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I took Maia to a concert of the Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall tonight, thanks to my mom and dad. (They'd gone to the same concert, courtesy of Nathaniel and Lina, and raved about it...)

Originally I intended to go with Linda, but when she came down with a cold, Maia agreed to be my date for the evening.

The concert really merited the raves. It was fabulous. It began with a modern piece by Benjamin Britten. A bit atonal in a few places, but still melodic and very moving. Then there was a Mozart piano concerto in C major (the "Emperor" concerto) -- lovely and masterful, like all Mozart, and then Symphony #1 by Sibelius. The Sibelius symphony was remarkable. It didn't have a hummable "tune" like a Beethoven symphony, but it was quite moving. Parts were dark and brooding, parts majestic.

What really added to the experience was Maia's interest. She displayed a little bit of kid wiggles, but for the most part she was on the edge of her seat, wide-eyed and full of questions. She asked about the oboe ("Dad, what is that tall tube thingy?"), the tuba ("Is that a trumpet?"), and why the basses were bigger than the musicians who played them. And she had a definite opinion about what she liked the best (first movement of the Sibelius symphony). It was delightful to expose my daughter to some culture -- and I came away inspired to learn a bit more about classical music myself.