After three days without a car, I was informed by the garage that they had, after extensive testing, hit a maker specific point of repair, which needed the car to go back to the dealer for the air con to be fixed. It was impossible for them to complete the repair without the authorization of the dealer.
This is woefully bad news as any recourse to the Dealership means big bucks at the end of the repair, and a long wait for an opportunity to spend your money as appointments are as difficult to get as if the dealership was a British doctor’s surgery! But there appears to be little choice, and I know that the mechanic that I gave my car to will have used everything he knows to get the job done, so if he confesses to failure, then you really do have to bite the bullet and traipse all the way to the next town to get the job done.
Meanwhile I comfort myself with the idea of a concert in the Palau tomorrow . . . which was now yesterday, if you see what I mean, a day having elapsed when blog intent did not make it to blog actual.
Given the tea in the café next to the parking garage that I use (if possible) which is the nearest to the Palau, is of truly awful vapidity, I resolved to take a couple of tea bags with me to augment and turn the thin earl grey into something drinkable. I, of course, forgot the tea bags and debated whether to go to the mini market on the Via Laietana, buy some tea bags, go back to the car to store the excess, take two to the café and have a decent cuppa. In the event I had forgotten about the mini market next to the parking so a box of PG Tips later I was able to have my tea and a more than decent brie, salmon and egg wrap, before the concert.
A little housekeeping was necessary to change my ticket for United Nations Day into credit in the Palau as I will not be going to the opera that evening as I have other entertainment in mind!
That was no problem and I now have an inducement to look further afield in the range of concerts than the ones that I have purchased for some of my Saturdays with my season ticket. Unfortunately, all the concerts in which I am interested work out to be much more expensive than the sum I have available but, that’s life – at least they gave me credit!
The concert opened with Bacewicz’s 1943, Overture – a short piece with some very expressive brass passages and some oddly lyrical softer passages. I suppose it is somewhat crass to expect all music written at a time of crisis to reflect that tension in sonic terms, but even with some disconcertingly percussive moments there are also passages which are Gothically playful, but underlying all is an uneasy and sometimes frantic beat that leaves the listener edgily engaged.
The opening of this piece sounded somewhat unsteady with the major culprits being the horn section. The sound felt a little muffled, I am sure that the acoustic of the Palau does not favour this type of music.
A composer worth pursuing.
The concerto was the 1850 Cello Concerto by Schumann adapted for viola and played by Sara Ferrández. This was an odd experience in that the concerto is not overly assertive on the part of the solo instrument – even though it needs real virtuosity (which Ferrández certianly had) to make it work.
At the back of my mind was the fact that this was originally written for the cello, and at times it seemed to me that the viola was aping that instrument in its lower register.
The soloist's line grew from the orchestra, and then blended with it. Yes, there were moments when the viola soared over the orchestra, but this was a concerto where the solo instrument felt fully engaged in the totality of the music, and the depth of that engagement felt more profound than the showiness of its smaller cousin!
The concert really came alive in the second half.
The first notes of the first Hungarian Dance by Brahms (orginally published over the years 1869 to 1880 and originally for piano four hands) graphically illustrated an orchestra comfortable with the lushness of sound and an ensemble playing that radiated enjoyment.
God knows when I last listened to this music, but it all came flooding back (with the exception of Dance number 10 which was new to me) and I was able to join with the audience in giving the conclusion of the dances a tumultuous reception!
Symphonic Poem Number 3 from Les Préludes by Liszt (1854) was the concluding piece in the programme, a musical journey through life, death and transfiguration.
The muted opening of the piece does not give you adequate preparation for the triumphant entry of the brass – and my recognition of the music!
This was orchestral playing at its superlative best, and the final moments reduced me to tears. What more can you ask from a musical experience!
Throughout the concert I ostentatiously consulted my Personal Listener’s Programme, produced under my direction by Chat. I have decided to prepare for all the rest of my Operas and Orchestral Concerts by having Chat produce similar programmes which give introductions and crucially, ways of listening and further listening.
They also give me some space to jot down thoughts that I may have about the opening of the concert during the interval when I must move about a bit to make sure that my knees don’t set in place.
The next concert is a celebration of the music of John Williams, and that I expect to be a somewhat different experience. Though I am interested to see what Chat can come up with to aid my listening pleasure!
