The Musical Planets

The final night in the 2008-09 Greensboro Symphony series occurred a little while back, and it was a dandy. Sometimes the performances are udnerwhelming, but not this particular evening. "The Musical Planets" was the theme. The lineup:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551, “Jupiter”
I. Allegro vivace
II. Andante cantabile
III. Menuetto: Allegretto
IV. Molto allegro

Gustav Holst
The Planets, Op. 32
I. Mars, the Bringer of War
II. Venus, the Bringer of Peace
III. Mercury, the Winged Messenger
IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity
V. Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age
VI. Uranus, the Magician
VII. Neptune, the Mystic

An audio-visual display during Holst's works. Pretty nifty. I'd always heard that John Williams (of Star Wars score composing) had ripped off Holst. Now the evidence is as plain as the nose on your face. Being a Star Wars nerd, it was diffifcult to listen and NOT envision Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader prancing about. Take a listen:


Still, a neato evening of culture. Fun!

Symphony night.

Saturday night was our final performance in the 2007-08 season for our Greensboro Symphony Orchestra tickets. After both picking up a little bit of sweet, sweet overtime Saturday morning we hit Gordon favorite Taste of Thai for delicious massamun (to our surprise the menu changed, so after a quick strike of epinephrine and worry, the usual Gordon item '306' was now found as a 'C6'; at least it's still there). Then it was downtown for Cheesecakes by Alex and decadent dessert. Finally, on to War Memorial Auditorium for the symphony.

For Greensboro's bicentennial celebration, tonight's performance was dedicated to the ongoing event. A Beethoven piece composed in 1808 (the year of our town's birth), plus a premiere performance of a work specifically for the bicentennial were performed.

First,

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Fantasia for Piano, Chorus and Orchestra Op. 80
Pedja Muzijevic as guest artist on piano
(The obviously non-Greensboro YouTube performance:)


Second, the world premiere:
Jakov Jakoulov (b. 1958)
The Gifts of the Magi
Character actor and oftentimes History Channel documentary voiceover Peter Coyote, narrator
City of Greensboro Bicentennial Celebration Commission
Jakulov took a short story by Greensboro-born William Sydney Porter, The Gift of the Magi, and composed a frankly odd modern score to accompany it. Who is William Sydney Porter, you ask? You may otherwise know him as O. Henry. An odd piece, as the story takes place on Christmas Eve and it is currently May. Disjointed musical interjections, car horns, off-key shrills, just...odd. But it's art, and as art it had Kimberly and Chris lying in bed afterward still discussing and trying to figure it out.

Finally,
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Andante moderato
III. Allegro giocoso
IV. Allegro energico e passionato
(Again, another non-Greensboro video performance:)


Another fun date night.

Symphony night.

Saturday night, after partaking of "Juno" in the theater, the Gordons mixed in a little bit of Greensboro Symphony between NFL football playoff games. We watched the 1st three quarters of the Packers/Seahawks, went to the symphony, then came home to watch that TiVo'd ending plus the TiVo'd Patriots/Jaguars game into the night.

We get season tickets to the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra Masterworks Series, and Saturday night was our monthly date night for that. A full program that you can enjoy in its entirety if you wish as a rebroadcast on Winston-Salem's WFDD at 8pm on Sunday, February 8, 2008. The pieces played were as follows (mind you, the YouTube performances were NOT Greensboro or the soloist, but performances of the pieces by others):

Jules Massenet (1842-1912)
Scènes alsaciennes
I. Dimanche matin ("Sunday Morning")
II. Au Caberet ("At the Tavern")
III. Sous les tilleuls ("Under the Linden Trees")
IV. Dimanche soir ("Sunday Evening")


Then 23-year old violinist Augustin Hadelich took the stage to play:
Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936)
Violin Concerto in A Minor. Op. 82
I. Moderato
II. Adante sostenuto
III. Allegro


After intermission, it was
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony No.4 in B- flat Major. Op. 60
I. Adagio: Allegro vivace
II. Adagio
III. Allegro vivace
IV. Allegro ma non troppo


Finally, three Hungarian Dances sent us away with a flourish!
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Hungarian Dances
Ending with No.5:


After the performance, we met up with Kimberly's cello teacher Gina who so happens to play in the Symphony Orchestra. A quick backstage tour with her and then we were on our way home for a night of football. An enjoyable day all the way around.