Musical Date Night

Groupon is datenight's best friend.  I few months ago I bought tickets to the performance of the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra through groupon.  It was a beautiful night.  They played Beethoven!  Hearing Beethoven played is an elevating experience.  I was especially impressed with the pianist that played with the orchestra for the 5th symphony.  So well done.

Memories of the days when I used to play came back to me and only helped me appreciate the level of expertise that these musicians had reached.  I remembered as if it were a faded dream the time that I too was asked to play with the symphony orchestra of the University of Arkansas.  I remember how I felt the honor of playing with the much older in age musicians and the feelings of nervousness were like weights on my limbs but after I started to play the weights were lifted and all went well.  As we were listening to the performance I realized that I haven't ever brought my children to see a performance like this when I as a child had been exposed to this kind of music making since a was a little one.

I love that in contrast to pop music Beethoven (a long with he other music masters) had a theme and a development of the theme often times with a political statement vehemently being expressed and for all to understand penetrating language barriers and lasting through the eons of time.    There is a depth and a complexity of the music that today's music lacks.  Pop music although catchy lacks thought and complexity rendering it boring.