An Extraordinary Afternoon

This is one of the wonderful Moorish-Spanish lamps that hangs in the entrance area of the Mount Baker Theatre downtown, a 1,509-seat performing arts venue and national historic landmark.

The Whatcom Symphony Orchestra presents its concerts in this theatre, and we were there today for a very special one, the inaugural concert on the theme of "Harmony From Discord: Music That Transcends Oppression," a multi-year concept conceived by Yaniv Attar, the symphony's outstanding conductor.

Before the concert began, a beloved Bellingham resident, Noémi Ban, 93, spoke briefly. A Holocaust survivor, she gives talks here and further afield several times a year, sharing with people of all ages her firsthand experiences in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. She and her grandmother, mother, younger sister, and baby brother were sent to Auschwitz, but only Noémi survived. 

Despite those horrific years, her message is always that "Hate is not the answer."  I met  Noémi in the intermission, and as I shook her hand and expressed my thanks, I was deeply moved to think what her life had been like and how she had survived against all odds, and still says "I love life!" with a smile and a twinkle in her eyes. (You can hear her message here.)

The first work on the program was the rarely-heard Concerto for Flute, Viola, Piano, and String Orchestra by László Weiner, a Hungarian composer, pianist, and conductor who died at age 28, deported by the Nazis to the Lukov forced labor camp. Written in 1941, the concerto was lyrical and moving. The three soloists were all women; the flute and viola soloists are principal players in the Seattle Symphony, and the pianist was equally outstanding. 

After intermission, we settled in to hear Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47. Phil and I had attended the pre-concert talk on the two composers and their works, which helped us enjoy music as complex as this symphony. The orchestra filled the stage, and the glorious sound filled the hall, our ears, and our hearts. 

It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

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