gdanmitchell
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 p.1 #12 · Barcelona Spain , best places for street photography and any other thoughts | |
Taperwing wrote:
To be honest, that was pure serendipity. A little context first.
Glass's work periodically resurfaces on my radar, typically when I'm on one of my audio benders. Much of his work has the curious ability to bore right to the very core of my being, and rattle my neurons like nothing else. Almost certainly analogous to an illicit substance, but in a positive way. Ironically, for my wife Glass's work evokes a response similar in magnitude, but in polar opposite to mine. She once threatened to jump out of our moving car when I played one of his pieces.
Knowing that, it was quite a surprise when my spouse somehow: (1) found out Glass would be playing during our visit to Barcelona, (2) he was to play at one of the places we truly wanted to visit, preferably for a concert, (3) tickets were still available at a reasonable cost, and most importantly (4) she thought we should go. Maybe she has mellowed with age, but she was as entranced with the experience as I was. A extraordinarily special evening.
Hope you enjoy Barcelona, and wherever else you might find yourself in Catalonia.
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I first encountered Glass and his music as a young composition student — my mentor introduced me to his music. (In those days I also attended performances by folks like Terry Riley, Laurie Anderson, Steve Reich, John Adams, and others before they were widely known. I had a connection to synth builder Don Buchla, met Bob Moog, and more. But I digress... ;-) )
The first Glass concert I attended was a performance by the Philip Glass ensemble in the late 1970s. I was actually a bit pissed off by the incredibly loud volume — I was actually experiencing a kind of audio distortion in my ears and I had to leave. I liked the music but could not tolerate the volume. (This despite having played in a band in small, loud clubs for years...) Eventually I heard other stuff, including a performance of Satyagraha with SF Opera and also the marvelous film, "Koyaanisqatsi." Each experience caused me to reevaluate my initially simplistic notion of how his music works, and a truly marvelous experience was hearing him perform the solo piano works in concert. (I've also heard some truly forgettable stuff, including an opera about the Civil War that was performed in SF and which almost immediately dropped from view.)
Your post brings up another "travel tip" that we caught onto some years back. Well, actually, my wife gets the credit. There are often concerts in some places that you might otherwise spend hours waiting to get into. But a concert ticket — as you did — and you get in without the waiting, without the crowds, and you get to hear a concert. One of our visits to pre-fire Notre Dame was made this way, and our first visit to Sainte-Chappelle was for a concert. (Imagine our reaction, being completely ignorant of that place and arriving "to hear a concert" when we walked into it right around sunset!)
Dan
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