i love symphony concerts.
i remember my first sso concert.
it was in 1994 -
an outing with my sch's string orchestra.
that was how i started getting interested in classical music.
i love the sound of the different instruments playing together.
it's a joy that you can't get from playing the piano.
the concert today started with richard strauss' tone poem-
till eulenspiegel's merry pranks.
i don't really fancy richard strauss.
think he's a bit excessive and over the top.
but the performance today was okay.
the swiss conductor thierry fischer made the textures sound very clear.
and there was actually some attractive waltzy bits.
the highlight of the night for many was
venezuelan pianist sergio tiempo playing chopin's piano concerto no. 1.
yest's newspapers described him as one with a 'tousled mop of dark hair and liquid brown eyes...looks more handsome in person than he does in his publicity photos'.
but i didn't see lots of screaming female fans or groupies leh.
i guess classical music will never have the same appeal
as pop and rock,
which are more immediate and 'in your face'.
the typical audience you meet at classical music concerts are
ang mohs, music students and corporate sponsors.
anyway sergio tiempo was an amazing pianist -
highly virtuosic and completely effortless in his playing.
his fingers ran up and down the length of the keyboard with such ease.
i didn't realize chopin's concerto to be so difficult,
though tiempo made it look easy,
the runs are hard to execute lah,
and to play it so delicately and poetically,
no joke man.
okay, my top 4 of the most difficult piano concerti:
1) brahms' concerto no. 2: its sheer length of 50 mins is enough to kill. added on to that is a solo part that sounds so symphonic, chordal and requiring large hands and immense strength to play.
2) chopin's concerto no. 1: difficult to achieve the delicacy and poetry required of the piece. the bland orchestral part is quite redundant, really.
3) rachmaninov's concerto nos. 2 and 3: okay, here we have the ultimate 'hollywood' concerti - gorgeous and soaring melodies, wears its emotions on the sleeve, lush and thick orchestrations. you would know rach 3 if you've watched the movie 'shine'. again, music which is not really to my taste, a bit over the top. i like things subtle.
anyway, after the concerto was the intermission,
and when i came back from my toilet break,
lo and behold,
sergio tiempo was there signing autographs for his 'ardent' fans,
flanked by a policeman and an esplanade representative.
well, i'm neither a screaming female fan nor is he my favourite pianist,
but i took some pictures of him signing the autographs,
just for the thrill of it.
the pictures are rather blur,
cos i was using my lousy 2 megapixel phone cam. here they are:
next on the programme was berlioz's symphonie fantastique
this is my favourite symphony after schubert's unfinished symph.
it's a loud and bombastic work.
berlioz is crazy,
the symphony was inspired by his mad infatuation for an irish actress.
there's a story in the music.
it's about an artist's unrequited love for some girl,
then he takes opium,
and in his drug-induced stupor,
he hallucinates about killing his beloved,
he is sent to the guillotine,
and it ends with his beloved turned into a witch who mocks his dead soul.
the 3rd movement (slow movement) was the most boring,
at the end of it,
about 5 people evacuated from the hall -
most of them were families with young children.
i never understand why parents bring their young children
to such symphony concerts.
they are wasting their money
and boring these poor kiddies to death.
how can you expect a 6 year old to sit quietly
and listen attentively to straight-laced musicians
in their serious-looking black suits and pants
play serious-sounding music for 2 hours? sheesh
those concerts in the park at botanical gardens
or the afternoon matinees for kids (which sso does once in a while)
would be more appropriate for these kids.
the 4th n 5th mvts of the symphony were my favourite.
in the 4th, entitled 'march to the scaffolds',
the artist is led to the scaffolds
for 'killing' his beloved.
the music is so darn descriptive:
at the moment just before the execution,
this recurring tune is heard (which represents his beloved)
and then it's the chop of the axe,
which is depicted by a swift stroke on the strings,
and we can even 'hear' the decapitated head dropping
and blood dripping as represented by the string pizzicatos.
the final movement is the most grotesque of all.
the artist's beloved has now turned into an ugly witch
and is now mocking him.
the clarinets play the recurring tune in a grotesquely modified form.
berlioz even quotes the dies irae theme (G F# G E F# D E E)
and turns it into a bombastic and macabre dance of death
in the rousing finale.
i like music like that,
slightly irreverent and grotesque.
though, i didn't quite enjoy tonight's performance.
i thought that the conductor was playing things a bit too safe.
i mean, sure he's swiss
and they are known for their precision, accuracy, efficiency (you know how a swiss watch is yah?)
but i would've preferred it if he had roughened up the music a bit,
and bring out the passion more.
sure, he opted for neat ensemble
and the sound was really opulent,
but i just wish he could've taken some risks.
well, but i'm sure impressed with the sso.
they've improved so much.
the winds and brass parts in tonight's works are so hard to play.
richard strauss's winds/brass parts are designed to kill them.
a story goes whereby a frazzled horn player told the composer imploringly,
"mr strauss, the horn part is too difficult! It doesn't mean that if it can be played it on the piano, it can be played on the horn!"
and richard strauss replied "my dear boy, i can't play that on the piano either".
sabbath day tmr,
gotta go and sleep now. bye
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