Friday night, as we were driving down the highway, I spotted a billboard for the Grand Rapids Symphony. They were performing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, and I mentioned it to Ben rather off-handedly that we should go see the symphony perform sometime. I was genuinely surprised when he said, “how about tomorrow night?”, considering that I could not remember the last time that we went to the symphony, maybe not ever.
But somehow we pulled it off, and Saturday night, we walked up to the box office about an hour before the performance, bought our “cheap seat” tickets, and settled down for a performance of Bartok and Beethoven. It was fantastic, beautiful, and a nice change from our typical nights at home in front of the television.
But just a few confessions…
1. Everyone was obviously there to hear the Beethoven…who wouldn’t be…but I actually preferred the Bela Bartok piece just a touch more. It had four movements for strings, percussion, and celeste, and it was dark, spooky, and enchanting. Why I liked it? I think that it reminded me of the piano pieces that I loved to play as a kid – moody pieces that didn’t require me to use a metronome – just the feel of the keys. Ben thought I was crazy, because in his opinion, Bartok must have been completely insane to be able to write such a twisted piece, but I disagree. It was genius.
2. Once Beethoven began, it was about 40 minutes into the program. I am not used to sitting doing nothing, so I confess, I slept through the third movement. Isn’t that awful? It was soothing and relaxing, I was feeling warm and cozy, and I just drifted off. But once the fourth movement kicked in, the 150 person choir stood up, and the cellos started to play the Ode to Joy theme, I perked up…I promise.
3. It made me want to find the time to brush up on my piano skills. There was a time in my life where I started to prepare a MacDowell concerto for a piano competition. The prize was the opportunity to perform with an orchestra, but I wimped out…didn’t finish preparing the piece in time. Maybe I wasn’t ready for that caliber of competition, maybe I just let my other activities smush it out, but whatever the reason, I wish I had stuck it out. I found the piece the other day, along with my cassette tape of an orchestra performing the piece, and maybe I will revisit it again someday. Who knows…
As we walked back to our car in the crisp night air, I couldn’t help but sing a few bars of the joyous conclusion to the symphony…because that is how I felt…full of joy…
You can do it! 🙂 I wish I would’ve stuck with the piano all those years ago when my mom gave me the option to either continue lessons or stop. I was in 7th grade. I chose to stop. (Kicking myself now, though.) But at the time, I was learning the flute (band) and singing in choir. I continued the choir in high school, but stopped playing flute. I should’ve started piano again, but I didn’t. I recently started guitar lessons and am finding it incredibly challenging. I can’t see what my fingers are doing as readily as on the porcelain keys. So, I say…give it a try. Start practicing again. Music has always soothed my soul and so if that’s what it does for you, then do it. Just because you can. 😉 Enjoyed your post! taylornorris.blogspot.com
Hi Taylor, I would love to start playing again – thanks for the encouragement! 🙂
I used to love watching you play. I miss playing too. I was never as dedicated (or talented) at the piano as you were, but there’s something soothing about feeling the keys beneath your fingers, and hearing the music that you’re creating. I miss the feeling of accomplishment after I mastered a piece and could play it from start to finish without stopping.
We haven’t been to the symphony for a while. To be honest the closest I get is the music during Little Einsteins 🙂