I’ve posted a new entry on the Pittsburgh Symphony blog, “Music, stories, and the world around us.” It’s in response to this weekend’s concerts, which featured The Dharma at Big Sur conducted by the composer, John Adams.

Adams has said he wrote the piece to reflect his feelings on coming to Big Sur for the first time, an East Coast native encountering the Pacific Ocean for the first time. The music definitely conveys a sense of wonder and awe.

I visited Big Sur just once in my years living in San Francisco, and my feeling was not like Adams’s. I had been living in the Bay Area for a while, so part of the difference would be that the newness had worn away.

But my memories of Big Sur aren’t even of the coast, cliffs, and ocean. They’re of dark forest and massive trees — a side of Big Sur that is less flashy but no less full of wonder.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see the part of Big Sur that included the stream and chairs above. They add a bit of whimsy and magic to the splendor, and I would have liked that.

(Photo credit: Big Sur – Aug06, originally uploaded by Waldo647.)