One of the benefits of living in B'game is our very central location.  A short hop to Palo Alto and Silicon Valley, easy access to Half Moon Bay and twenty minutes to downtown EssEff on a good day.  Monday night was a "good day" because the 9ers were on TV, but I had plans to go to the symphony.  We have some music lovers on the Voice and an entertainment drought in B'game so allow me to quote a bit of the review of the London Philharmonic performance from the Mercury News

But Prokofiev's concerto was enough to make you believe Jurowski and Bavouzet are some kind of musical soul mates. At first glance, the Russian conductor and French pianist seem to be very different types. Jurowski is a precise, understated podium presence, given to small, careful gestures; Bavouzet, agile and impish, is just as precise, but the overriding impression is one of an overgrown prodigy out to dazzle his listeners.

I went the following night for

The Philharmonic's second program, scheduled for Monday evening, will feature Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8 in C minor and Magnus Lindberg's "Chorale."

and it was excellent as was the view of EssEff city hall bathed in orange light.  It could be Giants orange or Halloween orange complemented by the Dia de Muertos posters on display, but either way the whole evening was a pleasure.  We are paying the living costs to be this close to EssEff so we might as well enjoy the good parts whenever possible!