Music
More than a yard of tickets to the Proms!
Amsterdam concert goers enjoy the warm acoustic of the Concertgebouw, a hall where music has been performed since 1888. There are two halls, the large hall, seating just 2200, is shaped like a shoe box with a flat floor and small galleries at the sides and back, so quite unlike the fan shape of more recent concert halls.
You might think the acoustics would be dreadful but quite the opposite: at this evening's concert, we could hear clearly and separately the four voices of the Hilliard Ensemble and had plenty of volume from the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. Both benefited from the generous and forgiving reverberant acoustic from the numerous arches and curved surfaces which make up the attractive decoration. Amsterdam’s trams run close by two sides of the building on major roads but are inaudible.
"Nikolić meets Hilliard" was an interesting programme idea, contrasting almost mystical twentieth century music inspired by the liturgy of the Russian Orthodox Church with three motets from the twelfth century by Guillaume de Mauchaut and book ending more familiar pieces of Beethoven and Mozart.
Read more: Nikolić meets Hilliard - Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
The applause was surprisingly muted at the end of this evening’s concluding concert in Valery Gergiev’s series of Mahler Symphonies. Two calls plus a third, rather half-hearted. That probably signifies that I wasn’t the only listener at London’s Barbican Hall who felt tonight’s performances were good but not great.
Rossini’s opera Il barbiere di siviglia is one of those operas which gives opera its reputation. Unbelievable plot that I can never remember in detail, anachronistic yet hugely credible characters and in this production, camp production and costumes supporting fantastic singing and orchestra amid the lovely acoustic of the Royal Opera House. All contributing to nearly three hours of sophisticated escapism where music, stagecraft and lighting combine to make performance magic.
St Martin-in-the-Fields Church on Trafalgar Square, London was partially lit by candle light for this lively concert of Baroque music given by LMA Orchestra conducted by John Landor.
Read more: Vivaldi Four Seasons - LMA Orchestra, January 2011
A rousing performance of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique completed tonight's London Symphony Orchestra concert at the Barbican with François-Xavier Roth collaborating with the LSO from the podium in a very modern style of conducting, including wearing a grey suit (which showed his perspiration) rather than black tails; also, he didn't use a baton.
