Pardon My Poppet

Last night was date night.  For the first time since I was 5 months pregnant with Poppet, Hubby and I headed to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) while Grandma watched baby.  What a delight for the senses!  We were going to enjoy a wonderful rendition of Mozart’s Concerto for 3 Pianos in F Major as well as his Jupiter symphony.

Leon Fleischer, His wife Katherine Jacobson Fleischer, and former student Stewart Goodyear tickled the ivories.  Mrs. Fleischer and Mr. Goodyear carried themselves as every bit the professionals they are.  As did Mr. Fleischer.  However, he provided an extra enjoyment to observe.  Appearing a good 20 years younger than his 83 years, often appearing as a man gayfully wandering through the purity of each note.  With little fanfare, ease and apparently little effort he seemed to be caught in the bliss of the music.  As he plays his lips hum each little phrase.  Such fun to watch!  With perfect synchronicity, this 3 beautiful Steinway Grand pianos blended eerily into a single voice.

If that wasn’t enough, this was immediately followed by Mr. Fleischer conducting the TSO in “Jupiter”.  Again, Mr. Fleischer seemed as much a member of the audience in the enjoyment pouring from him while he conducted.  It was unintentionally, unconventionally, beautiful!

What does this have to do with Thrifty Thursday?  Well, we go to 3 such concerts a year.  We have subscribed to the Afterworks concert series.  We only pay for the least expensive set of seats.  And before you think they are the worst seats in the house, let me tell you, they are the BEST!  We once got upgraded to the 2nd row orchestra.  But where we have our regular seats we feel like we are part of the orchestra!  So much excitement, and you see absolutely EVERYTHING!  For 2 tickets to attend all 3 concerts, we pay $138.  That’s $23 per person per concert.  Pretty inexpensive price tag for such an elegant experience!  Here’s a shot from our seats, just to entice you!  And we sit in section R7 in the front row.

The Afterworks series runs from 6:30 – 8:00 PM with no intermission (which I LOVE!).  Add to that the host, Tom Allen, introduces each concert with lots of interesting background.  Like Mozart being the first freelance musician.  Who knew? Included with a subscription is a Season Highlights CD and a Subscriber Partner Discount Card.

As we listened in silence, I couldn’t help but think of those musicians, who almost 250 years ago debuted these same compositions, went home after that concert as these musicians would today.  I was struck by how music unites us on common ground throughout history!

Warmest regards,

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