I had commented to Debby last year that I hoped to hear an organ concert some day at Benaroya Hall's 2500-seat main auditorium, which houses a Fisk concert organ (tracker action, 83 stops, 4,490 pipes, three manuals). The organ was delivered shortly after the hall was built and had its first performance in 2000. The organ required 50,000 hours of labor.
Debby found a classical music program she thought I'd like that involved organ music and we got some nice tickets for Sunday afternoon. Music Director Gerard Schwarz (retiring after this, his 26th season) conducted the Seattle Symphony in four pieces: Brahms' Shicksalslied, Strauss' Thus Sprach Zarathustra, Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony, and a new world premiere offering.
The Strauss piece is inspired by Nietzsche's philosophical allegory of the same name. Its opening theme, octaves over fifths, was used as the opening theme of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, a fitting setting for Strauss' musical dramatization of human evolution. The Saint-Saëns Symphony #3 was written as a tribute on the death of Franz Lizst, which explains the inclusion of both piano and organ.
These three noted romantics number among my favorite composers. We got to hear the acoustics of the hall being well-exercised by the Symphony Chorus backing the orchestra in the Brahms and the organ supporting the Saint-Saëns and Strauss. The hall and its organ were conceived on Maestro Schwarz’s watch, as much a part of his large Seattle legacy as is his music making. We are pleased to have been to two of his concerts in our short time here. Sunday’s was a treat.
Debby found a classical music program she thought I'd like that involved organ music and we got some nice tickets for Sunday afternoon. Music Director Gerard Schwarz (retiring after this, his 26th season) conducted the Seattle Symphony in four pieces: Brahms' Shicksalslied, Strauss' Thus Sprach Zarathustra, Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony, and a new world premiere offering.
The Strauss piece is inspired by Nietzsche's philosophical allegory of the same name. Its opening theme, octaves over fifths, was used as the opening theme of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, a fitting setting for Strauss' musical dramatization of human evolution. The Saint-Saëns Symphony #3 was written as a tribute on the death of Franz Lizst, which explains the inclusion of both piano and organ.
These three noted romantics number among my favorite composers. We got to hear the acoustics of the hall being well-exercised by the Symphony Chorus backing the orchestra in the Brahms and the organ supporting the Saint-Saëns and Strauss. The hall and its organ were conceived on Maestro Schwarz’s watch, as much a part of his large Seattle legacy as is his music making. We are pleased to have been to two of his concerts in our short time here. Sunday’s was a treat.
Awaiting the Maestro
We showed up an hour early to hear a talk by a local music critic attempting to explain the difference between classical and romantic music. In a nutshell, he thinks classical music deals with external reality as it is, while romantic music deals with internalized fantasies of the real world. Also, it appears that much of classical music tends to the formulaic.
We enjoyed the lecture and the concert. That big organ rocks. Afterward, we grabbed an early dinner at Wild Ginger, an Asian fusion restaurant across the street. That worked well for avoiding the crowd exiting the hall. The Vietnamese hot and sour fish soup, together with a Boom Boom Syrah, capped a really nice afternoon. (Flamboyent ex-rock promoter and now Walla Walla vintner Charles Smith has been likened to a wine cartoon, and it is said he is about to be immortalized as a Pokemon character, but his outfit makes deliciously affordable Syrahs.)
Further concert notes are posted in Areas of Interest, under the Reviews page, where I allow myself to wax obsessively about details.
We enjoyed the lecture and the concert. That big organ rocks. Afterward, we grabbed an early dinner at Wild Ginger, an Asian fusion restaurant across the street. That worked well for avoiding the crowd exiting the hall. The Vietnamese hot and sour fish soup, together with a Boom Boom Syrah, capped a really nice afternoon. (Flamboyent ex-rock promoter and now Walla Walla vintner Charles Smith has been likened to a wine cartoon, and it is said he is about to be immortalized as a Pokemon character, but his outfit makes deliciously affordable Syrahs.)
Further concert notes are posted in Areas of Interest, under the Reviews page, where I allow myself to wax obsessively about details.
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