Goodbye, Summer!

Tonight we went to the signaling of the end of the summer in Forest Park. The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra played at 7:00, followed by fireworks. It was a fantastic evening. The sky played along with the orchestra. The full moon provided the light, and the clouds the play. The clouds were tremendously versatile, making for a constantly changing scenario. Actually, there was a very real threat of rain, which never materialized, but I suppose that is what made the clouds so spectacular. They started out as these long thin white and blue banks, that, lit up by the moon, seemed like some kind of arctic landscape. They never covered the moon; at most they would float themselves over it, like a gauzy bit of material. Then they were chased away by these great big fluffy white masses, that would sometimes cover the moon, yet let some of the light puff out from behind. In the end, the gauzy ones came back, however. I’m sure there’s a proper meteorological name to these clouds, but I’m as good as those as I am on types of trees.
You might wonder how I spent so much time looking at the sky…well, Mary Sue and I took a picnic dinner. We got there early to get a good spot on the embankment which slopes down to the lake, where the orchestra shell was installed. We took some grilled salmon, salad, artichoke dip and crackers, and a bottle of wine. So after I stretched out on the blanket after dinner while the music and the sky played.
The music was an eclectic mix. Actually, the whole performance, which lasted just a little over an hour, was a preview of what the SLSO is going to be playing this season…so in essence, one big commercial, but I guess nothing is free! It was a tasty treat, at any rate. At the same time, we got some history of the SLSO, which was founded in 1880, and is the second-oldest symphony orchestra in the United States after the New York Philharmonic. Tonight they played everything from a waltz composed by Max Zach, who was chosen to be conductor of the SLSO exactly 100 years ago (from 1907-1921), a medley from ‘Sound of Music’ (and, yes, climb every mountain did conjure up thoughts of extending comfort zones here in St. Louis…ok, so I was getting hyper-reflexive), and the lyrically alluring Dream Pantomime from Hansel and Gretel (by Engelbert Humperdinck…, hey, how was a pop crooner allowed to take his name??). The fireworks afterward were fun (though I still remember my first summer in Birmingham, when the BSO played in Cannon Hill Park, and they combined the fireworks with the music…a good idea).
Also, this past weekend I went to see a film, Once, a delightful film set in Ireland about a guy musician who meets a girl musician…and they do really make great music together and it is all told very well through the film. Sigh.
I’m squeezing in a lot of work (believe it or not!) between these musical outings (the classes seem to be going very well, and so does a bit of new work on the research front…more on that if it pans out!) and my trip to Portland, Oregon…leaving Thursday to visit my friend Lisa…can’t wait…so a report on that will probably be next!