Archived under: Deep thoughts, Random | American orchestras
The Concert We did not Hear
This past Thursday to Sunday I was in southern California with my family. My wife found a good deal on reservations at a hotel in San Diego that was next door to the symphony hall, so in between the two days at Sea World the thought came up, hey, why not hear a concert? Checked the website, the San Diego Symphony was playing the Brahms Requiem, a favorite piece of ours and also the soloist was someone my wife went to school with at Indiana University! So we made plans to try to go if possible, figuring it would not be sold out. But it was not to be, we could not get away from Sea World in time, the kids were too into the rides.
What was interesting though was I “heard” at least part of the concert. I think most good musicians can do this, although I have not seen it studied in print. My favorite movement of the Brahms is the second movement. I can easily play a “recording” of the first several minutes of this movement in my head, just in my imagination, at pitch just like listening to an MP3 player. It is part of developing the ear, making those inner connections to the pitches, their sound and feel. Try to develop this skill if you don’t have it, I believe it is a pretty essential skill to have.
Oh, and as to going to concerts, now that we are back in Arizona we are looking over the rest of the Phoenix Symphony season. We want to get to something soon; in the mood for a good classical concert.
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