Quodlibets: Rapture

Last night, we went to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It was my first time, and I was a little bit apprehensive about it. Would I be bored? I'm not much of a classical music person normally, though I enjoy ballet music (specifically Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty) a bit, and used to listen to it in my dorm room my freshman year, trying to fall asleep before my roommate Sherry got home. But that's about all the exposure to classical music that I have. I've never been to an actual ballet, or opera. Live bands for me are either the rock bands I see in concert, or the smaller group of musicians that play at musicals.

Anyhow, I needn't have worried. I loved the experience, and eagerly look forward to going back. It didn't take me long to decide I liked it--the musicians started playing the first piece, and as the violinists took up their instruments, and readied their bows, I was gone. I've always liked the way strings sound when meshed with rock music, so I suppose it's no surprise that I like strings when used in other ways. I'd just never realized how amazing the sound of all those violins playing in the room would be. It's incredible, the sounds that come out of those things. It's beautiful even if the music isn't beautiful, if that makes sense. I pretty much only focused on the violins, and it was even more of a treat to see Joshua Bell, who is a fantastic violinist. (Though when he's not playing, he's very awkward-looking. I can't exactly pinpoint it, but he only looks right when he's playing. Very odd.) The Orchestra and Bell played Tchaikovsky, which is somewhat familiar to me, only because of my previous ballet listening.

The other thing that was so cool about this performance was Mussorgsky's (apologies if that's spelled wrong) Pictures at an Exhibition. Normally, I think pictures of 19th century Russia are projected during the 30-min piece, but last night, they projected pictures of Chicago, and it really worked for me. In fact, it worked so well that the music was secondary, and I'm not sure if I like that or not. I enjoyed watching the orchestra, and of course, I didn't do that at all while the pictures were being projected. But it was very enjoyable, so maybe I shouldn't complain. Like I said, I'll be going back.

Actually, Kate, S and I will be going back on Sunday, but that's to hear Lang Lang, alone. S is kind of a Lang Lang fan (with limited knowledge), and he really pushed for us to go, so we're going. Kate's a little worried about being bored, but I'm not. Maybe we'll be surprised. Maybe not. Either way, I like this live classical music thing very much.