Contratrombone64
Admiral of Fugues
I listened to the Sydney Symphony’s Elgar Festival opening concert last night, as it was broadcast by Aunty (the ABC).
Vladimir Ashkenazy’s conducting was wonderful and he really captured the autumnal aspects of both the ‘cello concerto and the blissful first symphony beautifully. The playing from the orchestra was crystalline and sumptuous, with lush strings and beautifully blended woodwind solos. The Chinese ‘cellist, whose name escapes me, gave an inspired performance of the ‘cello concerto (though nothing surpasses the late Jacqueline du Pre in my book).
After interval came the first symphony, a work I’ve adored since my teens (many years ago), in fact it was one of the first orchestral scores I ever saved my pocket money up and bought. I felt Ashkenazy’s tempi a little on the slow side all the way through but when the coda came I was sad that it was over. He certainly inspired the orchestra to play at their best and the uniformity of sound and approach was as good as it gets.
The audience – should all have been taken outside (at interval) and whipped. The coughing and rattling of programs really annoyed me as it distracted from the music. Why do people always cough in the quiets moments AND if they do really have a cough they just shouldn’t be there. The coughing, as always at concerts is a way of an audience member marking his or her territory, for one noisy cough a cold does not make. Turwethiel and I have had involved discussions about this and it’s why we basically don’t subscribe to the symphony.
On the other hand I’ve been to concerts where you could of heard a pin drop ... the Vienna Philharmonic for example (funnily enough with Turwethiel, must have been the last time I heard a symphony concert live in Sydney and that was a couple of years ago). The audience at their concert didn’t make a noise, odd!
Vladimir Ashkenazy’s conducting was wonderful and he really captured the autumnal aspects of both the ‘cello concerto and the blissful first symphony beautifully. The playing from the orchestra was crystalline and sumptuous, with lush strings and beautifully blended woodwind solos. The Chinese ‘cellist, whose name escapes me, gave an inspired performance of the ‘cello concerto (though nothing surpasses the late Jacqueline du Pre in my book).
After interval came the first symphony, a work I’ve adored since my teens (many years ago), in fact it was one of the first orchestral scores I ever saved my pocket money up and bought. I felt Ashkenazy’s tempi a little on the slow side all the way through but when the coda came I was sad that it was over. He certainly inspired the orchestra to play at their best and the uniformity of sound and approach was as good as it gets.
The audience – should all have been taken outside (at interval) and whipped. The coughing and rattling of programs really annoyed me as it distracted from the music. Why do people always cough in the quiets moments AND if they do really have a cough they just shouldn’t be there. The coughing, as always at concerts is a way of an audience member marking his or her territory, for one noisy cough a cold does not make. Turwethiel and I have had involved discussions about this and it’s why we basically don’t subscribe to the symphony.
On the other hand I’ve been to concerts where you could of heard a pin drop ... the Vienna Philharmonic for example (funnily enough with Turwethiel, must have been the last time I heard a symphony concert live in Sydney and that was a couple of years ago). The audience at their concert didn’t make a noise, odd!
