An Afternoon with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Last Sunday, some Methodist ladies were on the move again searching for cultural enlightenment. At 2:00 pm, we were in our seats at Bass Hall awaiting the performance of Adam Golka, a touring concert pianist based in New York. We sensed a different aura and audience today than the one we shared on our last visit when we saw Menopause The Musical. Not one person laughed.

Golka is a young man (26) but he is an old friend to the area. He earned his artist diploma from TCU and played his first concerto with FWSO at age thirteen. His rendition of Brahams Piano Concerto No. 2 lifted the listeners up from their seats to a melody-filled place of grace and beauty. From the moment guest conductor Joshua Weilerstein lifted his baton, and Golka lifted his hands, the audience made no sound – no movement, no cough, no whispering. After about one hour, I noticed some masculine heads resting on chests, or their neighbors, but even then, they slept silently. The attendees wanted to savor every note.

In the powder room at intermission, I heard some interesting remarks: ​

“Marge, did you notice there were 34 fiddles on that stage, but they sounded like just one?”

​“I don’t know much about Brahams, but I do like his lullaby.” ​

“I didn’t want to come. My mom made me. But that Golka guy plays a rad piano!”

We absorbed the unique culture afforded by classical music and brought it home with us. The beautiful, soaring notes remain in my head and heart. I’m so glad that Adam Golka returned to Fort Worth and shared his musical talent with the city where it all began.

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Thought for the day: 

A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she is in hot water. – Eleanor Roosevelt. 

And the Methodist ladies said, “Amen!”