Later, it seems, other audiences quite loved it and it quickly became a masterpiece/classic. (Or something along those lines.)
What a great thing to do with C. I have fond memories of going to the symphony when I was a kid.
What a great weekend in Salt Lake you guys had! I am so glad for you, sounds wonderful!
Hey Lilli! Thanks for the insider tips.. I love that. It was so much fun and can't wait to take c again. She just loved it!
Jealous. That is one of my favorites. My jr. high band teacher swindled me out of the kettle drum and into that damn french horn. curses.
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