Vacation 2008 - Day 6

I woke up @ 7:45AM on Thursday in order to get my ass up to go to the open rehearsal of the SF Symphony. They were playing Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto #1 and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite. I got ready late and instead of walking there like I had planned, I had to take a cab. I really like taking cabs. You learn all sorts of little things about the city. J

I got to Symphony Hall and had a chocolate donut and some coffee and then took my seat late in the front row of the second tier. The hall was beautiful! It had hanging acoustic panels to help propel the sound upward and outward, and the PA system was lowered from a giant pyramid that was mounted on the ceiling. The organ pipes were beautiful and the view from the second tier gave you a bird’s eye view of all the musicians in the orchestra.

Now, I don’t need to write too much about this experience because two posts ago I blogged the letter I sent to the SF Symphony. But I cried, and I kept on crying. I felt so much. Maestro Dudamel was a 27 y/o conductor, the youngest “major league player” in the world – he will actually take over the LA Philharmonic for Esa-Pekka Salonen in the ’09-’10 season as principal conductor. He is amazing and brings such life and energy to the group. He would bounce from side to side on stage and when he wanted the full force of the orchestra, he would heave his body at them, letting his wild hair fly forth. The orchestra reacted in kind and produced sonic art. Waves of sound pierced the air, and from them were born this undeniable beauty of the world. And it moved me to tears. That human beings could produce such a thing. That such things could exist in the world.

After the concert, I went to the Symphony bookstore and watched a DVD about the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra. There was an interview with a boy who played cello and he showed you his home – that he slept on the top bunk and his brother slept on the bottom. He told you how he loved his cello so much that he sleeps with it – that it’s his voice and he loves it so much. He then plays an excerpt from the Saint Saens Cello Concerto (a difficult piece for even a master’s student) and plays it beautifully. Afterwards, he hugs his cello and says, “I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t play my cello.” I fucking lost it after that. It’s even getting to me right now as I’m writing this.

Afterwards, I had lunch at some bad Chinese place and then did a tour of the SF Conservatory with a cute trombonist ;) Interestingly enough, the undergraduate violists sounded just as bad as undergraduate violists where I went to school.

After the Conservatory tour, I went to the Asian Art Museum. After 1 floor of learning about Buddhism in various countries, I was over it LOL I went downstairs to learn about Geisha, Courtesans and hand painted scrolls, and after that, I was on my way back to my hotel.

I invited over a boy, but I didn't think he was that cute and I told him I wasn't feeling it. He just kinda sat there for minutes, dumbfounded. It was sooooo awkward. :P I ended up feeling bad for inviting him over but not being attracted to him and bought him a drink and an appetizer that we shared.

More to come...