Robert (gurdonark) wrote,
Robert
gurdonark

the sixth symphony

At first I thought she had been assigned to play the rhythm sticks, until I saw that she held not a stick, but a tiny piccolo. Through the initial movements, she sat mute, while triangles trinangulated, viola gamboled, and bassoon emitted their charming swoon. I wondered for a moment if she were a probationer, or worse yet, somehow who was being made an example. Then, in the final movement of Mahler's sixth symphony, she began to play her high-pitched notes, adding a chipper, high-pitched sturm to the drang. The celesta celested, the clarinets clarified, and she was part of the action. She, along with the rest of Southern Methodist University's Meadows Symphony Orchestra, handled this symphony with focus and aplomb. In addition, the hall admitted a large group of us for free, perhaps with returned tickets from subscribers. The concert was grand--people can either love Mahler or not love Mahler, but I find Mahler enjoyable. The Sixth, which I had not heard live before, has some lyrically beautiful passages and some forceful passages. The orchestra did a great job with each. I loved the percussionists best of all.

Then I went to Renner Road in Richardson, where they finally re-opened the nature trail after some renovation. I saw skipper butterflies and tiny asters in bloom. I saw Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, mockingbird, and this scissortail flycatcher:

Scissortail flycatcher


I listened to Cagey House, Him and the Drinks, Lisa DeBenedictis, Crisopa, and Ion on my mp3 player, and to
Deepspace on my CD player.

My wife and I settled in to watch the new Ken Burns PBS special about the national parks.
Subscribe

  • classical Pirc

    I got a lot done today. The predicted storm tonight may go to our southeast. We are watching the documentary about the Laurel Canyon music scene.…

  • The Joy of Learning

    I worked a busy day today. I spent part of the morning refreshing my memory on an interesting obscure point of law. I walked in Salmon Park in…

  • Shawnee Park Hummingbird

    I walked in Shawnee Park in Plano after a productive day of work. I saw my first hummingbird of the year. Sometimes I find it difficult to tell our…

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    Anonymous comments are disabled in this journal

    switch
    default userpic

    Your reply will be screened

    Your IP address will be recorded 

    Help
  • 6 comments