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Philharmonia brass section
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2005 10:46 amFab evening yesterday: the London Philharmonia were doing their last concert at the Royal Festival Hall before it closes for nearly 2 years of refurbishment. Music was very nice, and very Slavic (Balakirev's 'Islamey' in wussy orchestral version -- it's allegedly the most demanding piano piece ever written, so I was hoping for pyrotechnics; the time changes were cool, though -- Rachmaninoff Piano 2, Pictures at an Exhibition orchestrated by Ashkenazy himself -- tangibly different from the standard Ravel version -- plus a little something at the end where the orchestra, and the conductor (Ashkenazy, a prime example of Vigour in Old Age) wandered off one by one). And we *interacted* with the orchestra. That is, one of the trombonists asked us to take a couple of photos of him and his brass-section mates. (Shame his camera battery was running out.) I don't know if he recognised us as the three women who've sat just behind him in the choir on many occasions...
Then the lovely Philharmonia laid on free champagne and we stood around on the upstairs terrace, with one of the best views in London, listening to a trio playing light jazz -- tempted by the bigger freebies downstairs, Ashkenazy and Hélène Grimaud playing four-hand pieces, as well as some groovy Piazzolla and more, but suspected the crowds and the heat would be a bit much. As indeed, on brief inspection, it proved.
I was suffering badly from back pain by the end of the concert, though 2 co-codamol and 2 glasses of good champagne sorted that right fast. There were balloons! (We released one from terrace -- 'fly free, fly away' -- but suspect it flopped into the building works.) There was frivolity! And when I got home at 11pm it was still, very faintly, light ...
Summer! and now the days are getting shorter again...
Then the lovely Philharmonia laid on free champagne and we stood around on the upstairs terrace, with one of the best views in London, listening to a trio playing light jazz -- tempted by the bigger freebies downstairs, Ashkenazy and Hélène Grimaud playing four-hand pieces, as well as some groovy Piazzolla and more, but suspected the crowds and the heat would be a bit much. As indeed, on brief inspection, it proved.
I was suffering badly from back pain by the end of the concert, though 2 co-codamol and 2 glasses of good champagne sorted that right fast. There were balloons! (We released one from terrace -- 'fly free, fly away' -- but suspect it flopped into the building works.) There was frivolity! And when I got home at 11pm it was still, very faintly, light ...
Summer! and now the days are getting shorter again...
