Music to our ears!

A *very big Thank You!* to Pr. Tim Landskroener and his wife Kathy for inviting my wife and me to the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra on Friday evening. The tickets were gifts to the Landskroeners, and the Landskroeners were quite generous to share them with us too. Thank you!

Usually, Friday evenings are set aside for crashing and burning after a long week. In fact, it's often difficult to get me to want to do anything that's extra-curricular. However, I'm sure glad that we went to the Philharmonic this past Friday. What a delightful gift that God has given in music that has endured the test of time! What wonderful gifts He gives to those who can play the instruments that all blend together to sound forth such beauty!

Friday's concert by the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by Robert Hart Baker. We were privileged to hear Felix Mendelssohn's Overture to Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Op. 27. That was every enjoyable to picture a ship and mariner at sea as we listened to the music.

Next we heard Hamlet Fantasy Overture, Op. 67 by Tchaikovsky. Wow! Talk about rich music with so many "layers" in that Russian style! (No, that's not an official review; just the reaction of this music novice.)

The real treat came with Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97, "Rhenish". What a great combination of majesty, evidently inspired by a visit to the Cologne Cathedral and the installation of the Archbishop there in the early 1850s, and of peaceful joy, inspired by Schumann's arrival in the Rhineland.

So, thank you Tim and Kathy, for inviting us to tag along, and THANK YOU! Lord for the gift of beautiful, stirring, and majestic music!