Why I Love It: Seattle Symphony

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For his birthday present, I gave Adam tickets to the Seattle Symphony.  It was either that or the Seattle Sounders (our soccer team) which he also would have enjoyed.

Since I wanted to go with him and I prefer the Symphony (by about 100 times) I made my choice.

See, I'm selfless like that.

I also love that I'm married to a man that was excited about Symphony tickets.

We almost always slide into events/concerts/plays at the last second and I'm frazzled by Late Anxiety.  Saturday was no different.  Adam had spent long hours working in our yard, then I cut his hair and by the time we were on the road to Seattle, our dinner plans were fading.

Adam is always a fly by the seat of his pants superhero and he saved the day.  We parked across the street from Benaroya Hall in a parking garage.  We (gasp) paid for parking.  Who are you and what have you done with my husband?  Adam goes to great lengths (literally...he'll walk quite a ways) to avoid paying to park.  But we paid for parking and had a gloriously sumptuous and speedy dinner at The Third Door which is the downstairs lounge associated with Wild Ginger restaurant. 

It was a little rude that the guy at the door wished us a good evening and didn't ask to see our ID.  Officially old.

I can't adequately describe the symphony except we loved it.

The first piece was Witold Lutoslawski's Symphony No. 4.  He's Polish, Ciocia.  (and by Ciocia I mean Olivia...it's a long story) I'm sure you would have met him if he hadn't died in 1994.

It was fascinating but none too melodic.

Next was Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor.  It was amazing.  I loved the pianist.

Adam and I are pretty novice at this sort of thing though.  At one point, Adam whispered in my ear, "How do we know when to clap?"

My expert advice, whispered back, "When everyone else does."

During the intermission I told Adam I wanted a treat like we saw other people eating.  (Sometimes I remind me of our children...or the other way around.)  We had no cash to buy a treat so he promised me a milkshake from Jack in the Box later (if I would stop whining...again, like our children).  We debated whether "the really big woman" he pointed out to me was a man or a woman.  It was a man.  Forget the make-up and painted fingernails and dress.  It. Was. A. Man.  And not a very attractive one.  I told Adam I recognize my own kind.  And that was not it.

We also looked out the huge windows at the Seattle view.

Our favorite part of the concert followed: Sibelius.  He's a Finnish composer whose music Adam introduced me to.  He composed the Finnish national anthem, Finlandia, which is also the music to the hymn, "Be Still My Soul."  The Symphony played his Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major.

I have no words.

In the program (which I'm obviously using as I write this post to spell everything correctly) I read it is "some of the most ecstatic music in Sibelius's symphonic output."

We came home and bought a recording from iTunes straightaway (after the Oreo cookie milkshake at Jack in the Box of course).

Seattle.

There's the rain and the traffic and the gray skies.

But there's the Symphony.