One of the changes I approve of over here is that going to concerts has become an event again. In the UK, this was hardly the case; if I was free, had been generally around Birmningham, and the Dodgess could get me a free ticket I'd go.
Over here this isn't possible. For a start, concerts sell out. About half of the concerts we've been to have been sell outs, particularly those at the Esplanade with reasonably high profile players. Several of the amateur concerts have also had fantastic audiences.
The result is we plan our concerts. We bought our tickets for Yo Yo Ma about three months before the concert. Sadly, it was his Silk Road Ensemble. The one piece that really feature Yo Yo Ma on the cello was fabulous, but his comrades don't have the same attraction, by a long way!
Another concert that we looked forwards to immensely was Joshua Bell as both soloist and director of St Martins (no longer) in the Fields. The most memorable was his leading of Beethoven 7, which was taut and far more unified than any conducted version I've heard. The Mendelssohn Violin Concerto was also good (something it simply wasn't last time I heard it in Symphony Hall).
Of course we don't only go to see star names. Another concert was one that we went to earlier this week. The Dodgess' piano teacher held a concert for her students, and those of her sisters, who also teach piano. My cello teacher used to hold these concerts in her living room, we would all sit on the floor, cello cases in bedrooms, until 1 year where she held it in a friendly church. Well, these piano teaching sisters, by reputation hugely prolific do something rather more flash, hiring our the Recital Hall at the Esplanade for the evening.
And there, playing on a Steinway grand, a dozen young girls (only 1 boy, and he didn't even get to play on his own), dressed up in ball gowns (not the boy) played their pieces entirely from memory. It was all hugely impressive, the production, the dresses, the poise, the technique, the memory (one entirely noticeable lapse, but Andrea Bocelli had that in his concert, so the young girl is in the best and richest of company). In fact, the one thing that didn't shine was the music. One piece stood out; a duet by Poulenc (only to be played by the closest of friends) and really caught my attention. That and, strangely for me, a Mozart that shimmered beautifully. The contrast with the NYP concert I moonlighted in couldn't have been larger.
As for what next, well, I'm tempted to go and see Mischa Maisky the week after I'm married - that's over three months away. If we were in the country, we would probably have booked for the Berlin Philharmonic - it would be a tight call, they are hardly giving tickets away, starting at about £50, and rapidly into 3 figures - even so, it will sell out. We're also working out ways to watch or listen to the Proms - and think we have one, though whether we will get up at 2am to listen live I doubt.
Still, we're enjoying concerts here more I think. It's not that we didn't see great music in the UK; we did (notably Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Brahms, and an awesom Tchaik V). However, the anticipation really does add to the experience. It's why we enjoyed the Proms we went to, and, I'm sure, part of the reason we enjoyed Joshua Bell so much.
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