The First Time!

Hermy

Having never heard an orchestra live before, I went along to the NCH last night, primarily to hear a performance of Shostakovich' Violin Concerto No. 1. The programme also included a new piece by Ronan Guilfoyle titled Synapsis and Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony. Never doubting for one moment that I wouldn't enjoy myself, I could not have prepared myself for just how much I loved the whole experience. From the wonderful sound of the orchestra tuning up to the rapturous applause when the conductor first appeared on stage...and than there was the music. The Guilfoyle piece was as dramatic as I expected but required a lot of attention to keep up with the many changes of mood and tempo. Then the violinist Arabella Steinbacher took to the stage to perform the solo duty in the piece by Shostakovich. Have I ever seen such beauty or heard such virtuosity? Although I am quite familiar with this concerto by Shostakovich, to have it there, in the same room, with all its' raw emotion was a powerfully moving experience. I was one of those immediately on my feet the moment the last note sounded, applauding for all I was worth in appreciation of this astounding piece of classical music.
After the intermission and a few changes on stage the orchestra got to grips with Tchaikovsky's Fourth. What a powerful work and what volume when the orchestra flexed its’ muscle, particularly towards the conclusion of the first movement. And yet despite the high drama the silence of the attentive audience made for a very calming environment.
All in all, a fantastic nights entertainment and I look forward to many more like it.

Hermy

Perhaps I should have finished the above post by asking if any of you attended the recital on Friday. If not, then I invite ye all to comment on your first classical concert or a most memorable performance or indeed the classical piece you would most like to hear performed.

Hermy:)

Hermy

Hi Hermy,
I also attended the concert on Friday and it was just as you described. I have been in love with this piece of music ever since I first heard it many years ago and there really is nothing to compare with hearing a live performance of it. No doubt you look forward to the next opportunity to hear it just as I do. I would quite happily pay money to hear it week in, week out, and never tire of it. I'm a bit surprised that no-one has responded in a similar vain. The Concert Hall continues to feature wonderful performances of so many fantastic compositions and that we appear to be the only two Boardsies to have witnessed something as special as Shostakovich' First Violin Concerto played with such aplomb leaves a lot to be desired regarding this site supposedly dedicated to classical music!
I can only assume that like so many other forums within the remit of the Boards, there are many more lurkers than genuinely interested parties.
They don't know what they are missing!
All the best,
Hermy:)

Hermy

Very kind of you to respond so positively Hermy.
I was blown away by what I experienced in the NCH last Friday and really hoped that I would enter into similar conversation via the Boards after a concert like it but I suppose I must accept that some forums attract more traffic than others. Either way my love of this concerto is in no way diminished and I look forward to my next NCH experience and moreover, I wait with bated breath for the next occasion that presents itself that allows me hear what quite easily is my faourite piece of music in any genre!
Hermy:)

Doshea3

I was not at last Friday's concert, though I usually attend the NCH of a Friday evening. The Schumann piano concerto the previous week was very good, as was the Brahms second symphony, though I must say that Mr Bellincampi the conductor both irritated and amused me for the entire concert. (You'll find that as a would-be conductor I'm overly critical of such performances—and that's exactly what that particular conductor gave, a performance. At times the orchestra were not even together as he flailed his arms about in such a ridiculous fashion.)

Other highlights of recent weeks, there was the Mendelssohn double piano concerto with the Collins siblings which was very entertaining and well-performed. The same programme offered Schubert's 9th symphony, which was very stylishly executed under the capable hands of conductor Oleg Caetani.

Before that was the now-infamous Liszt Faust Symphony concert, a mediocre piece the bad performance of which cast a shadow on the excellent musicianship displayed by all involved in the preceding item, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 with soloist Cédric Tiberghien. The orchestra clearly didn't enjoy the Liszt and it came across in the performance, but the Mozart was worth paying the money to see alone.

Going back a while, another NSO concert which sticks in my mind was Beethoven's 5th symphony under the baton of Carlos Kalmar. Despite Mr Kalmar's slightly bizarre reading of the first movement, it was an excellent, riveting performance. It was worth sitting through Bartok's violin concerto for that (which, though it has no appeal to me as a piece of music, was excellently performed by the soloist).

Other NSO highlights this season included the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique, which was given a rollicking performance under Gerhard Markson. Also, I couldn't possibly forget the concert under Alexander Anissimov which gave us Philip Martin's 3rd piano concerto (with Martin the esteemed soloist, kitted out in matching gold-patterned bow-tie and cummerbund) and Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy. Though the NCH is sadly too small for such an enormous work as the Poem of Ecstasy, it was a riveting performance nonetheless.

There were more NSO concerts and others of course, but those are my highlights so far. Looking forward to hearing the Messiaen on Friday week.

Norrdeth

I'm hoping to head to Górecki symphony no.3 cant wait to see how the NSO deals with it! Should be epic going on the comments before.