Day - 1411

Friday, February 14, 2020

Happy Valentine's Day!  Alice always tell me, "Hagan, do not get me flowers, please," and I always ignore her.  I've told her many times that on Valentine's Day, she's getting flowers, a V day card, and we're going out to dinner.  She says she doesn't need any of that, but I suspect she secretly loves being reminded how much I love her, so every Valentine's Day we do this routine in which I bring her flowers and a card and we go out to dinner.  It works and I love it and I suspect she loves it, too.

Usually, I get Alice roses, but I mixed it up this year with a beautiful orchid, one of her favorite flowers.  Alice has a way with orchids and keeps them alive seemingly indefinitely.  I like the colors on this one.


This year we had the added bonus of going to the SF Symphony as well, which meant dinner was at Max's Opera Cafe on Van Ness, our go-to spot when we're eating out before the symphony.  We always order the same thing at Max's: we split everything, the Stella Artois beer, the deep fried calamari, and the prime rib dinner.  We ordered all that plus the NY cheesecake for dessert.  Max's was crazy busy (good thing I made reservations), so we didn't leave the restaurant until a little before 7.  The Symphony talk started at 7 so we missed the first 10 minutes.  The program was a good one:


I chose this concert back in August for the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony.  I was not disappointed.  Not only is this one of the classic masterworks in the western repertoire, every movement is exciting, thrilling and filled with special moments.  It looks difficult to perform, fast, delicate in spots, and also majestic.  I guess there are many symphonies featuring organ that were written in the 19th century, but this is the lone organ symphony standing, with good reason.  It's just a magnificent, beauty, wonderful piece of symphony music and a total crowd pleaser.

The Dukas piece was fun and full of life, and the US premier of Tangos Manos was very flamboyant, fast, and audacious, exactly what you would expect from a tango concerto.  What a wonderful night at the symphony and a perfect evening with my sweetie on Valentine's Day!

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