LarryC Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 (edited) A very interesting concert at Strathmore music center in Bethesda Friday night. The Baltimore Symphony under Dr. Marin Alsop. Large, crystal-clear slide-like photos of each planet. I had never before seen the massive sensational lightning storms at the poles of some planets. A presentation on each planet was given by Dr. Mario Livio, senior astrophysicist at the Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute. Dr. Alsop gave a presentation on Gustave Holst, accompanied by brief examples played by the orchestra of how The Planets strongly influenced "space music" as in 2001 A Space Odyssey. This was followed by a full,uninterrupted performance of The Planets by the BSO, in which Holst's writing and orchestration produced some amazing, truly unearthly sounds. The BSO used a full complement of instruments, including some not included in the great National Philharmonic concert our Klipsch group attended several years ago. The BSO strings were outstanding, including solo work by the concertmaster (lead violinist) and the principal cellist. The audience greatly appreciated this fascinating evening. Edited November 12, 2013 by LarryC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Sounds delightful to the eyes & ears! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Great report Larry. Wished I hadn't missed this one, but really bad fleet left me sidelined after a few days work. Larry and our local gang of Klipschaholics have enjoyed The Planets in the past as one of our first get togethers at the The Strathmore, one of the finest acoustic facilities in the world. For those of you who never attend a symphonic concert, I urge you to change your minds. Your view of the reproduction of music will change forever once you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted November 12, 2013 Author Share Posted November 12, 2013 Here are some of the slides from the Hubble shown by Dr.Livio: http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/solar_system. A link under each picture will bring up detail on what it shows. A correction to my earlier post: the lighted and white areas in the polar regions of Mars were auroras and ice caps, not lightning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 I also got to attend this. Unfortunately due to a late start from work, and then stuck in traffic due to an accident halfway to Springfield, were I then catch the metro, I missed the first half of the lecture portion. A real bummer as I also love astronomy (studied two years of it in college - probably could've gotten a minor in it). I at least got to see from Jupiter and on as well as the actual musical performance of The Planets. I also was not able to get a ticket up where Larry was sitting, but got one right down there on the orchestra floor. I was sitting about 4 rows back from the actual orchestra. Personally, I think that is two close (kinda like sitting right on top of my speakers when listening to it on my rig). At least I did find Larry right after the performance, so glad to get to see him. Still, as Larry has aptly described above, it really was a beautiful performance and very well done. It it wasn't such a PITA to get there from my place due to all the traffic, construction and what-have-ya, especially for week-night performances, I would be inclined to attend more performances up there. For example, I am still very tempted to go up there to see that performance of War Requiem on the 16th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhing Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 It sounds like a great presentation. It is truly amazing what Gustav Holst composed before the age of space flight. His use of the bass section to characterize the gravity of each planet is really incredible. Wish I could have been there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 I would have really enjoyed being there. Thanks for the report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted November 14, 2013 Author Share Posted November 14, 2013 (edited) I would have really enjoyed being there. Thanks for the report. I periodically mention when a good concert is coming up, and those of you who live closer to DC/MD/VA should feel free to chime in and join in. We/ve had good group get-togethers in the past. Edited November 14, 2013 by LarryC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tromprof Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 When I saw the subject title ("big slides") I got excited. Wrong kind of slides Planets is a fun piece though. For all those wanting to see a big slide here is one: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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