Art and Music

I attended the "Pictures at an Exhibition" performance by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic this evening.  The music was excellent, as always, but the total experience left me a little dissatisfied.  The first half of the program consisted or two works, "La Valse" by Ravel and "Tam o'Shanter: Symphonic Ballade" by Chadwick.  Both were beautiful but I particularly liked "La Valse."  After the intermission the orchestra performed "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Mussorgsky.  What made this part of the show unique was the addition of an artist on stage painting a picture while the orchestra played.  The artist and canvas were projected on a large overhead screen so we could watch as the painting developed from abstract forms to a well done, somewhat impressionistic pictures of a conductor and some members of the orchestra.  The artist, Theopolis Smith III, really did an excellent job.  My problem was that I got so involved in watching the picture evolve that I wasn't really listening to the music.  Sometimes I just needed to close my eyes to appreciate the music.  I think from now on I would like to keep my visual arts and music separate.