Beethoven's Symphony No. 7

I love having a Utah Symphony concert to go to on a Friday night because, in my opinion, it makes the work week so much better to have something wonderful to look forward to at the end of it!  I have been looking forward to last night's concert for a long time because it featured Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, which is one of my favorites, and it didn't disappoint!  The orchestra also played two movements from Olivier Messiaen's epic piece, Des canyons aux etoiles, which he wrote after visiting Southern Utah.  The concert began with "Bryce Canyon and the Red-Orange Rocks" and the orchestra continued after the intermission with "Cedar Breaks and the Gift of Awe."  I enjoyed both of these pieces because I love the red rocks of Southern Utah and I imagined myself there as I listened.  They both featured a lot of percussion, including a few unusual instruments such as a large hoop filled with sand that was swirled around (does this "instrument" even have a proper name?).  Both pieces were often very discordant and jarring but these sounds evoked the powerful forces that created these formations and it was brilliant.  The orchestra was joined by pianist Francesco Piemontesi for Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto.  I really loved this piece because it was incredibly wild and dramatic.  It almost seemed as if Piemontesi was attacking the piano and it was very entertaining to watch!  I also really loved the long timpani roll at the end of the piece.  Piemontesi received a thunderous standing ovation and favored us with an encore (I didn't recognize the piece).  The concert concluded with Symphony No. 7 by Ludwig van Beethoven and this piece gave me goosebumps!  I especially love the second movement because of the repetition of the main theme by the various string sections followed by the woodwinds and the orchestra played it beautifully.  The rest of this symphony is incredibly exuberant and triumphant but I find this movement to be a bit more solemn and melancholy and it really appeals to my dark soul.  It was a wonderful evening and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) to tonight's concert featuring the same program.