Punched in the Heart by Shostakovich

Today, my check list of daily duties said "work 9-1"... then, that's it!  There's nothing else I have to do today!  ...Well, except the laundry.  I'm so happy to have the rest of the day off.  My weekend, sure didn't feel like one with the two performances with Rainier Symphony.  And yesterday, I drove for four hours in stormy weather to and from Bellingham, but let me tell you, it was worth it!

The Western Washington University Symphony Orchestra performed pieces by Glass, Ravel, Khachaturian and Shostakovich.  An impressive program to say the least.  They did a fantastic job with all of them, supporting three soloists, including a quartet of saxophones, a signer, and a pianist, but it was the Shostakovich that stole the show - his Symphony No. 5 punched me in the heart.

Tears were streaming slowly down my cheeks by the end of the first movement.  It felt like leaving a beloved place, knowing you could never return.

The second movement was controlled chaos, like a circus, deliriously distracting.

If the third movement was a person, I would want to comfort them, give them a hug and tell them, "I'm sorry" for the music was so painful.  Here was a being in such despair.  And it was so terribly beautiful. I was a puddle on the floor when it was over.

I was so emotionally drained from the previous movement that I had to mentally check out during the finale but the music drew me in once more.  It had power behind it this time, was it fury?  Thankfully, it broke through the strife and ended triumphantly.  The pain was overcome. 

Oh, they did a marvelous job.  Such a stunning performance - so true, so raw and completely humbling.