Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3

I didn't think that I would be able to attend a Utah Symphony concert this weekend but, when I realized that I would be back in town sooner than I expected, I immediately bought a ticket for last night.  The USUO organization has taken extraordinary measures so audiences can return to Abravanel Hall safely for live music and those measures were in place again last night.  Even though the audience was much smaller than usual, we tried to show our appreciation for a wonderful performance!  The orchestra, which once again consisted of just the strings (along with a harpsichord), began with with Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 by Johann Sebastian Bach.  It is one of Bach's most popular concertos and it was lovely, as usual.  Then the strings performed Transfigured Night by Arnold Schoenberg.  This is a moody and atmospheric piece about two lovers who walk through a moonlit forest.  The beginning is quite dark and mournful as the woman confesses that she is pregnant with another man's child but it becomes joyful as the man forgives her and they are transformed by love.  I had never heard this before and I really enjoyed it.  Just like last week, there were a few more surprises after the program concluded.  The stage emptied and a group of musicians from the woodwind section entered to perform Afro-Cuban Concerto for Woodwind Quintet by Valerie Coleman.  I really liked the rhythm of this piece and I liked that each instrument (bassoon, clarinet, flute, horn, and oboe) was given a moment to shine.  Next, the percussion section took the stage to perform Omnes Trio by Andrea Venet.  This piece was seriously cool and I absolutely loved it!  It was as much fun watching the three musicians playing the various drums, cymbals, and gongs (it was almost as if it was choreographed) as it was listening to them!  The percussion section was joined by the brass to conclude the evening with the world premiere of a piece commissioned by the Utah Symphony called Changes/Transitions by Quinn Mason.  It is a celebration of the progress made for racial equality, the acknowledgement that more work is needed, and the hope that people will continue to bring about necessary change.  This was accompanied by images from peaceful BLM protests around the world and it was very powerful (I was very heartened by the fact that this piece received the loudest applause of the evening).   I loved being back at Abravanel Hall for live music again!

The Devil All the Time

I was kind of on the fence about seeing The Devil All the Time.  I haven't read the book upon which it is based and the trailer didn't really appeal to me but my friend gave it such a good review that I decided to see it last night (I know that it is now streaming on Netflix but I prefer seeing movies on the big screen).  It is a Southern Gothic tale set in the small towns of Knockemstiff, Ohio  and Coal Creek, West Virginia in the 1950s and 1960s.  Willard Russell (Bill Skarsgard), traumatized by an event during World War II, resorts to a blood sacrifice to try and save his dying wife Charlotte (Haley Bennett).  Roy Laferty (Harry Melling) is a fire-and-brimstone preacher who kills his wife Helen (Mia Wasikowska) while in the grip of a religious mania.  Years later their pious daughter Lenora (Eliza Scanlen) falls under the spell of an unscrupulous preacher (Robert Pattinson).  Carl Henderson (Jason Clarke) and his wife Sandy (Riley Keough) lure unsuspecting hitchhikers into the woods to take photos of them as they die.  Sheriff Leo Bodecker (Sebastian Stan) is a corrupt politician on the take from members of a prostitution ring.  All of these characters have a profound impact on Arvin Russell (Tom Holland) as he searches for both revenge and redemption.  Like all of the best Southern Gothic stories, it is very dark and very violent but it is a brilliant commentary on the dangers of religious fanaticism and the abuse of power.  The narrative is nonlinear and it almost seems like a series of vignettes at times but all of the stories eventually converge in several dramatic scenes and I was completely riveted because I had to know what connected all of these characters.  Even though some of the events portrayed are quite grisly, the images on the screen are surprisingly beautiful and serve to emphasize that evil is lurking just below the surface of even the most innocuous of places.  The all-star ensemble cast is fantastic but Pattinson and Holland are especially noteworthy.  Pattinson practically steals the show in a flamboyant performance that is fun to watch even if his actions are reprehensible and Holland delivers his best performance to date as a young man who refuses to let evil go unpunished.  My only complaint would be the extensive voice-over narration, provided by the author Donald Ray Pollock, because it sometimes keeps the characters at a distance.  This will definitely not be for everyone (several people left the theater in my screening) but I think it is extremely powerful and I highly recommend it.

Note:  It is in select theaters for a limited engagement as well as streaming on Netflix.

Infidel

I never saw a trailer for Infidel but when I read that it was based on a true story about a kidnapping in the Middle East I was really intrigued and decided to see it last night.  Doug Rawlins (Jim Caviezel) is a popular Christian blogger who is invited to speak at an interfaith conference in Cairo.  While being interviewed on television, he openly proselytizes which angers many Muslims, including a group from Hezbollah who kidnap him and imprison him in Lebanon.  After Doug secretly contacts his wife Liz (Claudia Karvan), who works for the U.S. State Department, she publicizes his case so he is moved to Iran where is tried on false charges of espionage and sentenced to death.  When the State Department refuses to get involved, Liz travels to Iran on her own in a desperate attempt to rescue her husband.  While there are some really great action sequences, this movie is unnecessarily convoluted because it doesn't know what kind of movie it wants to be.  The filmmakers take great pains to establish Rawlins as a man of faith who is kidnapped for his beliefs but this is, ultimately, a red herring for the real reason for his kidnapping (a subplot briefly introduced and abandoned in the first act and then awkwardly brought back in the third) which turns the movie into a political thriller.  Characters and situations are introduced very haphazardly (the editing is an absolute mess) and it sometimes takes a few minutes to get the gist of what is happening and, more importantly, why it is happening.  Liz is first helped by a small sect of Christians practicing in secret in Tehran but then they disappear from the narrative and the rescue becomes a dramatic operation by a group of underground spies who suddenly appear without explanation.  I can appreciate characters who follow their convictions no matter the cost but Doug is inexplicably bland and passive so I was never really invested in him or his fate.  His Muslim captor Ramzi (Hal Ozsan), on the other hard, is incredibly intriguing and, even though his actions are reprehensible, his motivation is compelling.  His wife Liz (who, it is revealed in several flashback scenes, has lost her faith) is also much more sympathetic, in my opinion, because she will do anything to save her husband.  I'm not even sure what the filmmakers are trying to say about Christianity because the message is so muddled but this would have definitely been a much better movie if they had picked a focus. (For the record, I think they should have stayed with the religious persecution narrative).  Finally, this movie also has many technical issues including the aforementioned editing, bad sound design, problematic cinematography (so many mind-boggling Dutch angles), and clunky dialogue.  Give this a miss!

Note:  After watching this movie I wanted to know more about Doug Rawlins.  It turns out that he isn't real at all but a composite of several people who have been held prisoner in Iran.

Utah Museum of Fine Arts

Yesterday Sean and I made a visit to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.  There are three paintings on loan from the Smithsonian American Art Museum that I really wanted to see before they leave on Oct. 4.  I invited Sean to come with me and I was a bit surprised when he enthusiastically agreed.  He is a fan of museums but he usually likes science and natural history ones so I wasn't sure if he would like paintings and sculpture.  He actually really enjoyed looking at the art work and we had a really great time.

Georgia O'Keefe's Manhattan.  This was quite spectacular to see in person because of its scale and vibrant colors.  When you walk into this particular gallery it is the first thing you see and it takes your breath away.

Here is Sean posing in front of it to show its actual size.  

Alma Thomas's Red Sunset, Old Pond Concerto.  Thomas is a lesser-known artist who is starting to be more recognized for her contribution to post-war abstraction.  The brush strokes are meant to mimic how the light hits the ripples in the water.  It was beautiful in its simplicity.

Thomas Moran's Mist in Kanab Canyon, Utah.  This painting was one that helped shape popular perceptions of the American West in the nineteenth century.

Another painting on special loan to the UMFA through a collection-sharing program called Art Bridges is Diego Rivera's La ofrenda.  I am a huge fan of Rivera (I used his paintings when I taught about Mexico in my World Geography classes) so it was thrilling to be able to see this in person.  It will also leave on Oct. 4.

There is a temporary display (through Nov. 8) called Beyond the Divide which features scrolls, screen dividers, sculpture, prints, and Samurai armor and weapons from Edo-period Japan.

These screens are quite spectacular because they are covered in gold leaf.  I found them fascinating.

We also enjoyed wandering through the permanent collections.  Sean was particularly taken with these two paintings by Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun in the European Collection.  I bought him a book about all of the paintings in the UMFA and he immediately looked Le Brun up.  He told me all kinds of facts about her on the drive home (she was the official portrait painter of Marie Antoinette).

He loved this ancient Egyptian coffin for someone named Padiusur in the Ancient Mediterranean Collection.

He also loved this bronze sculpture in the South Asian Collection.

There is plenty to see in the permanent collections at the UMFA but if you would like to see the paintings on loan you need to visit before Oct. 4.  The museum is located on the campus of the University of Utah and is now open Wednesday-Friday from 12:00-5:00pm.  It is highly recommended that you purchase tickets online in advance for a specific time block (that seems to be standard operating procedure for most places due to Covid-19).  You may still purchase tickets at the museum but entrance is not guaranteed because museum capacity is now limited to 100 people.  Tickets are $15.95 for adults and $12.95 for youths (6-18) and seniors.  Children under 6, U of U students, UFMA Members, and active military personnel are free.  Masks must be worn while inside the museum at all times and social distancing is recommended.  Go here for more information.

Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings

Last night I had the chance to get dressed up and go to Abravanel Hall to hear the Utah Symphony for the first time since March!  It was an absolutely incredible experience because I have missed live music so much!  Because of Covid-19 the Utah Symphony has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep everyone safe.  They have changed the scheduled programming (at least until the new year) to feature just the strings so that the musicians can be socially distant on stage and can wear masks while they play.  The concerts have been shortened and do not have an intermission to reduce long lines and congregating in the lobby.  Mobile tickets can now be found on the USUO app and will be scanned in order to be contactless.  Patrons must wear a mask at all times while inside Abravanel Hall and will be asked to confirm that they are not experiencing any Covid-19 symptoms (you can also fill out a questionnaire before the concert and show the usher a text confirmation).  Seating capacity for each concert has been significantly decreased to allow for six feet of distance between households (there were three rows and three seats in between each group of patrons) but a Thursday concert has been added to accommodate as many patrons as possible.  When I found out the program for this weekend's concerts I desperately wanted a ticket!  Obviously those subscribers who already had tickets to these concerts had to be accommodated before tickets could be made available to the general public (I am a subscriber but I didn't have a ticket to this concert) but I was absolutely distraught at the thought of not being able to go!  I kept checking every ticketing platform multiple times every day but I always got a message that tickets were not currently available.  I had basically resigned myself to not being able to go when I randomly checked the app early yesterday morning and found tickets!  I was literally giddy with excitement!  It did feel a little bit weird to be in such a small audience (I wondered what the musicians were feeling) but I also felt so privileged to be the first group to see the Utah Symphony perform after such a long break!  The orchestra began with "Joyful Day" from African Suite for String Orchestra by Fela Sowande, a Nigerian composer.  This piece incorporates African folk music into a European form and I really enjoyed it for its playfulness, exuberance, and optimism.  It was selected to represent the joy of being back at Abravanel Hall once again to experience music!  Next came Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber which is one of my favorites (hence the reason I was so desperate for a ticket).  This piece is incredibly haunting and beautiful and, even though it is somber and melancholy, it is also strangely comforting.  This was the perfect way to heal after all of the suffering and disruption we have been through and it brought tears to my eyes.  The program concluded with Serenade for Strings by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.  I love Tchaikovsky (I love all of the Russian composers) and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this piece.  I kept imagining couples whirling around at a ball at the Winter Palace as I listened!  After the program Thierry Fischer told us that he had a few more little "presents" for us and had the orchestra play three more pieces including I Crisantemi by Giaccomo Puccini, "Akinla" from African Suite for String Orchestra by Fela Sowande, and "Hoedown" from Rodeo by Aaron Copeland.  Finally, the entire orchestra performed a piece commissioned from Augusta Reed Thomas called Fanfare of Hope and Solidarity featuring musicians who had recorded their parts at home (or "magic" as Fischer referred to the video presentation).  If you have missed live music as much as I have, I highly recommend getting a ticket for one of the concerts featuring the same program on Friday or Saturday.  I am guessing that some tickets will be made available on the day of each show (keep checking here).