To Bach or not to Bach

After not giving a specific answer to that question on the survey about goals for the coming year, I thought of one.
I want to go to a performance of the Concerto in D minor for two violins by Bach.
This particular piece is on an ancient video we have of Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and Zubin Mehta at Lincoln Center. It's one of my first memories of classical music.

Now, after I thought of this, I realized that choosing one piece of music from all those millions that are out there and hoping that it will be performed soon in my area is a bit of wishful thinking.
BUT!!!!
Guess what the San Francisco Symphony is doing on February 4????
You guessed it!!!
However, Joshua Bell is doing a recital at Davies the Saturday after that.
Ach!
Such decisions!!!!
What ever shall I do????
The Bach concerto or Josh???????
If I choose Josh, I decided I can't do the terrace seating. I gotta see the guy, even if it's from the nosebleeds.
The problem is then that I don't know what he's going to be playing. I think it might be Tchaikovsky, which isn't exactly a favorite, but JB can make pretty much anything enjoyable.

I was in the car the other day and I turned on KDFC and I knew right away that the piece playing was Vivaldi. It just couldn't have been anyone else.
I love my Vivaldi.
I feel like I grow about two inches when I hear his music.

The parents think that the Messiah we just went to was better than the one two years ago.
I think not.
The bass was blah this year. We saw Nathan Gunn in 03. Helloooooooo. Need I say more?
But the conductor was better this year. He could probably sing the entire score in his sleep. He was the most animated that I've ever seen. We got to the "and his name shall be called" bit and he sort of looked like I felt.

Davies is a great place to people watch. There is everything from twentysomethings in their jeans to old ladies with two inches of face powder who reek of alcohol, the latter of which are infinitely more entertaining.