Seattle Symphony: Piano Competition

I brought my mom back with me to Seattle and we had only been here 5 days when she asked if we had plans for September 15th. I told her that the world was our oyster and wondered what she was thinking.

She had been going through the stack of Seattle/Seattle Met magazines in the apartment and read that the Seattle Symphony was holding its first-ever piano competition, in partnership with the Young Concert Artists and the Washington Piano Arts. My mom said that she had listened to broadcasts of piano competitions on the radio for years but had never had the chance to attend one in person. That was it, we were going to the Seattle Symphony Piano Competition at Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle.

The process began last Spring when a panel of reviewers started listening to audio recordings submitted by applicants worldwide. The panel selected 8 pianists from the submissions and the live competition began on September 15th with a Recital Round. Those who made the cut proceeded to the Semi-Final Round on September 16th. At last, three finalists (Kevin Ahfat, Kenny Broberg and Vijay Venkatesh) performed on Friday night for a ticketed Final Round.

My mom and I attended the afternoon Recital Round on September 15th and heard Peng-Chian Chen, Peter Chuang-Chuang Fang, Vijay Venkatesh and Sean Yeh perform. It was a fabulous experience and it was interesting to see (and hear) the vast differences between the pianists and their interpretations of the same piece of music. 

Vijay Venkatesh was our favorite and I commented to my mom during intermission that I felt like I had actually seen him move out of reality and into the music while I watched. He was completely absorbed and it was moving.

Kevin Ahfat won the competition (congratulations!) and we were happy to hear that Vijay Venkatesh tied with Kenny Broberg for second place - Bravo! The Grand Prize was a $10,000 cash prize, many future opportunities and a performance on the Seattle Symphony's Opening Night concert on September 19th. What a week Kevin had! 

Second Prize was a $5,000 cash prize and a consultation with Young Concert Artists and First Chair Promotion. The competition also awarded a $1,000 cash prize to Audience Favorite, Kenny Broberg.

Once upstairs, we admired the magnificent almost candy-like chandelier "Crystal Cascade" by Dale Chihuly, from the second story overlook outside the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall where the piano competition took place. 

I know that over the next decade I will spend many nights in this magnificent building and attending a piano competition makes for a fun first memory.

A Tisket A Tasket

This picnic basket is very important to me. It literally reminds me of when I discovered that I could "make" things.

I had always done needlework, light sewing, painting etc. But about 15 years ago, when I my Mom offered me some beautiful yellow floral "plasticized" fabric, I really wanted to put it to good use.

How I "leaped" to a reversible picnic blanket, I'll never know. But I remember taking the yellow print to the fabric store to find a coordinating print. I found a cute pink & blue stripe and sewed the 2 together to make a picnic blanket. Then I bought an inexpensive picnic basket, some batting and a glue gun and started "lining" the picnic basket. It was so cute, I surprised myself. I even made a padded "arm rest" to make it easier to carry the basket on a picnic.

Every year since then, we have packed a picnic dinner in this basket and gone to an outdoor concert of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Tonight is the night and I
simply can't wait.

A tisket, a tasket, I love my picnic basket.

Santa & Rachmaninoff

As we were lingering in the lobby after the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's incredible rendition of Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," I started chatting with one of the other patrons.

My new friend opened the conversation with:
"Rachmaninoff played here, you know."

"What?" (Seriously...what!?)

"He performed here with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra back in the 1920's."

"I can't believe it," I said, "I don't even think of (Rachmaninoff) as real, you know. I think of him more like Santa."

To which he replied, "Hey...Santa's real."

"I know, I know," I said, "It's just they are both so mythological and I haven't met either one of them."

***You can see concert pianist, Olga Kern (who performed Rachmaninoff at the concert I attended) perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 on YouTube here.

Music is a Gift

I was at the symphony on a very special night. The theme was "From Russia with Love" and I was drawn there to hear Glinka's Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla. The excitement came, however, when Alla Borzova, composer of the cantata "Songs for Lada," came on stage with Detroit Symphony Orchestra music director, Leonard Slatkin. She announced that this was the first complete performance of her cantata "Songs for Lada" (including a children's choir, soloists, symphony orchestra, poetry and Belarusian folk instruments) and that her daughter, for whom it was written, had flown in to be in the audience that night. She spoke of the themes, instruments and language of the piece before rushing up to the balcony to sit beside her daughter and listen.

Can you imagine? What an incredible moment that must have been for both of them. To begin composing music in Minsk, Belarus just after your daughter is born and then, years later, to sit and hear it performed in its entirety for the first time with your grown daughter at your side. What a gift.

Going to the Symphony

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is performing a series of free outdoor concerts (sponsored by Target) at area metro parks this Summer. Packing a picnic and "going to the symphony" is one of my favorite things to do. It was a bit rainy, but I loved every minute of it. Just after I took this photo, two sailboats on the lake tacked over to join the party. Can you think of anything better than drifting along in a sailboat listening to Brahms on a Summer night? I brought along a new kind of individual frozen dessert cup (Creme Caramel cheesecake by Bellaberry) in my picnic basket and it was delicious. You pack it frozen and by the time you're ready for dessert, it will be defrosted - bravo!

Lawn Tickets

I love when the Detroit Symphony Orchestra performs their summer concert series outdoors. I pack a picnic dinner and spend the evening listening to Debussy, Rachmaninoff, and Glinka. It is a lovely way to spend an evening outdoors. A favorite recipe for picnics is a layered salad in individual wide mouth jam jars - so pretty and easy to transport. I saw the recipe in Southern Living magazine - see link above.