Charmed Sister writes: Since my stay in Washington coincided with Viggo Mortensen’s Miyelo exhibit at the Addison/Ripley Gallery in Georgetown, DC, I made it a point to see his photos in person. [More]
Day: October 8, 2004
Charmed Sister writes: I was in Washington the past 2 weeks, and imagine my surprise when I happened to be staying at the same hotel as Viggo Mortensen. This was a stroke of luck. I bumped into him at the lobby of the hotel, and he was very gracious and polite. Knowing how he is about stardom, etc., I refrained from asking for a photo (although I had my camera on me) or an autograph. I merely approached him and told him that it was an honor to meet him and that I loved his work. He smiled, said thank you and wished me a great day. He looked great, as usual.
Since my stay in Washington coincided with his Miyelo exhibit at the Addison/Ripley Gallery in Georgetown, DC, I made it a point to see his photos in person. The gallery is a little out of the way, but it is definitely worth the trip. The pictures are visually stunning. The colors jump out at you, and the stories and poems that accompany them are thought-provoking and fascinating. The exhibit is a wonderful way to see another side of Viggo, along with getting to know a little more about this wonderful culture of native Americans. For those of you who will actually get to see the exhibit, my personal favorite was Miyelo 12 (going for 3,200$). The prices of the photos range from 585$-5,820$ and they are definitely worth that much (if someone has that kind of money to spend). They also sell a book of all the Miyelo photos. The hardcover is about 60$, and the softcover is 32$.
The exhibit runs through to October 23, 2004. If you can, make the trip … you won’t regret it.
Visit the Addison/Ripley Gallery website.
wmchichiri writes: : Last Night at the Meyerson Center, the Dallas Orchestra performed the Lord of the Rings Symphony, and I had a very precious seat for the performance. Words will never be able to fully convey or express my immense enjoyment in the performance. [More]
wmchichiri: Last Night at the Meyerson Center, the Dallas Orchestra performed the Lord of the Rings Symphony, and I had a very precious seat for the performance. Words will never be able to fully convey or express my immense enjoyment in the performance. The vocalists who had solo performances were truly a great treat to listen too… and to hear the music performed live, with the clarity that a live performance can give you was truly astounding. When the evening came to an end, the place was rocked by a standing ovation that lasted well beyond 5 minutes. I know I kept clapping hoping against hope for an encore, but no such luck.
I actually had tears glimmering in my eyes during the soaring call to arms for Gondor (when Pippin lights the fire signal, and it sets off a chain reaction to all of Gondor’s men and allies). This reaction took me utterly back, for I had never gotten so emotionally invested when watching the films or listening to this music before… but there was something about the sound of it, beyond the meaning of it in the film, that was truly awe-inspiring that left me dumbfounded to attempt to even minutely understand my reaction to it. And that my dear hobbits and elves, is the mark of not just a moving piece of music, but something ethereally transcendent and infinitely precious beyond any material value… a truly rare occurrence that is the earmark of musical masterpieces.
The performance was accentuated by color gel lighting that helped set the major themes of the music in a more visual way. For instance, music reflecting the shire had the orchestra bathed in a deep bright emerald green color, the lights went to a yellow, and darkened to a yellow orange, and then an orange red color when dealing with the main themes of the “enemy” forces, be they Balrog, Nazgul, Orc, Goblin, Uruk-Hai, or man. In addition to the lighting, there were screens showing storyboard art and illustrations that advanced the story with the music. It was meant to be a visual roadmap through the journey of the story as the music followed the story.
Unfortunately for us within five minutes of the onset of the performance the screens went black, and this was not fixed until we returned from intermission to here the selections from The Two Towers and Return of the King. As a compensation, every purchased ticket will be receiving a voucher which will allow free admission to one of the Dallas Orchestra’s classical series performances later this year. So my ticket has, like Frodo, gone on an unexpected journey. Though in my case, I fear the only Balrog I will have to face, is the poor signs in downtown Dallas that never direct you properly to any of the major highways. (For those unfamiliar with Dallas, there will be a sign that has an arrow pointing straight ahead for I-30, you follow it, never see another sign, and eventually end up dead-ending in a parking lot. I spent 20 minutes trying to find a sign correctly followed by other signs to navigate me to the proper road. )
My only disappointment in the evening, came not from the performance itself, but rather from the lack of certain musical pieces I had been anticipating: May It Be, Eowyn singing at Theodred’s funeral, the arrival of the elves at Helm’s Deep (I so adore the instrumentation of the Lothlorien theme there!), Pippin singing as Faramir goes on a kamikaze mission to Osgiliath. But if my only disappointment, is something not included, and not something that was included. well I’m quite content. Except I want to kill the people who sat in a section near me who arrived decked out in jingling homecoming mum’s, I kept hearing them throughout the performance.
So for those who have yet to experience the fun. you should try to catch a performance yourself! This evening has only increased my appetite for the anticipated release of Howard Shore’s multi-volume box set of the Lord of the Rings score next year.
Robbi writes: There are still a few tickets remaining for the upcoming Chicago LOTR symphony performances being held on October 8 & 9. Howard Shore will be holding a pre-concert Q&A both evenings. Certainly NOT to be missed! [Tickets]