It says something about the state of my knees that the most productive thing to come out of my visit to La Palau de la Musica for the first Saturday afternoon concert of the season was that I have discovered (probably exorbitantly priced) parking nearer to the concert hall, and I have further discovered the lift that takes we ‘walking wounded’ to the entrance of the Platea and to my roving seat.
As I prevaricated for months about whether or not to buy a season ticket for the concerts, I was unable to get a ‘regular’ seat. For me, the idea seat is on the centre aisle, but as these are premium places, they go very quickly, so I will have to be more agile in my book strategy if I decide to go for a season ticket next year.
As these Saturday ‘afternoon’ concerts actually start at 6.30 pm, it means (I hope and trust) that my driving into Barcelona will miss the evening weekend flow into the city, and I should be just early enough to get a parking space – and leave before the traffic gets, um, difficult. Late night driving in a city like Barcelona, especially in the centre, is not usually a happy experience!
The concert itself, was a classical blockbuster with two sure-fire favourites in the programme: Dvorak’s ‘cello concerto and The New World Symphony – but it also included a piece by
Florence Price
(1887-1953) a composer who, I am ashamed to admit, was unknown to me. Before the concert started a female member of the last desk of the first violins came to centre stage and gave an enthusiastic puff for Price who was not only a(nother) neglected female composer, but also a black American. She was the first black American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer and the first to have her work played by a major orchestra. And I’d never heard of her. Goes to show.
Her music was neglected after her death, and it is only in recent years that her reputation is being re-discovered – as indeed were a stash of her unpublished scores found in her abandoned summer house!
Her inclusion in a programme with Dvorak is apt as she was influenced by his music, especially his use of native melodies, and the Andante Moderato (her orchestrated version of a movement from her string quartet) stands comparison with the melodic mastery of Dvorak’s work.
The soloist in the Dvorak ‘cello concerto was Anastasia Kobekina, who while looking thoroughly modern did, in some of her impassioned playing remind me of Augustus John’s Madame Suggia – though Anastasia was not wearing such an extravagant dress! But her playing was exceptional and committed. I particularly liked the ‘dialogue’ between soloist and the leader of the orchestra in the final movement where there seemed to be an enjoyable and real understanding between the two of them.
The reception that greeted the end of the concerto was tumultuous, with the audience sounding more like football game crowd than the genteel enthusiasm I am used to.
Perhaps this sort of programming (and relatively early start) attracts a wider group of people than usual – a large section of the audience applauded between movements, which suggests that they are not seasoned classical music concert goers - and that can only be a good thing. In the Liceu for an Opera performance the average age of the audience (at least where I am sitting in the stalls) is even greater than my retired age! Anything that gets young people and first timers into cultural events like this is not only a positive, but an essential aspect of allowing this form of entertainment to continue into the future.
The soloist was brought back a few times by the strength of the applause and, to the delight of all, the soloist and the conductor
played a duet, with the conductor on tabor which he played with hands and fingers, sitting, and holding it between his knees. The music was a folksy-medieval sort of piece, and it went down very well, it was cutesy and brilliant with virtuoso playing by both, and yet at the same time it was somehow intimate.
All sections of the orchestra were outstanding in The New World Symphony that ended the concert, though I felt that when the full orchestra was playing sometimes the sound was more of a block than detailed, but that may be more to do with the acoustics of the hall than the playing of the musicians.
For me the strings and the woodwind sections were outstanding, but the taut conducting of Salado produced a finale that was electrifying. And if I thought that the reception of the soloist was raucous, it had absolutely nothing on the audience response at the end of the concert, with whoops, yells, whistles, and people standing to give an ovation that clearly touched conductor and performers.
This was an exhilarating start to the season and, with the car parking sorted and the life found, I look forward with real confidence to a musical year!
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