For those who are curious, Friday night’s surprise outing was to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to hear, among other pieces, a Beethoven concerto for piano & orchestra. To say it was an outstanding evening is an exercise in extreme understatement. The music was splendid, the company unparalleled, and my new dress (along with all its, erm, accessories!) made me feel about ten times prettier than normal. Hooray for surprise outings!
Of course, hearing an orchestra play only served to renew my longing for, among other things, a piano and a French horn. (Probably in that order.) I’ve been gushing for going on twelve years now about how gorgeous I think the French horn’s sound is and how desperately I want to have a horn of my own and be able to play it well. It’s a bit too pricey for my parents to get me for Christmas, so it’s just one of those things that will have to happen later in life, after I’ve sold a few million copies of my novel(s). 🙂 Still. It’s good to have dreams.
If you don’t understand why the French horn gives me shivers and makes me weak in the knees, listen to the first 60 seconds of the first track of the “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” soundtrack. When I listen to those notes at home on my surround-sound system, the walls vibrate because I’ve got it up so loud … but … Oh. My. God. I cannot imagine a more beautiful sound in the world.
Well, a sound that’s not spoken, anyway. 😉