Originally posted by Caliban
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... and got in easily! Lovely seat centre front of the balcony for the above exhilarating concert.
There was an opener too, Adrian Sutton's Fist Full of Fives, an engaging and accessible number in 5/4 time, very much in the 'English music' tradition, energetic and lyrical by turns - the composer was in the audience.
I loved hearing Diversions live for the first time - a favourite piece for years. Pavel K was spot-on throughout, and the very analytical, clean acoustic of the studio (which makes loud strings and brass just a tad shrill, heard live) made for complete clarity in tandem with his playing style - I heard things I'd never heard before. Top drawer.
And likewise, a first live hearing of Arnold 5 - the scherzo and last movement have a special place in my affections, and the return of the slow movement theme towards the end of the final movement is one of the big 'goose-bump' moments in music for me. It really delivered in this performance. Some great solo work throughout, too - especially a wonderful oboe solo.
As ever, I'm looking forward to hearing the same thing again via the microphones, to compare the experience.
Hurrah for BBC freebies!!
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Footnote - the queue staff told me that the average take-up on these free tickets is about 40%.... So even if something's 'fully allocated' according to the website, it's probably always worth turning up. I'm glad I did!
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