I was with some musician buddies in the Malibu Starbucks on Sunday. When they finished their set, this guy that had been playing solitare on a 17" pentium 4 laptop said, "Any of you heard of Yngwie Malmsteen?" He proceded to let us all listen to a track by this fellow that plays the electric guitar like Yo-Yo Ma plays Cello. I listened for less than 15 seconds, but it stuck with me. I downloaded Eclipse from iTunes on Monday. I was delighted by his version of 'Motherless Child,' but I liked the instrumental pieces best, so I just download and am listening to the Concerto that graces the subject of this journal entry.

The first movement is entitled Icarus Dream Fanfare, and anyone that knows me, probably knows how much I love the French Horn. The fanfare is fairly straight forward, with timpani, cymbals, and predictable crecsendos; however, when Malmsteen enters for the first time at the 37 second mark, I eagerly anticipated that clear electronic riff over the climactic horn fanfare. With a minute left in the movement, the horns take over the fanfare, and combination of the horns and the guitar is more than I could have hoped for. Amazing.

The track I'm listening to now features a harpsichord and an oboe, with the low strings marching in unison. He's alternating between imitating the harpsichord and flying into a flamenco inspired electornic trance. the Allegro

Not since I first hear Vanessa Mae's Violin Player has music so enthralled me.

Listening to: see above
Reading: Inventing a Nation by Gore Vidal
Watching: Smallville Season 2 disc 3
Writing: about trying to find something to write about
Sleeping: Soon
Dreaming: Speaking new languages, playing new instruments, seeing new places, and meeting new people