beethoven symphony no. 5

On Sat evening, Diana, Karen, Alex and I attended the San Francisco Symphony, and saw a spectacular performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.

I'd never been to the symphony in SF, and Davies Hall was an impressive sight. Even though we had nosebleed seats ("We prefer 2nd tier orchestra, as the accoustics are better up here"), the view was amazing. The hall itself is beautifully constructed - an epic edifice that makes one feel both overwhelmed and at home. We were dead center, so we had a nice view of the orchestra. Karen even brought binoculars - "in case there's a really hot violinist."


The view from the stars... no hot violinist in sight.

The first half started out with Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 12. Like all Mozart concertos, it was beautifully arranged and pleasant. We clapped politely when it ended. I thought the symphony did a fantastic job pulling the pieces together with feeling, but in general, I find Mozart rather bland. Then the next piece came on: Hindemith's Left Hand Concerto. Diana commented, "It was written in the 1920's, so its probably all experimental or something."

Experimental was a nice way to put it. I found it to be cacophonous - yes, that's an SAT vocab word, but its really the only way to describe it. It was all in minor keys, and the various parts of the orchestra seemed to be playing against each other. It was definitely meant to agitate. Karen liked it, but I guess I'm more traditional. As the Chinese people behind me complained (in Mandarin), "What is this crap?"


Moi, Karen et Diana on the steps of Davies Hall


"This place scares me..."


Diana makes me take the picture again with a real smile.


Karen showing off her fabulous new haircut.

After intermission, the Beethoven started, opened by the famous first lines. The performance was enthralling - it seemed like only minutes passed before the entire piece ended. I can't explain my passion for Beethoven, but I felt the music coursing through my veins. I wanted to sing, but there were no words; I wanted to dance, but there was no rhythm. I always feel like this when I listen to Beethoven live, but it was like I was part of something bigger, grander. As soon as the last note ended, the audience burst into wild applause.

Since we were all dressed up, we decided to head to Absinthe for drinks and a light meal, like all the other frou-frou theatre people. But first, I had to go to the ladies room to remove my bra. My dress kept falling down all night, and double-side taping it didn't help, so I was flashing everyone all night. If it was a nice bra, I wouldn't have minded, but it just looked dumb. Alex was paying so little attention that he wandered in with us, and didn't realize until we said, "Um, its the women's bathroom."

I'd never been to Absinthe either, but I'd heard a lot about it. Maybe I was just cranky that night - the cold medicine was starting to wear off - but I didn't enjoy the wine, and only found the food so-so. The frites were fabulous, however, and the one Kumamoto oyster I had was very yummy. I was ready to collapse by the time we got our check, so we all said our goodbyes, and headed home.