I admit to exaggerating. According to Z., surveying the stage from her place in the Chorale, there were only 400 + musicians on stage for last night's Seattle Symphony performance of Mahler's 8th, also known as the Symphony of 1000. (Besides the Symphony and the chorale, another adult choir, a boy choir and extra musicians in almost every section of the orchestra took part.)
Also included: four trumpets and four trombones stationed in a left front box in McCaw Hall, adding their volume at two points in the 85-minute work. (No intermission, so pre-performance lines in the WC were formidable!)
At times volume was ear-shattering, but the piannissimi were as passionately intense, and the audience was as attentive as any I have ever seen at a concert. It was a treat to hear some long-time Seattle Opera singers among the eight soloists, especially Vinson Cole and Jane Eaglen.
Z's sister was here from the East Coast, enjoying Seattle's sudden return to sunshine and warmth. L. took the evening off from settling into her new home on Vashon to join us for dinner and the concert.
Friday night we we paid her a visit at work, as we crowded around a tiny table at Txori. It's her last Friday evening shift for a while, so we weren't the only friends and family to stop by to eat and say a quick hello. Txori features small plates and piquant combinations of flavors. As a starter, L. sent us a plate of small slices of soft ripe goat cheese with a few slices of sautéed apple. From there we managed our own orders to a point, then said to the waiter, "Please ask L. what else we need."
That brought out dessert - a miniature orange-saffron flan and a two-bite dish of chocolate mousse, sprinkled with a few hot pepper flakes.
If there's really an economic downturn coming, no one in Belltown seems worried. On Friday night the restaurant was packed with the young and glamorous, and when we later walked Z's sister back to her downtown hotel, we had to weave through sidewalk crowds. Every cafe with outside tables was full, and a popular small bar had a pileup of people at the door, hoping to find a place inside.
(In reference to the previous post, I'm now cranky with Obama for picking up the "Main Street" tag. But I am still cheering him on.)
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We ended the run with a very solid performance today at the matinee.
Dave Gannett - otherwise known as our friend in orange - a fervid patron of the Seattle Symphony and a passionate fan of the Symphony Chorale (he sees every performance of a concert featuring the Chorale) - came to speak with us before today's performance.
Dave has seen Mahler's 8th Symphony performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Levine (performed both in Boston and then at Carnegie Hall) and also performed by the Philadelphia Symphony. He said that our performance on Saturday exceeded all of those other performances.
That was rather a delightful complement.
If you come to Beethoven 9th Symphony - you can always tell where Dave is - he is the one in the side boxes, leaping up with some gasp of exaltation at the end of the performance. Rather a treat to have such a devoted fan!
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