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Living A Little ~ Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:58:17 +0000

Lately, I've been trying to live a little instead go to work, go home, go to sleep, rinse and repeat. I have started by going to special events, even if no one will go with me. And that is often the case.

Last Saturday I went to see the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. It was the second night of a two night series featuring guest conductor Kristjan Järvi and pianist Simone Dinnerstein. The concert started off with a suite from Stravinsky's Pulcinella, followed by Bach's Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, and rounded off with a suite from Stravinsky's The Firebird (1945) (ASO 4.3.2010 Program). I don't recall ever listening to any Stravinsky before the concert. I went  specifically to hear the Bach piece. Of the two Stravinsky sets I liked The Firebird more. It was epic. I enjoyed the Pulcinella suite, but it just wasn't as good as The Firebird. Of course, I enjoyed the center piece the most -- the Bach concerto. I was simply floored by how well Ms. Dinnerstein knew the piece. She didn't use a single piece of sheet music, took only a couple queues from the conductor, and I swear she had her eyes closed for most of the performance. She has clearly spent some time with a piano playing that concerto.

Completely opposite of going to a symphony, I went to the Braves 2010 opening game Monday. It was a perfect day for baseball. The temperature was abnormally warm (85ºF), but almost no humidity, and clear blue sky overhead. The game was the most attended opening day game in Turner Field's history, and the third most attended overall, with 53,081 people in attendance. I got to the park a couple hours before game time, and it's a good thing I did. People sitting around me had to drive around for an hour and a half before finding parking, and then they got to their seats in fourth or fifth inning. I was there in time to see the end of the Braves's batting practice.

The game itself was great. It started off a bit iffy, with the Cubs getting 3 runs in the top of the first inning. But the Braves answered with 6 in the bottom of the first, and 2 more in the second. For the middle portion of the game it was 8 to 5, and it was difficult to tell if Lowe could keep the lead. The home plate umpire was either being inconsistent, or had a very small strike zone. But Lowe did manage to keep the lead, and the Braves eventually put 10 more runs on the board for a final score of 16 to 5. Overall, it was an electric atmosphere and game.

So, two great events to start off the spring. I'm eager to see what the rest of the spring, and then summer, have to offer.

Baseball,  Events,  Personal,  Symphony

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