Brahms Piano Concerto #2, RFH, Grimaud, 23 Jan 14

I'd been waiting for the second of Helene Grimaud's renditions of Brahms Piano Concertos since hearing her play Concerto #1 last summer. I wasn't disappointed. She has a combination of delicacy and brute strength that is exactly right for Brahms.

Also noticed in this performance just how hard the brass (and woodwind) are working in the background, underpinning the whole concerto.

I have to confess I'm not as keen on the finale of Concerto #2 as the finale of #1 -- it's a bit too rollicking (think 'Academic Overture'. which I am also not keen on) and doesn't have the triumphant ambience of the first concerto: plus the ending is shockingly abrupt. But the rest of it -- the peals like bells in 2nd movement, the cello solo in 3rd -- is marvellous, and Grimaud's playing elevates it further.

Skipped the second half as I still haven't really connected with Brahms' symphonies, and needed an early(ish) night.

The Duchess of Malfi, Sam Wanamaker Theatre, 26 Jan 14

My first, but hopefully not last, visit to the Sam Wanamaker Theatre -- the 'indoor' part of the Globe, a faithful copy of a Jacobean playhouse. It felt very small (though apparently seats 340 people) and the intimacy of it was heightened by the candlelight: as in Jacobean times, the production was illuminated entirely by candles, which were lit and extinguished by members of the cast. ( more, inc. excellence of Gemma Arterton )

Gravity, Odeon Studios, 31 Jan 14

On first seeing the trailer, I decided that this film would be nightmare fuel and overly harrowing. I was right. I spent most of the film clutching the hand of my companion and occasionally shaking. (The notion of endlessly falling in emptiness has distressed me since early childhood. No idea why.)

But ( ... )