Prokofiev's Symphony No. 7

It has been a long week!  The end of the term is sometimes hard because there are lots of tests and final projects to grade and lots of students who are suddenly concerned about their grade to deal with.   Luckily, I had a Utah Symphony concert to look forward to.  Every time a student asked me what he or she could do to pass, I imagined sitting in Abravanel Hall listening to amazing music.  I love it when the concertmaster comes on stage and plays a note for the orchestra to tune their instruments.  There is such a sense of expectation followed by a hush in the audience as the conductor takes the podium.  I felt all of the tension leave my body as I sat in anticipation of the lovely concert to follow.  Last night's guest conductor (and soloist) was Ignat Solzhenitsyn.  Yes, that Solzhenitsyn!  His father is the Nobel Prize winning author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn!  Ignat is a very sought-after conductor and I admit to being the tiniest bit star-struck.  The concert began with Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 18 featuring Ignat as the solo pianist and conductor.  It was quite impressive to watch because, at times, he would be conducting the orchestra with one hand while playing some intricate melody with the other.  I love the music of Mozart because I think it is light, airy, and beautiful.  I particularly like the second movement of this piece because it is so romantic.  I closed my eyes and imagined myself in Vienna.  After the intermission, the orchestra played Prokofiev's Symphony No. 7.  I always think that Russian music sounds so much better with a Russian conductor because they are so passionate!  Oh how I loved this piece!  It is melancholy and mournful but so beautiful.  I had goosebumps through all of it!  The concert concluded with Symphonic Metomorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber by  Paul Hindemith.  I was not at all familiar with Hindemith but I really enjoyed this piece.  I thought it was very playful and I particularly liked all of the percussion, especially the chimes.  I have a thing for the chimes.  I really can't say enough about the Utah Symphony!  We are so lucky to have a world-class orchestra in SLC and I think there is something for everyone this season.  I definitely recommend this concert which will be performed again tonight.  Go here for tickets and information.

Alpine Loop

Last week, when I had two days off, all I wanted to do was read and nap.  Now, when I have sophomore essays and Beowulf tests to grade, all I want to do is go to the mountains!  In this particular tug-of-war, the mountains won so yesterday I drove out of the city to American Fork Canyon for one of my very favorite fall drives.  I think it was a good decision!

This lovely drive along the Alpine Loop was just what I needed to recharge my batteries.  The sky was a perfect cerulean blue, the temperature was brisk, and the smell of decomposing leaves was nearly intoxicating.  Much of the foliage was gone but there was just enough to make me happy as I drove the switchbacks with the windows down listening to Eddie Vedder.  Is there anything better?  I love being in the mountains and I love living in Utah, where I can be in any number of mountains in less than 30 minutes whenever I have a bad day!  I need to do this more often!  Essays can wait a few days.

Frightmares 2014

Last night Marilyn and I took Sean and Tashena to Frightmares at Lagoon, an amusement park north of SLC.  During October it is decorated for fall, there are spook alleys, haunted houses, and Halloween themed entertainment, and almost all of the rides are open!  I like going to Lagoon in the fall because the temperature is much cooler so walking around the park is much more pleasant than it is in the hot summer months.  We take the kids every year (it has become one of our favorite Halloween traditions) and we usually close the place down!  Sean has been counting down for weeks!  We had so much fun!  Sean and Tashena rode just about every ride and Marilyn and I occasionally joined in.  When Sean and I rode the Tidal Wave, we sat on the very back row and Sean yelled out, "It tickles my tummy!"  He is so adorable!  We ended the night trying to break our record of continuous rides on the Tilt-A-Whirl.  Last year we went seven times and this year there is some doubt as to whether we did it seven or eight times.  Either way, it was epic.  As we are leaving the park we always stop and get hot chocolate, which comes in a souvenir cup.  Sean has all of his cups and he reported that he liked this year's cup (purple) better than last year's cup (orange).  I kind of love that he has all of the cups and I really love that the kids like all of our holiday traditions and look forward to them!

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The Judge

I have had the past two days off for fall break and, strangely, I haven't gone anywhere.  I mean I went to South Dakota when I had one day off, so this is unusual!  It's been really nice to relax but by Friday night I decided that I should  get dressed get out of the house and do something!  I went to see the movie The Judge and I absolutely loved it.  This movie got mixed reviews and I did think it was long and very slow at times but I like a good character study and the performances of Robert Downey, Jr. and Robert Duvall are brilliant.  Hank Palmer (Downey, Jr.) is a slick defense attorney in Chicago who returns to his small hometown in Indiana for his mother's funeral.  His father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Duvall), is extremely hostile to him and Hank abruptly leaves after a quarrel, vowing never to return.  While waiting for the plane to take off he receives a call from his brother (Vincent D'Onofrio) telling him that his father has been accused of murder.  Hank eventually defends his father during his murder trial, not only dealing with the possibility of his father's guilt, but also the unresolved hostility between a strict father and rebellious son, issues of betrayal between a brother who left and a brother who stayed to pick up the pieces, and an old girlfriend (Vera Farmiga) still carrying a torch.  Add to the mix a district attorney from Evansville  (Billy Bob Thorton) who requests the case for a chance to spar with the cocky Hank and you have a movie filled with too many sub-plots.  However, there is one tender scene between Downey, Jr. and Duvall that literally had me sobbing my eyes out and another one where they fight with such ferocity that I had to look away.  And the scene where Hank cries after the verdict is read?  Forget about it!  While I wish the movie focused more on the father-son relationship rather than the peripheral ones, I recommend that you see this movie for the performances!

Note:  The ending evoked a flood of tears.  Just when I had myself under control, the end credits featured a cover by Willie Nelson of Cold Play's "The Scientist" and the water works started again!  Sheesh!  I don't even particularly like Willie Nelson...

Catch Me If You Can at HCT

Last night I went to see the musical Catch Me If You Can at Hale Theatre.  I liked the movie but I am not a fan of the current trend on Broadway of turning popular movies into stage productions.  I rarely like the musical as much as the movie. However, to my surprise, I actually really enjoyed this adaptation. That is due, in no small measure, to the brilliance of the two lead actors.  Keith McKay Evans is charm personified as Frank Abagnale, Jr., a real-life con artist who impersonated a Pan Am pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer (he even passed the bar exam) and embezzled close to two million dollars.  Evans is equally adept at portraying the fast-talking confidence man as well as the vulnerable teenager who ran away from home.  He has a great voice and so much charisma that I couldn't take my eyes off him whenever he was on stage.  Kelly DeHaan is simply amazing as Carl Hanratty, the FBI agent obsessed with catching Abagnale.  With his horn-rimmed glasses, fedora, black suit, Brooklyn accent, and stoic demeanor, DeHaan's characterization is hilarious and I loved his facial expressions! His performance in the song "Don't Break the Rules" is definitely a crowd pleaser! The supporting cast is excellent and I especially enjoyed Eden Benson as Carol, an over-the-top southern belle.  I did feel that Bre Welch was slightly miscast as Brenda because her voice is too sweet and pretty to sing the blues (in the song "Fly, Fly Away"). The music and choreography is almost a pastiche of the variety shows on television in the 1960s (such as Laugh-In) but it works.  All of the big song and dance numbers are incredibly entertaining, especially "Live in Living Color," "Jet Set," and "Doctor's Orders."  The costumes, particularly for the female ensemble, are a lot of fun.  I loved the Pan Am stewardess uniforms!  The stage is quite innovative with three giant illuminated arrows in the floor, a motif that is echoed in many of the set pieces and props. I entered the theatre with very low expectations and I ended up having a great time!  I recommend this show for a really fun evening!  It runs through November 29 and tickets can be purchased here.