The Sound of Music

Live music is 100 times better than the best recorded piece. While I am grateful to have recorded music that is much better than I could perform, it is always a great opportunity to get all dressed up and head to the symphony.

Last night, we went on our last date as a "single married couple," as one brother in our ward calls us married without children folk; our last date before worrying about babysitters and if the house is still going to be standing when we get home.

We went and saw the St. Petersburg Philharmonic

perform Rachmoninov's 2nd Piano Concerto and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.

It was quite possibly one of the best performances we have ever been to. The piano soloist was absolutely amazing. The orchestra was flawless. Even the next

morning, I am still in awe of the outstanding performance that we heard. I don't even want to listen to our recordings of those two pieces because it just won't do justice to the pieces now that I have heard them live. I know that feeling will fade with time and I will enjoy the recordings even more now, but it was an absolutely amazing experience.

The audience loved the performance. Usually the applause doesn't begin until the sound has time to die out; last night the applause was seemed to start right as the last note was played. At the end of the concert, they played two encores, one from the Nutcracker and one that we didn't recognize (Elgar Salut d'Amour). The conductor finally told the orchestra to leave while the audience was still applauding because it would not stop.

We enjoyed ourselves last night. Music is an amazing thing; and so are half price student deals!