What was your last concert?

[Bryn]

I was here
listening to a performance of North Indian music for Sitar, Tabla and Indian Cello
rather wonderful

Amer fort near Jaipur

Was is Sakia herself playing the Indian cello?

[MrGongGong]

Was is Sakia herself playing the Indian cello?

Yes ....

[Nick Armstrong]

[Igor Levit, Barbican Hall, Shostakovich 24 Preludes & Fugues]

But Levit last night won me over, totally. His soft playing in the opening C major Prelude at first seemed unwisely quiet for such a large hall - but no: you concentrate, recalibrate your ears, and get thoroughly drawn in! Daringly, constantly pianissimo during the long and wonderful Bbmi fugue...

Yes the quiet playing was enthralling... and the audience in general I found refreshingly concentrated and quiet, with minimal coughing given the time of year (save just after the interval from people who presumably couldn’t cope with the peanut and chocolate ice cream ingestion ). There was quite a drop-off of audience at half time too - three French people to my immediate left clearly couldn’t handle the concentration and had disappeared for the second half

That Bb minor fugue was absolutely mesmerising wasn’t it? Possibly the main revelation of the evening for me.

.

(I also agree about Melnikov’s recording btw)

[Bryn]

Simon Emmerson at 70 (not quite), at City University Performance Space.

In addition to the works listed in the link, his Aeolian (8 channel acousmatic) was played back.

To my shame, I was previously unaware of his work, which is deliciously ironic, in that he was studying with Roger Smalley at the very time I was responsible for the "Roger Smalley Memorial Concert", in which Roger and his co-conspirator Tim Souster participated, at St John's, Smith Square, some 50 years ago. I will now search out more of Simon's work. Cue response from Mr GG.

[HighlandDougie]

Berg Lulu Suite/ Beethoven Symphony No 9 at the Barbican, 16 February 2020

Various Soloists/London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra/Sir Simon R: une de mes favorites (the Berg) coupled with what seems like an old war horse but which I realised I hadn't heard in years in concert. I really couldn't fault any of it. The orchestral playing (that LSO woodwind!) was pretty nearly faultless, the chorus well-drilled, clear and impassioned, the soloists distinctive but beautifully blended (Iwona Sobotka's earlier contribution to the Berg was equally fine) and Sir SR in great form. The Beethoven was a mix of the fairly brisk and "timeless" (the andante represented a somewhat measured approach but it was so beautifully played that it didn't matter). Somewhat to my surprise (as I'm no great fan of Sir SR), one of the best concerts I've been to in quite a long time. Was anyone else there?

[Bryn]

CUPS*, earlier this evening. A selection of works by Jackson Mac Low performed by Apartment House. A rare opportunity to hear Mac Low's work.

* City University Performance Space.

[LMcD]

Just returned from a most enjoyable concert at a local church (numbers down a bit). The Siciliana Wind Quintet played a delightful selection of works by Ference Farkas, Cecilia McDowall, Franz Danzi, Gyorgy Ligeti, Joseph Haydn, Jacques Ibert, Malcolm Arnold and Julio Medaglia. We've heard that the hotel hosting the next concert in 10 days' time might cancel the event.

[Old Grumpy]

Gabriela Montero at Sage Gateshead

Fantastic concert, as one would expect from such an accomplished artist. She had to cancel her appearance at a gig there on Friday with Royal Northern Sinfonia, as she was awaiting the outcome of a Covid19 test (negative), having been in contact with a sufferer earlier.

What a great pianist - loved the improvisation on Für Elise as en encore, ragtime and tango included.

Thanks Gabriela - hope you get home OK!

[ostuni]

The title of this thread has a particular poignancy to all us involved in performing, of course. Last Saturday's Haydn Creation in Hereford Cathedral was a particularly joyous and optimistic way to bow out, I suppose. Wonderful solo singing from Joanne Lunn, Gwilym Bowen, David Stout; excellent work from Hereford Choral society, directed by (Gwilym's dad) Geraint Bowen. For those of us in the freelance Marches Baroque, lots of gloom about cancelled dates in the future - made all the more definite by yesterday’s announcements. Oh well, here’s to our next concert, whenever that may be...

[Old Grumpy]

The title of this thread has a particular poignancy to all us involved in performing, of course. Last Saturday's Haydn Creation in Hereford Cathedral was a particularly joyous and optimistic way to bow out, I suppose. Wonderful solo singing from Joanne Lunn, Gwilym Bowen, David Stout; excellent work from Hereford Choral society, directed by (Gwilym's dad) Geraint Bowen. For those of us in the freelance Marches Baroque, lots of gloom about cancelled dates in the future - made all the more definite by yesterday’s announcements. Oh well, here’s to our next concert, whenever that may be...

Indeed! Gabriela Montero (see#1973) did comment that it would probably be her last concert performance for some time.

OG

[MrGongGong]

The title of this thread has a particular poignancy to all us involved in performing, of course. Last Saturday's Haydn Creation in Hereford Cathedral was a particularly joyous and optimistic way to bow out, I suppose. Wonderful solo singing from Joanne Lunn, Gwilym Bowen, David Stout; excellent work from Hereford Choral society, directed by (Gwilym's dad) Geraint Bowen. For those of us in the freelance Marches Baroque, lots of gloom about cancelled dates in the future - made all the more definite by yesterday’s announcements. Oh well, here’s to our next concert, whenever that may be...

My gig last week at Kings Place was supposed to be the START of a tour... not the end

[Old Grumpy]

"This will only exist in the moment..."

The title of this thread has a particular poignancy to all us involved in performing, of course. Last Saturday's Haydn Creation in Hereford Cathedral was a particularly joyous and optimistic way to bow out, I suppose. Wonderful solo singing from Joanne Lunn, Gwilym Bowen, David Stout; excellent work from Hereford Choral society, directed by (Gwilym's dad) Geraint Bowen. For those of us in the freelance Marches Baroque, lots of gloom about cancelled dates in the future - made all the more definite by yesterday’s announcements. Oh well, here’s to our next concert, whenever that may be...

Indeed. I reproduce here a thoughtful blog post by Abigail Ponson, Managing Director, Sage Gateshead:

These were the last words spoken in Sage One before we closed to the public for the foreseeable future, in response to government advice and for the safety of our audiences, our team and our musicians. The words were spoken by the wonderful Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero, who always finishes her concerts with an improvisation. Improvisation is the purest form of ‘only existing in this moment’ – not written down, not thought about in advance, always in response to a musical idea which she asks an audience member to suggest. She gave this last concert on the back of a rollercoaster 48 hours in which she thought she had Coronavirus, self-isolated, then tested negative, missing her first concert scheduled at Sage Gateshead, then played her second with us as her country’s borders were closing and the number of flights to get her back home to Spain was decreasing by the minute. In the end this last concert (which we all knew in our hearts it was) was exceptional and very moving.

Indeed the whole sequence of performances last week in Sage One – widely accepted as the best concert hall in Europe – reminded me of the power of live performance and the power of different music for different contexts. As closure steadily became inevitable, the diversity of Sage Gateshead’s musical and audience reach played out in three days. On Wednesday Sage Gateshead filled with the incredible sound of 900 Year 4 pupils from 30 Gateshead and South Tyneside schools, lifting the roof of Sage One with their voices in front of an audience of parents and friends – an audience which had come to watch the culmination of several months of work by them in school. On Thursday The Lightning Seeds opened their six date UK tour at Sage Gateshead and as everyone got on their feet and sang and danced their hearts away to Football’s Coming Home, three decades faded away and we were in a totally different time. On Friday Royal Northern Sinfonia performed music written across a whole century, composed by a Norwegian and two Russians, with a conductor from France and soloist from Germany. It’s hard to imagine three more different concerts, three more different audiences, three more different atmospheres.

‘This only exists in the moment’ applies to any live performance – these words capture what is so compelling and unique about live performance. A group of people who don’t know each other, select to come together to form a community – an audience – for a short period of time. Only they will have this experience, and when it’s over, it’s gone. Time and again people tell me it’s not just about the magic of a great musician at their height which brings them to gigs, it’s also that it’s shared with other people and the electric atmosphere which this creates. Last week the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra proved this by streaming a concert in an empty auditorium – brilliant music and musicians, led by the legendary Sir Simon Rattle. A fantastic thing to do, and something we will all do a lot of in coming times. But no audience, no atmosphere, no community, no immediate exchange.

So this is a curious time to run an organisation for which a core part of our purpose is to organise ‘massed gatherings’ for over 1000 people on a daily basis. We do much much more than performances -we teach young people, give classes to adults, support the next generation of musicians from the North, use music to help people who are vulnerable, work in communities across the region. We are one of the biggest cultural charities in the country. But this week it is the performances – perhaps the most visible aspect of the charity’s work – which I’ve been thinking about. And as we have closed down the building, postponing all of our concerts, classes and activity, the building feels incomplete – empty with no preparation or anticipation of an event which is just around the corner. No anticipation of an audience – of parents anticipating hearing their children, of long term fans anticipating hearing music which is the soundtrack of another part of their life, of people wanting to hear something new, to have their ears opened to a new world of sound.

As the building has fallen silent, one thing has been really clear to me – live music will be back. We are heading into a time when gigs will go online, we’ll build virtual choirs, music classes will take via Facetime. We will all live closer to home and in much smaller networks for a while. But beyond this, the live, face to face, in-person experience will be back. As our box office team are beginning the process of calling every audience member who has a ticket for a concert which won’t go ahead on the planned date, something has started to happen. Rather than a refund, people have started to donate their ticket back to the charity. Knowing the risk which the charity – like so many others – will be at through this crisis, members of our audience have opted to help us out. This will enable us to keep things secure for our musicians, our teachers, our staff and to be here at the end of this – to give world class performances, to teach people of all ages, to serve our communities, to use music to help people in their lives. We’re incredibly grateful for this generosity and that people are thinking of us.

Above all I wonder whether this is a sign of the value of live music and that unique atmosphere created by an audience coming together for a brief time to hear something which only ‘in this moment’.

Keep safe

Abigail

OG

[MrGongGong]

Todays gig was 30 minutes of bees with live electronics
If I can't go out and collaborate with humans then streaming performances with the bees is the way to go

Today's was via Facebook but I might do some other streams later as well as collaborations with a few regulars

A good audience including someone in NZ who got up at 1am to listen

[TBuckley]

Olivier Messiaen - La Nativite du Seigneur
Jonathan Hope, Organ
Gloucester Cathedral - Sunday 12 December 2021

A rare chance, for me at least, to hear this other-worldly music performed in the sort of church acoustic for which it was written. From my position, standing
towards the back of the Nave, this was a fine, clear-headed performance by Jonathan Hope - excellent organ sound and projection.
Attendance was about 100, about average for this annual event, - the vast majority wearing masks throughout.

[Keraulophone]

Messiah
Truro Choral Society & Orchestra in a packed cathedral on Saturday.
(Soprano soloist - daughter, 19 - v. proud dad).
Good to have a seasonal dose of this after last year's cancellation.
.