Tulsa Symphony Orchestra

Saturday, my wife and I went to the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra concert. It was titled, "A Magical Evening." And indeed it was:

"Harry's Wondrous World", from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (John Williams)
This was basically just one big fanfare after another. Arguably, just like the movies.

"Ritual Fire Dance" (Manuel de Falla)
This one actually sounded a bit like a cartoon soundtrack when I closed my eyes. I was all sorts of good with that.

"Wotan's Magic Fire Music" (Richard Wagner)
Very theatrical, as you'd expect. Hey, it's Wagner... you either "get it" or you don't.

"Danse Macabre" (Camille Saint-Saens)
It was lively and fun. Central figure in this "story" is the devil. When the conductor explained that to the audience, I couldn't help but think of "The Devil Went Down To Georgia". It almost spoiled the tune for me.

"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (Paul Dukas)
Fantasia, baby. If you aren't at least a little bit familiar with this one already, then you're dead inside.

"Firebird Suite" (Igor Stravinsky)
The seven movements of this suite seemed (to me) to convey the following feelings:
1) Soft, Comfortable, Pillowy Goodness
2) HEY!!! LOOK AT ME!!!
3) Tentative Investigation
4) C'mon! Let's have a feast!
Obviously I was a bit fuzzy on where movements began and ended.

"Symphonie Fantastique" (Hector Berlioz)
The conductor explained the story for this one, making sure to tell us about the part where the main character is executed in the guillotine. When they came to that part in the music, he actually turned to face the audience, and made a comedic throat-slash gesture. It was grand.

For an encore, they did "Ride of the Valkyries" by Wagner. I dunno about the rest of the audience, but I was happily chanting "Kill da wabbit" throughout. Good times.

There were a few pseudo-celebs in the orchestra itself, but I'll save that for another post. One other fun thing of note... the 4th trumpet player was this huge overweight man who leaned sideways whenever he wasn't playing. He looked like he was going to fall asleep in his chair.

Not me, baby! Wide awake, all the way.