Category: events

Salome

I don’t know what happened with me, how I could be such an idiot! I already missed “Salome” once, when I had some urgent work right after I returned from Helsinki. When I realized I would miss another opera while I am in Helsinki next time, I decided to exchange my ticket for the last performance of Salome, especially because my neighbor was raving about it!

I can’t explain why I was so strongly under the impression that it would take me an hour to get from my home to the Lyric Opera on Saturday night. I mean, yes, it’s an hour door-to-door, excluding wait time and any delays, but one shouldn’t rush into the Opera House just as the show is about to start. I had no objective reasons not to leave earlier, but somehow, in the very moment I was walking out the door at 6:32, I realized what a big mistake I had made!

The train slowly pulled in, then stopped right before Jarvis, and the lights went off, and I tried not to think about the worst possible delays I might face. I knew that Salome runs with no intermission, so if I were late, that would be it.

The show start time was 7:30, and at 7:21, I was still on the train, departing Grand, which meant one more stop, an escalator up, and running for several blocks, and I thought – no chances, but miraculously, at 7:31, I was entering the Opera House, and the ushers were waving me in saying that the doors will be closing soon.

I could not believe my luck! My seat was in the second row, all the way on the right, so I didn’t have to ask people to get up. However, a gentleman who placed his coat on a free seat by him was not happy :). He started to explain to me how strictly the Lyric observes the start time, and how I should know…

Anyway, I made it! And the show was breathtaking … It is staged in the pre-WWII fascist Italy, so all libretto references of “arguing Jews” take all new meaning, as well as the story itself… Only when I was on my way home did I realize that no one in the audience clapped during the performance itself – that’s how everyone was captivated with what was going on stage.

A Thomas Club Dinner

I rarely post pictures of food these days; for a change, these are the pcictures of the dinner my neighbor and I had before the Thursday concert. She turned 75 earlier this month, and we wanted to have a nice dinner together. The Thomas Club on the 9th floor of the CSO building is always a good idea, and there we went.

In addition to the occasion itself, there were two things I wanted to mention. First, I could never imagine the stuffed shells being an exquisit dish, but here they were! Unbelivably delicios! And second – just a thought – why all of sudden a tiramisu has bunny ears:)? Let it stay a mystery!

The CSO Concert

The CSO Concert on Thursday was one of the best I ever attended! It started with the composition “To See the Sky: an exegesis for orchestra,” by Joel Thompson.

Composer Joel Thompson credits the inspiration for his orchestral work To See the Sky to a single line from the song “Thunderclouds,” written by jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant: “Sometimes you have to look into a well to see the sky.” 

To See the Sky, which had its world premiere in March 2024 by the New York Philharmonic, under Jaap van Zweden, is Thompson’s longest orchestral work to date. “It gives an indication of his future music,” said Patrick Summers, artistic and music director of the Houston Grand Opera, where Thompson is composer-in-residence through 2027. “With no hyperbole, To See the Sky is music of extraordinary beauty and deep content. To hear an orchestra of such dazzling quality as the New York Philharmonic bring Joel’s imagination to full life was a very moving thrill.”

Commissioned by the American Composers Forum, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival and Bravo! Vail Music Festival, To See the Sky will be performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under Jaap van Zweden, in concerts Feb. 12-15. 

Thompson has said of his work: “The movements outline a non-linear journey toward healing.” “He has achieved this in every possible way,” said Summers in a video interview posted by Houston Grand Opera. “The listener’s emotional journey of To See the Sky is more than simply satisfying; it is cathartic and self-realization. Quite an achievement. 

“Primary among his many gifts is an ability to juxtapose several musical styles simultaneously, forming a melodic and colorful musical narrative that anyone can understand, but which also challenges virtuoso musicians like these,” Summers said. “To See the Sky was 20 minutes in length, and the musical material could easily have been twice that. One wanted it to last longer. Large-scale structures like opera are clearly in his DNA, based on a work like this. 

The composer himself was in the audience and came up on stage!

And next was an absolutely stunning performance of Himari, a fourteen-year-old prodigy, and I don’t know what to say, because no words can describe her! Fortunately, I just found on YouTube the Max Bruch concert she was performing on Thursday, an

I completely agree with one of the comments on YouTube: There are violin prodigies then there is Himari.

I can’t believe I was there, in the first row, experiencing her magic!

The Outsiders

This week was full of amazing cultural discoveries, and each time I felt like everyone except for me knew about it!

On Wednesday, I saw the musical The Outsiders, and I went there not knowing anything about the book. Meanwhile, the story of this book is remarkable – Susan Hinton wrote it when she was only 19, and The Outsiders is considered to be the Number One in Young Adult literature. Well, I didn;t go to school in the US! There are movies and theatrical performances based on this book – and the musical. It’a one of these shows which make you think: how come people wrote this amazing literature many years ago, and the world is still violent?!

I added the book to my reading list!

Cosi fan Tutte

This is a very long opera! I was back home close to midnight, so even though I went straight to bed, I got just four hours of sleep. I do not regret – the voices and the acting – both were great, and I was not even against the idea of semi-modernizing the settings. I just think they should have been more consistent, and if they moved the action to Maryland, they should also have said 1900-something, not 1790. Especially since they had the old-fashion automobiles siluettes on the background :).

The CheckOut Piano Series

The Checkout is our new “local” venue. I’ve been there twice already (here is one of the posts), and when they announced the Sunday Matinee Piano series, I decided to take my mom there, hoping it would be less stressful for her than going to the CSO.

The concert was brilliant! Same as during my previous visit, I enjoy the unique opportunity to hear an exceptional performer in a very intimate setting. The performer, Feiyi Liao, is a doctoral student at Northwestern, and he performs not only with exceptional techniques but also with a heart and soul.

The program was “classic” (Mozart, Gershwin, and Franz Liszt), but each piece sounded like “for the first time”. I chose the seats so that my mom could see the performer’s fingers over the keyboard (if that’s not the case, the concert is lost for her). She liked it :).

This Yamaha concert grand was donated to the CheckOut by Piano Forte. Beautiful sound, and the primary reason for the Solo Piano Series

“Holiday” At Goodman

Retrospectively, it was not the best idea. I decided to get a discounted ticket for the Holiday when I realized I would need to work from home on Friday for my mom’s case manager visit. I already had a reservation for the Ribbon, and I did some mental time math and decided that since I would see my mom during the day, I wouldn’t need to visit her in the evening, and I could go to the Ribbon by five-something, and go to Goodman right after that.

Then, there were things at work, and I felt bad refusing to help, and then there was no time to go to the Ribbon, and I only went to Goodman, being really tired.

I do not get the concept of shows starting later on Friday. Most weekend shows start at 7 PM, but Friday shows have to start at 7:30 or 8 PM, “because you do not need to go to work the next day.” But I am pretty tired by the end of the day on Friday, and more sleepy than any other day of the week.

The play is a modern adaptation of the 1920s play by Philip Barry, and in my opinion, it would be better if the setting remained “a hundred years ago” one. Not like the situation itself is less probable nowadays, but the language and a very specific humor definitely belong to the 1920s. I could appreciate and acknowledge amazing acting, but I kept mentally placing the characters in a different setting, and in the end, it felt like too much.

But once again, I am happy to admit that I was just super tired. I rarely go out on Fridays, and I think it’s better for me to keep it that way!

Rewiring Democracy: An Event With Bruce Schneier At CPL

First, I saw this event advertised in the CPL newsletter. Usually, a direct anything mentioning AI, straight into trash, but this time I hesitated, because I saw that the author was a cybersecurity expert, and the picture seemed very trustworthy :). I put the event in my calendar and purchased the audiobook.

I loved the book from the start! I see it having a relatively low rating on Goodreads, but I can tell you why it stood out for me. It started with the thesis that “democracy is an information system,” which immediately grabbed my attention. I soon realized that I was aware of AI use in political campaigns and lawmaking, because this was nothing but an extension of modelling that was widely present in politics even twenty years ago, and I didn’t object to it at all. I don’t know how else to explain it, but all of a sudden, it all started making sense. I think that a big factor was Bruce Schneier’s positive outlook and his firm belief that we can be in control and put the newest technology to good use.

The meeting was livestreamed and recorded, and you can check it out below. I would rather have you listen to it than me trying to “retell” what was said. I loved the reasoning about the short chain between consulting AI on how to vote and total autocracy.

My favorite part of the book, which was not mentioned in the talk, was about regulating AI by spot-checking its decisions. Also, it’s very important to remember that any technology can be used for different purposes, and AI is not an exception.

The Silver Summit – reblogging

The Silver Summit

Magellan

Magellan is the Philippines’ Entry For Best International Feature at the Oscars, and the reviews were raving. I decided it’s a must-see, even though the movie is almost three hours long. Judging by the description, I expected more or less a traditional, colorful historical movie with a pronounced social message:

At the dawn of the modern era, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (Gael García Bernal) navigated a fleet of ships to Southeast Asia, attempting the first voyage across the vast Pacific Ocean. On reaching the Malay Archipelago, the crew pushed to the brink of madness in the harshness of the high seas and overwhelming natural beauty of the islands, Magellan’s obsession leads to a rebellion and reckoning with the consequences of power. A vast, globe-spanning epic from Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz (NORTE, THE END OF HISTORY), MAGELLAN presents the colonization of the Philippines as a primal, shocking encounter with the unknown and a radical retelling of European narratives of discovery and exploration.

My first reaction was disappointment: it felt more like a Tarkovsky movie, just with prettier landscapes. Iwas even thinking of quietly leaving the screening. But gradually, my perception changed, and I kept watching. If you watch the trailer, it does not give a good impression of the movie. The trailer is more dynamic and less picturesque. And doesn’t show even a percent of violence.

Maybe three hours is too much to say “colonialism is bad.” You decide.