Dvorak's Serenade for Strings

Last night I attended an absolutely brilliant Utah Symphony concert which included a varied selection of music spanning over 400 years.  The first half of the concert featured the strings and they began with Lyric for Strings by George Walker.  I had never heard of this contemporary composer before but I really liked this piece because, while it was short, it was incredibly stirring and emotional.  Next came Serenade for Strings by Antonin Dvorak which was as wonderful as I knew it would be.  I love this entire piece because it is so exuberant but I especially love the lilting second movement.  I always imagine couples twirling around a grand ballroom in the 19th century whenever I hear it.  After a brief intermission, the second half of the concert featured the brass and percussion beginning with Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, Part 1 by Joan Tower.  This piece was written especially for women who have taken risks throughout history and I particularly liked the timpani.  The next piece was Sonata pian' e forte by Giovanni Gabrieli.  This sounded very religious to me and I imagined that it was being played in a large Renaissance cathedral.  Next came "Evangile" and "Apocalypse" from Fanfares liturgiques by Henri Tomasi.  This piece was very dramatic and featured themes played by the trombones.  My favorite piece of the evening, Funeral March by Edvard Grieg, came next and it was stately and somewhat militaristic because of the inclusion of the snare drum and it reminded me so much of Norway.  It was written in memory of Grieg's friend Rikard Nordraak, who died while he was away, and Grieg loved it so much he requested that it be performed at his own funeral.  I loved it, too, and I imagined a solemn funeral procession with a caisson carrying a coffin draped in black crepe through the rainy streets of Oslo as I listened.  Night Signal - Signals from Heaven II by Toru Takemitsu, which is about a herald angel, was another short but emotional piece.  The concert concluded with Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man.  I have heard it many times but last night's performance of it nearly reduced me to tears.  Copland wrote it during World War II as a tribute to the spark of light found in each of us and it just seemed so appropriate for right now.  I also really enjoyed guest conductor David Robertson.  He reminded me a lot of Maestro Fischer (who recently extended his contract to remain with the Utah Symphony through 2023) because he had a light touch with the orchestra and a soft-spoken charisma in his interactions with the audience.  This was one of the best Utah Symphony concerts I've attended and, even though tickets for tonight's performance are extremely limited, I would highly recommend making the effort to get one (go here).

Note:  I can't remember what the original concert was going to be before Covid-19 necessitated a change but bravo to whoever created this new program!  It was an outstanding selection of music!

Tracy Aviary

Yesterday Sean and I visited the Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park and, even though it was a little bit cold, we had a lot of fun!  I hadn't been there for at least twenty years and I was really impressed with the new Visitor's Center.  Both of us enjoyed walking through the gardens to get to the bird cages.  Because it was a bit colder the birds were quite active and they seemed to really like Sean because they would follow him as he walked around.

Pelicans

Golden Eagle

The Macaws were really playful and followed Sean around.

I really liked the Toucans in the South American Pavilion.

Scarlet Ibises

Sean gave me a lesson about the Peacock!  He said that the males are the ones with the dramatic plumage so that they can attract the females (which are quite drab).  He was quite comprehensive in his explanation!

Sandhill Cranes

This was Sean's favorite bird (I can't remember what it was).

My favorite birds were the Chilean Flamingos.  Their wings are a beautiful pink color with black underneath.

This flamingo was asleep with his head in his wings while standing on one leg!

Tracy Aviary is open every day, except Thanksgiving and Christmas, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Because of Covid-19, tickets should be purchased online (go here) and entries are limited to 60 people at any given time (you could be asked to wait before being allowed to enter).  Masks are required and social distancing is encouraged.  There are one-way directional arrows to encourage distancing (Sean yelled at me because I accidentally went the wrong way when I saw the flamingos).  Tickets are $9.95 for adults and $7.95 for children under 12 with various discounts available.  I definitely encourage a visit!

Thriller 2020

One of my favorite Halloween traditions is seeing a performance of ODT's dance extravaganza Thriller.  With so many things being canceled because of Covid-19 I was so happy to learn that this year's show was still going to happen!  It moved from Kingsbury Hall to Capitol Theatre, which is a much bigger venue, and all of the usual protocols (socially distant seating, contactless ticketing, digital programs, and mandatory masks) were in place.  The show was a bit scaled down without an intermission and the performers wore masks on stage.  Even though the audience was smaller than the usual sold-out crowd, we cheered in anticipation for every familiar number including the undead cavorting in a graveyard to Michael Jackson's iconic song "Thriller," a breakdancing mummy and his maidens in "Curse of the Mummy," a Pas de Deux gone horribly wrong in "Frankenstein & Frankenstein," a group of misbehaving pandas in "Miss Alli's Nightmare," tap dancing skeletons in "Dem Bones," a trio of weapon wielding Jasons in "Jason Jam" (an audience favorite), scarecrows that are not what they seem in "Children of the Corn," a coven of condemned witches seeking vengeance from beyond the grave in "Salem's Mass" (my favorite number), acrobatic vampires in "Lost Boys," and a costume parade in "Trick or Treat."  As in year's past, artists from Aeris Aerial Arts performed several numbers in between the dances including "Siren of the Sea" and "Phantom of the Opera" (which was amazing).  There were also several original films by Scott Winn featuring twerking stormtroopers and dancing Orcs.  This year, unfortunately, also featured the return of Giggle Girl's (Emily Perucca) comedy act in between numbers.  I think she is really annoying (where is Bubbles the Clown?).  Many of the numbers are performed year after year and I always enjoy seeing all of the subtle changes in the choreography.  This year there were a few humorous references to Covid-19!  One of Miss Alli's misbehaving pandas refused to keep his mask on and one of the Jasons put a mask on (over his hockey mask), used hand sanitizer, and used an infrared thermometer to find someone from the audience to participate on stage.  I think I enjoyed the show more than usual this year because I was so happy to be able to see it!  It just wouldn't be Halloween without it.  There are three more performances at Capitol Theatre (go here) and I highly recommend getting a ticket!

Note:  I usually spend my time trying to avoid eye contact with the undead who roam the aisles before the show but this year they stayed in their graves because of Covid-19.  I kind of missed them!

Honest Thief

Last night I went to see Honest Thief, the latest iteration of Liam Neeson portraying a man with a very particular set of skills who exacts revenge against someone who has wronged him.  This time Neeson is Tom Dolan and his very particular skill is demolition with explosives.  Dolan is increasingly disaffected after leaving the military and spends the next several years robbing banks for the adrenaline rush.  Once he meets Annie Wilkins (Kate Walsh), however, he decides that he wants a future with her without the guilt of trying to hide his past so he attempts to turn himself, and the money he has stolen, in to the FBI with the hope of getting a reduced sentence.  Agent Baker (Robert Patrick) and his partner Agent Meyers (Jeffrey Donovan) don't believe him initially because they have had many fake confessions so they send their underlings, Agent Nivens (Jai Courtney) and Agent Hall (Anthony Ramos), to investigate.  To convince them that he is the actual bank robber, Dolan sends the agents to the storage unit where he has hidden the money but Nivens convinces a reluctant Hall to take the money for themselves.  When a suspicious Baker arrives to investigate, Nivens kills him and frames Dolan for the murder.  Dolan goes on the run with Annie, but when she is attacked, he vows revenge against the FBI.  This movie delivers exactly what is expected and I found it to be sufficiently entertaining for a Tuesday night (my screening was absolutely packed by Covid-19 standards).  The story is not very original but Neeson gives it his all in a physically demanding role and Ramos is quite compelling as a conflicted agent who regrets that he didn't do the right thing when he had the chance.  There is a running gag with Agent Meyers and the dog he has inherited after a bitter divorce that seems a little out of place but I found it amusing.  The action sequences, which involve multiple shoot-outs, foot races, car chases, explosions, and lots of hand-to-hand combat, are a lot of fun to watch.  I enjoyed this movie for what it is and I recommend it to fans of action thrillers (or anyone who is bored on a Tuesday night).

The Shining

The Shining is one of my favorite Stephen King novels and, even though it deviates from the source material quite a bit, I think Stanley Kubrick's adaptation is a masterpiece.  I do think that the book is much scarier (I slept with the light on for a week after I finished reading it as a teenager) but the movie is incredibly unsettling.  Just hearing the dark and ominous notes of Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz during the opening sequence gave me goosebumps when I had a chance to see it again yesterday as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series.  Aspiring writer Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson) is desperate to escape from his troubled past and hopes to find the time and solitude to work on his novel so he takes a job as the winter caretaker at the Overlook Hotel in the remote mountains of Colorado with his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and his young son Danny (Danny Lloyd).  Once they arrive, the cook Dick Hallorann (Scatman Crothers) recognizes that Danny has a strong psychic ability that he calls "shining" and warns him that the hotel also has a "shine" because of its troubled past.  Danny begins having frightening visions about the former inhabitants of the hotel but Jack seems to be haunted by these malevolent ghosts.  When a severe winter storm cuts them off from the outside world, Jack has a complete psychotic break causing him to attack his family.  What makes this movie so unnerving is that you are never entirely sure of what is happening at the Overlook Hotel because Jack, who is a recovering alcoholic with a history of hurting his son, is such an unreliable character.  Is he slowly being driven mad by isolation and claustrophobia or is he being possessed by the ghosts of the hotel?  Whenever Jack interacts with the ghosts of the former caretaker Grady (Philip Stone), the bartender Lloyd (Joe Turkel), or a woman murdered in the bathtub (Lia Beldam), there is always a mirror in the scene leading to speculation that he might be talking to himself.  The sound design, including Danny's Big Wheel traveling across different floor surfaces, ice cubes rattling in Jack's glass, the echo of the typewriter in the cavernous lobby, and the staccato beating of a heart, is incredibly foreboding and does much to enhance the tension.  The long Steadicam tracking shots following the characters through the maze of the empty hotel (and an actual maze) also highlight the isolation.  The many parallels between the shot compositions (which become more apparent the more times you see it) are absolutely brilliant, especially in the scene with Danny and Jack in their apartment and the scene with Jack and the woman in Room 237 because it makes us question how Danny gets the bruises on his neck.  Nicholson, in an iconic performance, is unbelievably menacing and conveys a feeling of terror with just a glance.  Duvall is also very good (although my biggest criticism of the movie as compared to the book is the character of Wendy because she is so weak and passive).  This  movie is one of the best examples of how to create an atmosphere of unease and I highly recommend it, particularly on the big screen (go here for more information).