Sunday, June 01, 2014

Sunday, June 01, 2014

Fantasia at SF Symphony

Posted by Hippobean at 11:49 PM
What I've enjoyed most attending a symphony was to watch the orchestra play their different musical instruments. However, this time the big screen commanded all our attention. The first part of Fantasia was rather dull. Some of us even fell asleep. It wasnt until the Hyacinth hippo appeared that the Hippo became animated. When the sorceror's apprendice came, the Hippo got scared. Somehow the broomsticks carrying buckets of water and blindly filling the reservoir had always filled me with unease. I've always been scared of this scene.

The nearly two-and-one-half hour program, conducted by Sarah Hicks, featured excerpts from Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 [2000] and Symphony No. 6, Pastorale (movements 3-5) [1940], Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite [1940], Debussy's Claire de lune [2000] (we snoozed), Stravinsky's The Firebird Suite (1919 Version) [2000], Ponchielli's Dance of the Hours [1940] (the hippos!), Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice [1940] (scary), Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 [2000], and Respighi's Pines of Rome [2000].

Pomp and Circumstance stole the show. This piece is not Hippo's most favored but the sight of Donald and Daisy finally reunited at the end put tears in our eyes. the story was perfect. From the moment when Donald lazying while the sun was still high in the sky, to the first rain drops and Donald counting each pair of animals going in to the ark but did not count Daisy, to the sight of Donald watching the amorous pairs while missing Daisy and each thought the other did not make it to the ark, to Donald separating the birds in order to throw one out to search for dry land, while the other dramatically cried buckets of tears, to the reunion at the end when the rain stopped and the ark landed on dry land, when each finally found the other onboard and safe. Wow, that was good!

sf davies hall
SF Davis Symphony Hall

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