Tuesday in the Park with George… and the New York Philharmonic

First, one is the loneliest number. Michelle has gone to Spring Valley after our four wonderful weeks here. She has internet and hopes she has time to write for the next 7 weeks, but for now your stuck with me.

Over the weekend Nik and Katrina came to visit. It was a great time and I’ll be writing about all that soon so check back towards the end of the week for a big post!

Anyway, the Park. Yesterday I stayed at my place and cleaned, ironed, and watched Jon and Kate (a show on TLC) for about 3 1/2 hours. Tonight I went to… let me pause for a second to say I’m listening to Cubs radio on the internet and the sound of that Wrigley organ is warming to my heart… Central Park to see the New York Philharmonic orchestra perform the first of two outdoor shows there. Before I went I came back to my place and ate an old taco, Cambell’s chicken soup, and made a perfectly cooked grilled cheese. Then I took the 6 up to 86th and walked to the park from there. I stopped and got some Gatorade and honey roasted peanuts for the show and then proceeded to the Great Lawn.

Before I got there I gave a call to Monty to see if there is anything I should be listening for (a certain section or technical aspect) and he said, “The New York Philharmonic!”. I have yet to actually go to a show with Monty, but would love to so that I could get a more comprehensive understanding of the piece being performed.

I got to the lawn and weaved into a crowded mess of thousands. My plan succeeded and I found enough room for one person near the front. I laid out my towel and sat to read my current book, God Speaks Navajo, an autobiography about a missionary women who spent most of her adult life with the tribe that fixed my family’s Aerostar in the middle of desert Arizona… let me pause again to say that I’m furious with the Cubs who were down 2 runs and left 5 men on in the 8th and 9th, 3 of which were on in the 9th with no outs followed by about 9 straight strikes. Pathetic, but I will say we haven’t lost games like that often.

Don’t you love how I’m all over the place tonight? Alright, I had my spot and the performance started. Our conductor was Bramwell Tovey, a humorous Brit. They played: Shostakovich – Festive Overture, Mendelssohn – Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90, Italian, Tchaikovsky – 1812 Overture, and Sousa – Washington Post, Liberty Bell, and Stars and Stripes Forever. For an encore they took a vote via text messages and Hendrix’s Purple Haze won. I was amazed by the Shostakovich. I know I’ve heard him, but I don’t think I was ever paying attention before. It was lively and fantastic. During Medelssohn people decided to talk, which I suppose you can expect at an outdoor concert. The problem was that this joker in front of me was on the phone giving pathetic directions to his location. I held back and shut up. It would have broken my deep deep relaxation.

Of course, during the latter part of the performance most people quieted down because they had actually heard these pieces at some point in their life. I want to focus on the Stars and Stripes. I love Stars and Stripes. What needs to be said for this piece is piccolo, piccolo, piccolo. And it was flawless. This musician hit every note fluid and strong. Now, as I listened I felt the most “American” I have in a long time. In New York, you don’t really feel a strong sense of government establishment if I might say so from my own experience. Maybe it’s just where I live in Manhattan, but people seem to be very anti-establishment or just doing their own thing. There isn’t much comradery. I thought, “It would be impossible not to feel patriotic while sitting in Central Park listening to the NY Philharmonic playing John Philip Sousa”.

Directly after the performance, we all turned around and watched fireworks over the skyline. That was really cool and the point when I felt most lonely because Michelle would have loved it. It still astounds me that this Park designed by Olmstead sits in the middle of a city and yet seems so far removed.

Finally, I came back and wrote.

-George the Listener

The Great Lawn filled to the brim

My quaint space

The stage on the north end of the Great Lawn

Fireworks after the show