[At the Christian Science Center, Boston; 2pm, 6/14/09]
The weekend flew by...
The Boston Pops concert Saturday night at Symphony Hall was part of their celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing on July 20, 1969 (Buzz Aldrin had been there on Thursday night, but alas not Saturday). After opening with the fanfare from Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra (you know, the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey), the Pops orchestra did excerpts from Holst's The Planets -- Mars, Venus and Jupiter -- accompanied by some gorgeous video by astronomer and visualizer José Francisco Salgado of Chicago's Adler Planetarium. (See photo below from the Adler site.)
They also had the Navy Band Northeast Wind Ensemble, which was okay, though not my thing. I was happy for their conductor, though, who was thrilled he said after 24 years of conducting to be standing on stage at the 100+ year old Symphony Hall. The third part featured the Tanglewood Festival Chorus performing patriotic stuff, again alas not my thing but something the Pops is good at. It's likely much the same type of thing they perform every year for the 4th of July concert on the Esplanade.
[Christian Science Center]
Sunday was gray and rather chilly, though mostly the rain held off but for a bit of spitting now and then. Too bad I didn't have my camera with me the evening before as we'd walked by the reflecting pool at the Christian Science Center on a lovely evening. Here's how it looks on a sunny day.
I'd never been to the Mapparium at the Christian Science Center and it was fabulous! You stand inside a stained-glass globe with the 1935 Rand McNally map of the world surrounding you on all sides (there's a 30-foot-long bridge to stand on in the middle). There's an all-too-brief tour to go inside, and the guide explains the features, etc. I'd have to loved to spend a hour - beautiful and fascinating. I've always loved maps. The website has a gallery, though it doesn't do it justice - I think you just have to be inside to appreciate it.
As the stars would have it, my friend CA was in the city this weekend and since I hadn't seen her in many months, we got together for dinner last night. So it was another busy weekend. But lovely.
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