Saturday at the Symphony Evening Concert

Thank God Fraturday is finally  over, I did not think I would make it the whole way without going off on some 'less than intelligent' consumer who happened to draw my ire.  However, the afternoon mellowed out during the football game between hometown TCU and OU out of Norman.  It was all good when the Horned Frogs out lasted the Sooners 37-33 in a wild and crazy shootout.  That made all the locals happy and the Okies sent skulking back north of the border duly admonished.  After that it was just a matter of having enough energy to last until 8 PM so I could dash outta there, get home and collapse in my chair in front of the computer.  Oh and by the way, welcome to your Saturday at the Symphony Evening Concert now that I have all that off my chest.  I am ready to toss the pizza in the oven and call it a night, but first tonight's concert:

Tonight's featured composer was a complex man whose music was sometimes 'misunderstood' during his lifetime, but celebrated after his passing in 1896.  From his Wikipedia page: 

Anton Bruckner (German: [ˈantɔn ˈbʀʊknɐ] ( listen); 4 September 1824 – 11 October 1896) was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, strongly polyphonic character, and considerable length.^[1] Bruckner's compositions helped to define contemporary musical radicalism, owing to their dissonances, unprepared modulations, and roving harmonies.

Unlike other musical radicals, such as Richard Wagner or Hugo Wolf who fitted the enfant terrible mould, Bruckner showed extreme humility before other musicians, Wagner in particular. This apparent dichotomy between Bruckner the man and Bruckner the composer hampers efforts to describe his life in a way that gives a straightforward context for his music.

His works, the symphonies in particular, had detractors, most notably the influential Austrian critic Eduard Hanslick, and other supporters of Johannes Brahms (and detractors of Wagner), who pointed to their large size, use of repetition,^[2] and Bruckner's propensity to revise many of his works, often with the assistance of colleagues, and his apparent indecision about which versions he preferred. On the other hand, Bruckner was greatly admired by subsequent composers, including his friend Gustav Mahler, who described him as "half simpleton, half God".^[3]

"Bruckner expanded the concept of the symphonic form in ways that have never been witnessed before or since. … When listening to a Bruckner symphony, one encounters some of the most complex symphonic writing ever created. As scholars study Bruckner's scores they continue to revel in the complexity of Bruckner's creative logic."[26]  Tonight's featured work is the culmination of Bruckner's life's work, his Symphony Number 9 in D Minor, WAB109.  Tonight's performance is a recording from the Goldener Hall at the Musikverein in Vienna featuring a 1990 concert by the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of the legendary Leonard Bernstein.  You may also hear the 2007 performance by the Vienna Philharmonic, this time under the baton of Daniel Barenboim at Royal Albert Hall in London of Bruckner's Symphony Number in E Flat Major, WAB104 'The Romantic' over on my tumblr.  

To accompany this musical majesty, this collection of lithesome lads and smokin' hotties on display below the video should knock your socks off.  These portraits muscular menfolk,  all of whom are Naked or Nearly So, each will evoke its own response from the viewer, from youthful playfulness to striking sensuality, this collection has it all.  If that is not enough for your visual fulfillment, the check out Karel Rok who is your Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr.  Thanks for sharing your Saturday with me and the symphony.  See  you again on Monday for another week of Music, Men & More!  Until next time as always, Enjoy!