UKC

Went to see this...

Rimsky-Korsakov - The Tale of Tsar Saltan: Suite
Rachmaninov - The Rock
Stravinsky - The Firebird: Suite (1945)

...and it was superb. Had a meal before in some push restaurant that was in the converted Free Trade Hall. First saw the Halle perform The Firebird Suite in the Free Trade Hall ages ago with my dad, and there I was last night, with my son, in The Bridgewater. Quite moving when I realised. My dad was a Halle fanatic and we went loads.  Firebird amongst my favs and last night was a belter.  

Oh, they chucked in Flight of the Bumblebee as a freebie. 

I'd love to see them live. I have 10" 33 1/3 Lp of them under Barbirolli doing L'arlisienne and Swan Lake that my dad bought new but still plays well. Wonderful!

I had the pleasure of watching them perform at Jodrell Bank a few years ago. They finished off with the Star Wars theme.😁

I used to play violin and my dad used to take me to educate and inspire me. It worked. My violin is ace, just dug it up for a reminisce. The bow is broke though. It was made in 1883!!!!!

Used to occasionally get taken to the Free Trade Hall when I was a kid. Think my mum was trying to inspire me.

Didn't work. I don't think I ever really engaged with classical music again until my 40s, and even now I don't seek it out very often

What’s your normal music taste?

My brother was at that - said it was brilliant. 

Folk/prog/rock/ post punk. Something faster and electronic later in the evening. A little jazz on the Sunday afterwards 

Try Stravinsky’s Firebird. TBH, I’d have probably said that anyway. There’s some quite quiet bits, but they add to the drama. 
 

Sure was, I was near the front with my picnic safely packed inside my tummy. 😀

I saw/heard the Halle in Manchester at the Bridgwater Hall a couple of years ago - I was right at the front and it was magical. It wasn't long before the pandemic - I think autumn 2019 - and led me to resolve to be a better person and go to more concerts - I work in London and could easily do so, just a matter of getting round to it. I need to get back into that, cautiously. I went to a concert given by The Sixteen at King's Place a couple of weeks ago - very carefully set up, audience and performers all distanced - all 16th century stuff some of which made my eyes leak. There is no substitute for live music.

What a beautiful violin. Never too late to play again ...

You’re right. I will pick it up again sometime. 

Ive been to a few things in London since my daughter moved  down there. Some theatre : Phantom, Mousetrap, Peter Pan Goes Wrong (never laughed as much in my life), Philarmonic (proms, the one with that old piano and some famous bloke - Simon callow - sat next to me.).Hopefully my daughter will be in the theatre one day, lots of talent though - a tough line of work. 

‘There is no substitute for live music’ - totally. 

The brass band version of the Firebird is fantastic, there is a live performance on you tube from the world brass festival in Lucerne.

Edit to copy link:

youtube.com/watch?v=TAfB90yFXyc&

Thanks. Will have a look/listen later. 

Will do