Tonight we're off to meet friends and hear the Czech Philharmonic play Kodály, MacMillan and Brahms at the Rudolfinum. I'm spending time listening to the music while I work, because most of the program is new to me.
Will kids me a little when he finds me pouring over music on YouTube that he knows I'll hear in a few hours. I do like the surprise of hearing something new, but the pieces I really enjoy are the ones I've heard before. I like knowing the road map of a piece and where the orchestra is going, to be able to wait for a favorite moment and compare it to other versions tucked away in memory.
I'm guessing that the Kodály will be my favorite of the night, with its horns, lush strings and Hungarian dance tunes. The Brahms sounds ideal for day dreaming or orchestra watching. I haven't been able to track down James MacMillan's piece anywhere. One surprise a night seems just about right.
*Definitely not from today - this was from an evening in June when the sun was still high in the sky. Today the sun barely gave us a nod before ducking down again for the night.
3 comments:
I have a friend like you--he listens beforehand so he can appreciate a concert in person better.
I take it I'm supposed to guess the pieces:
I seem to recall the Hary Janos Suite makes demands on a largish orchestra. Could be that.
The Brahms has to be a symphony because neither the two piano cti nor the violin concerto are truly fit for day-dreaming (unless you've taken drugs), the Alto Rhapsody's too short, the German Requiem is too choral, forget the overtures (too short and not in the right order as you list the works). So that I can be there with you in spirit let's hope it is the Fourth. Mine's the super dooper Ozawa/Saito Kinen and, since it's on my computer, I've just put it on. Is that waltz-time the first few bars? Ah how original that still is, a slap in theface to those who say the great Johannes is over-rich.
MacMillan. Ballet music? And you're right: one surprise a night is about right. And preparing is a must, esp with Wagner. Ice cream in the interval? Always only vanilla or do you occasionally pine for Baskin-Robbins?
Robbie - the Kodaly Dances of Galanta, Brahms-Schoenberg Piano Quartet no 1 arranged for orchestra, and James MacMillan's oboe concerto.
Water during the interval but we ate beforehand at a bottega you'll have to try when you come visit again. I do miss Baskin-Robbins and my favorite combination of pistachio and chocolate ice cream!
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