Back to the Royal Albert Hall again
In between reading and freaking out about my mother's electricity bills (I'll spare you the story) we went to two Prom concerts this week.
On Tuesday we went to hear the BBC Philharmonic and their conductor Jan Storgards play music by Walton, Rubbra, Bruch and Korngold. The Walton was a march composed for the Coronation in which, as J said, he was trying to channel Elgar and failing. The Rubbra was Ode to the Queen performed by soprano Susan Bickley. I was sitting in an unfortunate position behind both a curtain and a pillar and actually behind and to the side of the soprano so the acoustics weren't the best, but I have to say I wasn't impressed. The Bruch Violin Concerto No 1 played by young Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang was much better and her playing was very spirited. After the interval it was time for Korngold's Symphony in F Sharp. Korngold is best known for his wonderful film music but I do like the first two movements of this symphony very much. I felt it began to drag a bit later on or possibly I was bored by my view of the pillar. It's always entertaining listening to Korngold's serious music because it is full, as J says again, of "tunes that John Williams hadn't written yet". Let's just say there are very brief moments that sound extremely familiar. One for film music fans I think.
The concert on Thursday was actually much better. This time I'd lost the curtain but became nearly surgically attached to a different pillar. (Note to people buying tickets for the Albert Hall: Do not sit in the Loggia Boxes unless absolutely forced to. The tickets are expensive but the views from the side boxes are often very restricted and in the front seats there is as little leg room as there is in the Globe.) It was actually worth the discomfort for an excellent concert. This time it was the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, who are terrific, and their conductor Mariss Jansons, also terrific. The first half was Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 4 played by Mitsuko Uchida, wearing a slightly unwise wrap, but getting some lovely notes from the piano. After the interval we heard Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique and the orchestra gave it their all. The March to the Scaffold was actually spine-tingling but the whole thing was exciting. They topped it off with an encore featuring some terrific playing by the First Violin. When we left after the concert there were large queues of people waiting to get in to hear the late night Prom with Nigel Kennedy and I thought Nige would have to work hard to beat the fiddling we'd just heard.
As previously mentioned I'm off to Lincolnshire and the Place of No Internet tomorrow for a few days. This is not really a holiday as we are finally starting to tackle the much delayed question of ma-in-law's house, but it will be nice to be away for a bit. We're leaving at unheard of o'clock tomorrow as I have been lured into the early start by the promise of a bacon sandwich. It's a bit scary what I will do when promised a bacon sandwich. Have a great time while I'm away, particularly everyone at writerconuk.
On Tuesday we went to hear the BBC Philharmonic and their conductor Jan Storgards play music by Walton, Rubbra, Bruch and Korngold. The Walton was a march composed for the Coronation in which, as J said, he was trying to channel Elgar and failing. The Rubbra was Ode to the Queen performed by soprano Susan Bickley. I was sitting in an unfortunate position behind both a curtain and a pillar and actually behind and to the side of the soprano so the acoustics weren't the best, but I have to say I wasn't impressed. The Bruch Violin Concerto No 1 played by young Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang was much better and her playing was very spirited. After the interval it was time for Korngold's Symphony in F Sharp. Korngold is best known for his wonderful film music but I do like the first two movements of this symphony very much. I felt it began to drag a bit later on or possibly I was bored by my view of the pillar. It's always entertaining listening to Korngold's serious music because it is full, as J says again, of "tunes that John Williams hadn't written yet". Let's just say there are very brief moments that sound extremely familiar. One for film music fans I think.
The concert on Thursday was actually much better. This time I'd lost the curtain but became nearly surgically attached to a different pillar. (Note to people buying tickets for the Albert Hall: Do not sit in the Loggia Boxes unless absolutely forced to. The tickets are expensive but the views from the side boxes are often very restricted and in the front seats there is as little leg room as there is in the Globe.) It was actually worth the discomfort for an excellent concert. This time it was the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, who are terrific, and their conductor Mariss Jansons, also terrific. The first half was Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 4 played by Mitsuko Uchida, wearing a slightly unwise wrap, but getting some lovely notes from the piano. After the interval we heard Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique and the orchestra gave it their all. The March to the Scaffold was actually spine-tingling but the whole thing was exciting. They topped it off with an encore featuring some terrific playing by the First Violin. When we left after the concert there were large queues of people waiting to get in to hear the late night Prom with Nigel Kennedy and I thought Nige would have to work hard to beat the fiddling we'd just heard.
As previously mentioned I'm off to Lincolnshire and the Place of No Internet tomorrow for a few days. This is not really a holiday as we are finally starting to tackle the much delayed question of ma-in-law's house, but it will be nice to be away for a bit. We're leaving at unheard of o'clock tomorrow as I have been lured into the early start by the promise of a bacon sandwich. It's a bit scary what I will do when promised a bacon sandwich. Have a great time while I'm away, particularly everyone at writerconuk.