Swan Lake

The children prepared for months for the arrival of Swan Lake here in Lincoln. We have been listening to Tchaikovsky's beautiful music; Claire and Thomas have practiced their pas de deux and pirouettes; and James watched my kid-proofed edit of Billy Elliot and Netflix movies of The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. We were a bit bummed that Suzanne Farrell's dance company only offered a one-act truncation of Tchaikovsky's ballet classic (with additional acts of yet another Tchaikovsky score and another by Stravinsky); but the little that we did see of Swan Lake was magical. Claire wore her pink tutu and told everyone around us afterward that she loved the french horns (albeit via soundtrack); and James and Thomas were seasoned veterans of the Lied Center, showing Claire the drinking fountains, the balcony doors, and spotlights like good big brothers sharing their wisdom with their little sister. We saw quite a few friends in the audience, and it was fun to spend Valentine's evening with Jason and my sweet, funny littles. And, in a couple more years, Anna can join us too!

French Horn shout-outs!

Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 2 was my go-to solo/concerto piece when I played the french horn, and my good friend Lynn was my trusty accompanist. I love all three movements but the rondo is the most fun to play (starts at 9:44).

Now that I'm home with the littles, we listen to so much music, and my family always laughs at me with my ongoing shout-outs to the horn. James loves the Star Wars theme song; I love the french horn awesomeness (especially from 58 seconds to 1:10…"french horn!"). In high school and college, I would warm up before rehearsals by playing John Williams's theme song to Jurassic Park which is basically the ultimate french horn--meets--cinematic theme-song mashup. Geoffrey Burgon's Aslan's Theme from the BBC version of The Chronicles of Narnia features the French horn right from the beginning. Thomas says that this song is "b-yoo-tee-full", and all the children now say it before I do: "French horn!"

There are highbrow french horn moments too such as the horn solo from Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony (Second Movement), or the powerful horn solos from Mahler's Symphony No. 5 (3rd Movement). And listen to the sweet depth the horns bring to Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man (especially at 48 seconds to 1:19…"french horns!"). Bring back the horns!