Front Row with Sarah Chang and Kurt Masur!
A truly magical night with the San Francisco Symphony this past Wednesday.
Sarah Chang is a violinists violinist -- she played the piece with which she auditioned for Juilliard, the Bruch Violin Concerto.
She prowled the stage, and the concertmaster and other first row fiddlers gave her room to roam. A joy to watch.
Extremely passionate, her playing was supremely confident.
And being able to sit in the first row watching a soloist of her caliber was a blessing.
Kurt Masur conducted -- 80 years old and with symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, the former New York Philharmonic music director and present music director of Orchestre National de France in Paris had the San Francisco Symphony singing beautifully. Other pieces on this delightful evening were the beautifully played Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3, Scottish and Richard Strauss' Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks -- the latter was heard for my first time, and there were smiles throughout Davies Symphony Hall that evening with this mischeviously jovial piece -- including many in the orchestra.
Masur was a treat to watch up close. The orchestra clearly enjoyed playing for him. And just for folks who think life is over at 80, he conducted both Mendelssohn and Strauss from memory.
A night that will not be forgotten.