An Open Ending

On Friday night, I had the chance to once again see and hear the beautiful violin virtuoso, Anne-Sophie Mutter. She was amazing. MTT conducted which was a double treat for me. Another added bonus to this concert was that the composer was also there to witness the premiere of her work for the first time in SF. So the geek in me was in classical heaven to have been there to experience a first! Picture this, MTT and Anne-Sophie, on stage and the composer, Sofia Gubaidulina, sitting in the box seat to my peripheral left. Wow!

MTT gave a commentary breakdown of the piece prior to playing. I like listening to him talk. He's so animated and captivating. I can seriously sit there and listen to him talk about music all day long. I probably won't even know half the stuff that he'll be saying but it wouldn't matter because I'll just feed off his energetic passion for classical music. He'll probably talk my ears off about Mahler, who he's obsessed with. Yes, I'm perfectly aware that he's a flamboyant diva but he's definitely on my top 5, lunch date, wish list :)

Time escapes me when I'm sitting in that reddish, velvety chair which by the way is not that comfortable either. I think they purposely designed it that way so that people won't inadvertently fall asleep. Although I love romantic pieces from Shostakovich or Rachmaninoff, they can definitely lull me into a deep, hypnotic slumber given the right medium such as a comfortable chair. So, hooray for semi-itchy, non-rocking, symphony seats.





The symphony offers me the escape from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. For the two hours that I'm there, I forget everything - worries, fears, egos, self-doubts, sometimes even the person next to me and all the nonsense that we can all get so caught up in defending. When the music starts, I am completely immersed in the sight and sound of each instrument collectively coming together to form a beautiful harmony. Nothing else can give me that experience. Hiking gives me peace and clarity while the symphony gives me the "nothing". The "nothingness" gives me everything I want - silence in thoughts which equates to being present in time. No clamoring thoughts of to-do lists or creating intricate web of future plans. With "nothingness" I get to experience the "now".

After the concert, I sauntered over to the store to see if they have any new classical giants bobble head but they didn't. I found these instead. Soooo CUTE! You HAVE to read the stories. It's HIGHLARIOUS!!!

I had to hold myself back from buying all of it. I have to save some excitement for the next concert which by the way is going to be really fun! After hours anyone?

Check it out...

http://sfsymphony.org/season/Event.aspx?eventid=26946

Then on Saturday, we had a going away party for Marge...sadness :(

I'll miss you Marge! As much as technology creates unnecessary distance, on the other hand it also ridicules the latitude and time zone separating us. What a paradox! I guess, Yahoo Instant Messenger will be my new best friend.

"There is a past, but not now. There is a future, but not now. I have to pee, right now... "

jakey