Hilary Hahn Plays Brahms

It is opening weekend for the Utah Symphony 2021-2022 season and last night's concert was a wonderful beginning.  This year I decided to subscribe to the entire Masterworks series (because I couldn't narrow it down to just a few concerts) and I am really looking forward to all of them but I was especially excited for last night's concert because it featured Hilary Hahn, a popular and frequent guest soloist with the Utah Symphony.  The concert began with the Overture to Egmont by Ludwig van Beethoven.  This is the incidental music for a play by Johann van Goethe which tells the story of a man who sacrifices himself to take a stand against oppression.  The Overture became the unofficial anthem for the 1956 Hungarian revolution and I can see why because it is very powerful and stirring.  Next, the orchestra was joined by Hahn for the Violin Concerto by Johannes Brahms.  I really loved this piece, especially the second movement because the theme played by the solo violin is so beautiful and tender.  It was really fun to watch Hahn play because she is such a brilliant and dynamic performer.  The audience leapt to their feet to give her a well-deserved standing ovation and she rewarded us with an encore (I'm not sure what the piece she played was but it was lovely).  After the intermission, the orchestra played Symphony No. 1 by Jean Sibelius.  I was introduced to Sibelius on a memorable trip to Finland and I have been a fan ever since.  I think all of his music is so stately and grand and this piece is no exception.  I particularly loved all of the solos played by the woodwinds and string instruments which echo each other throughout and I also loved the powerful themes played by the brass and timpani.  It gave me chills!  It was thrilling to see the full orchestra on stage with a large crowd in the audience once again and I thoroughly enjoyed the program!  It will be repeated again tonight and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here).

Note:  All patrons must show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours prior to entry.  Face masks are required for those not vaccinated and strongly encouraged for those who are.  Go here for more information.

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real at Red Butte Garden

In my quest to visit all of my favorite outdoor performing arts venues this summer I went to see Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real at the Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre last night and it made me so happy to listen to live music while sitting under the stars!  I was first introduced to Promise of the Real when they backed Neil Young on tour and then I saw them again at the Commonwealth Room a few years ago.  I really love their rock-country sound and they always put on a great show!  They played quite a few songs from their latest album A Few Stars Apart, which I absolutely love, including "Perennial Bloom (Back to You)," "Throwin' Away Your Love," "More Than We Can Handle," "Leave 'Em Behind," and "A Few Stars Apart."  They also played some of my favorite songs, including "Start To Go," "Four Letter Word," "Fool Me Once," "Just Outside of Austin," "Little Girl," "Die Alone" "Carolina," and "(Forget About) Georgia."  They ended their set with a rousing rendition of "Find Yourself" with lots of audience participation.  For the encore they played "Wildest Dream" and "Smile" from the new album and then "Entirely Different Stars," a cover of "Get Off Of My Cloud" by the Rolling Stones, an incredibly passionate performance of "The Awakening" (which was my favorite of the evening), and "Something Real."  I think Lukas Nelson has an amazing voice (he sounds a lot like like his father Willie Nelson but a bit sultrier) and I really enjoyed seeing him play the piano in addition to his usual guitar.  He was very charismatic last night and joked quite a bit with the crowd.  It was a fantastic concert, not just because Promise of the Real put on such a great show, but also because hearing music performed live still feels like such a novelty!  I had a smile on my face the whole time and I will probably be on a high from this show for at least a week!  Red Butte Garden is a great venue and there are still some shows in the summer concert series (go here for tickets).  I definitely recommend checking one of them out.

Capitol Reef 2021

While I was staying at the KOA in Fillmore I took a little side trip to Capitol Reef National Park (about a two hour drive).  I was really surprised by how crowded it was (there were more people than I've ever seen before) so I didn't actually stay very long.  I just went on the scenic drive for a few photos (I was going to stop and pick some apples but even the orchards were really crowded) and then drove back to Fillmore.  Even though I didn't stay very long it was a beautiful drive to the park and through the park.

I am really hoping that I can get to Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park before the end of the year to complete the Mighty Five!

Weekend at My Favorite KOA

I knew that anywhere I wanted to go would be really crowded over the Labor Day weekend so, since I am retired and have the luxury of a flexible schedule, I decided to plan a little getaway for this weekend.  I booked a cabin at my very favorite KOA in Fillmore (which is about a two hour drive from my house) and drove down Saturday morning.  I know people might find it a bit strange but I love this campground.  It is close enough that it doesn't take forever to get to but it is far enough away that you feel like you have gone somewhere.  It is rustic enough that you feel like you are camping but there are enough conveniences (such as electricity, air conditioning, heating, a mini-fridge, and bathroom facilities nearby in the main lodge) to feel really comfortable.  Also, the hosts of this campground are some of the nicest people you will ever meet!  I spent Saturday afternoon out on the porch reading for hours and it felt wonderful because there was a cool breeze blowing through the trees.  I actually brought enough reading material this time!  My sister makes fun of me because I am notorious for finishing a book in the middle of a trip and then not having anything else to read for the rest of the time (I am like a junkie in need of a fix when I don't have a book) but she sent me a text telling me to take another book before I left and I, uncharacteristically, heeded her advice (I actually discovered that this KOA has a small library when I ran out of reading material on a camping trip several years ago but, luckily, I did not need to avail myself of it on this trip).  In the evening it started raining so I went inside, crawled under a bunch of blankets, and watched movies on my laptop.  It was incredibly cozy to listen to the rain hit the roof of the cabin as I fell asleep.  Sunday morning I got up early for a quick day trip and then spent the afternoon reading on the porch again.  I will be driving home later this morning and I am so happy that I had the chance to take this quick weekend trip because it was so fun and relaxing (and the campground wasn't very crowded).

Note:  I think I subconsciously selected this shirt because of the concert that I attended Friday night!

Return of the Jedi in Concert

Last night I saw Star Wars: Return of the Jedi on the big screen while the Utah Symphony performed the iconic score by John Williams live (I also saw Star Wars: A New Hope and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in this format so it was fun to complete the original trilogy).  I really love the Utah Symphony's Films in Concert series (I subscribed this season) because hearing the music performed live while watching the movie is such an immersive experience!  In this installment, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 rescue Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hut before joining once again with the Rebel Alliance to stop the Emperor from rebuilding the Death Star.  There is an epic battle on Endor (with some adorable Ewoks) and a thrilling final confrontation between Luke and Darth Vader!  The music during these scenes, "The Forest Battle" and "The Return of the Jedi," is incredibly stirring filled with lots of brass and percussion and these were my favorite themes.  I also got goosebumps every time "The Imperial March" played because it reminded me of how scared I was of Darth Vader when I first saw these movies!  It was so fun to see this with a large and rowdy crowd (it was the biggest crowd I've seen at Abravanel Hall since the pandemic started).  There was a lot of enthusiastic audience participation and the applause was especially loud when the the "Main Theme" played during the opening crawl, when Princess Leia defeated Jabba the Hut, when Luke reunited with Yoda on Dagobah, when the Ewoks defeated all of the stormtroopers, when Han Solo told Leia that he loved her, when Darth Vader rescued Luke from the Emperor, and when Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda appeared as force ghosts at the celebration.  I really enjoyed this performance and I highly recommend seeing one of the films in concert coming up this season (Back to the Future, Home Alone, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince).