Yuja Wang, and her National Symphony Orchestra debut

On Saturday, Jill and I had the great opportunity to go and hear the National Symphony Orchestra perform at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. And, thanks to a friend, we were able to get really good seats (Prime Orchestra Right).

The Program was as follows:

Charles Dutoit, conductor
Yuja Wang, piano

RAVEL - Le Tombeau de Couperin (orchestrated version)

PROKOFIEV - Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16

STRAVINSKY - The Firebird (complete ballet)

As the title mentions, this was Yuja Wang's debut with the NSO. And boy was it amazing. To be honest, I was not familiar with the first two pieces, and was really only familiar with The Firebird in name only. I was forewarned that the Prokofiev No. 2 was a little "different," and to keep "an open mind." But I found the piece rather fascinating -- accentuated by our great seats with a view of her hands the entire time. Without gushing too much, I'll just say that I was amazed and rather enjoyed the entire evening.

It was a wonderful evening of music. We ended up spending some time that night and the next day looking for YouTube videos of Yuja Wang and other musicians, and stumbled across some pretty cool stuff. (I already posted the supersonic flight of the bumblebee; the related videos can take you wandering through some other musical adventures.)

We hope to have more opportunities to enjoy the arts and appreciate the wonderful talents of others.