21 March 2016

Spring Stroll

On this beautiful first day of Spring, we strolled around our neighborhood, snapping up the flowers and new green!

This has caught my eye for quite a while now - the house seems so rundown, but its wisteria survives, despite everything...

Up close, the scent is heavenly!

This hidden garden gives its wisteria a better chance...

More purple, green, pink, and yellow!





It's not Spring without the birds...

More glowing color

Can't get enough of these pink trees



Especially when bright green is just a head-turn away


Winter still shows here and there - love these snaggly trees

And red berries

~~~
58° and sunny, with a whisper of a breeze at 4:30 pm
:-)

20 March 2016

Rachmaninoff in ABQ

Tonight we went back to the SYMPHONY!!

The New Mexico Philharmonic presented...
Olga Rocks Rachmaninoff

Here's the breakdown, along with a few videos of other performances. Enjoy!

Christopher Theofanidis Rainbow Body
This is one of the few pieces by a currently living composer presented over 100 times


Sergei Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in c minor, Op. 18
Of course, we didn't hear Rachmaninoff himself, but you can :-) 
This is one of my favorite pieces* - the first few phrases are captivating, and before you know it, you're nearly weeping, then leaping to your feet in appreciation. Whew!

(If you can't play it directly from above, click on this limk: https://youtu.be/pBx-tr1FDvY)


Carl Nielsen Symphony No. 4, “The Inextinguishable,” Op. 29
Also Known (by me) As "Dueling Timpanis" ;-) 
(Check in at about 32 minutes for a nice shot of them)

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* just to round things out, compare the theme of Rachmaninoff's second movement to this oldie pop song :-)