Tonight, Florence, Italy, was treated to a free concert in the Nelson Mandela Forum, a huge stadium type of hall in the Campo di Marte area of the city. Eight of my friends and I went to see this event and we heard Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Nona Sinfonia”. The direttore was Zubin Mehta.
Now, I must admit that although I like music, and even classical music, I rarely know titles or names. However, my friend Sarah kept raving about Zubin Mehta, saying that she has many of his CDs. And before the concert started, my friend Maria exclaimed, “There he is! Kelly, let’s go get a foto!” I am known around these parts for always having some sort of camera on my person and for sharing images.
He was standing near the back of the stage, but quite visible. Since I knew that Sarah was also a fan, I called out to her to join us and we ran after Maria from our seats in the side bleachers. And she just walked right up and asked for a photo with him for her grandmother. Both she and her nonna are fans of his and of classical music. I quickly handed my camera to a man nearby and this is how I came to be photographed with the famous Zubin Mehta with my friends Sarah and Maria.
Although Sarah, Maria, and Doria complained a little about the acoustics, I was actually surprised that it sounded pretty good in that space, although quiet. But then I no longer have a practiced ear and I love harmonies. The chorus was interesting, the soloist singers good, and of course, I loved the strings, flutes, and French horns and bassoons. And my favorite sound came from something like a timpani in a good mood.
All in all a fun night and I got to see something new a firenze.
a dopo . . .
