A concert

I was at Saffron Hall this afternoon to see the BBC Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Sakari Oromo. 

Grazyna Bacewicz - Overture for Symphony Orchestra 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Bassoon Concerto in B flat minor K191

Edward Elgar - Romance for Bassoon and Orchestra Op 62

Antonin Dvorak - Symphony No 8 in G major Op 88

The bassoon soloist was Julie Price who after the Elgar was seen nipping into the audience to listen to the Dvorak.

As ever an excellent afternoon

I am still here

I had a great time in Norfolk and had lots of memories. 

I ended driving straight home and defrosting my freezer. I kid you not ;)

I didn't go anywhere last week. Lots of walking.

I went to Saffron Hall on the Sunday and saw the London Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Karina Canellakis. The program was 

• Sibelius Violin Concerto soloist Johan Delane 
• Beethoven Symphony No 3  Eroica

This week was a double header of Handel Operas Agrippina and Tamerlano performed by English Touring Opera. My favourite seat is not right for the opera at Saffron but I now know the one I need ;) 

As the clocks went back Sunday morning I was awake early and I decided to go for my traditional Sunday morning Costa breakfast. I say traditional, the last one was March 2020!! 

Later I found one of the foals crossing the common road as I came back!!! It went into one of the gardens opposite and then ran back across the road to the common. Its friends tried to follow it but yours truly blocked their path and clapped at them until they gave up.

They look so innocent here after they gave up.

Today I went to Amtphill to see my cousin Carol. We went for a walk in her local park which is really nice

We had a nice walk and chat and had lunch with her husband Glen.

I will go somewhere this week :) I just need to check the weather and drag myself out of bed LOL

Concerts and things

I had a late afternoon concert at Saffron Hall today. 

The programme was the Halle Orchestra under conductor Sir Mark Elder with pianist Pavel Kolesnikov performing

Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No 3 in D major

Smetana -  Ma Vlast: Vltava

Sibelius - Smyphny No 3 in C major

The Rachmaninov was wonderful, fabulous performance by all. I enjoyed the Smetana as well! 

Sorry for the lack of photos. To be honest I haven't taken a camera on my walks and I haven't seen much wildlife! There are more mallards about now and I have seen the Little Grebes on the New Hall pond. There are still some butterflies and dragonflies on my walk.

I will be out tomorrow so....

Here are a few  pics

I have never seen these sheep here before!

The foals are at that wandering stage now. They wander all over the common but always return "home".

A Concert and this and that

I went to a concert last night. Most people wore masks although less than last time. My seat was as perhaps as socially distanced as I could get (I ought to add it was the one I always chose post covid as I hate being surrounded by people!

It was to see the Britten Sinfonia play the following program as part of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams. The programme was 

• Grace Williams - Sea Sjetcges
• Sibelius - Scene with Cranes
• Vaughan Williams - Concerto for Oboe and Strings in A Minor the soloist was Nicholas Daniel a former BBC young musician of the year
• Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending
• Bridge - There is a Willow Grows Alsant a Brook
• Holst - St Paul's Suite.

It was good to be out listening to music again. 

I haven't been far again this week. I have racked up some miles and walked further this week than I have in any week in England (my record week was in Italy). 

Bird wise I finally got to see some Ringed Neck Parakeets on my walk! 

Curiously these were in the same spot as my first daffs I saw in last years lockdown. 

This is the last foal from last year not tied up. I'm not sure it is Frosty's foal as there were two this colour at the end. Alas no sign of Frosty yet.

La Serenissima at Saffron Hall

On the 29th March 2020 I was due to see La Serenissima at Saffron Hall. It was cancelled, rearranged, cancelled  again and rearranged again and on Sunday I sat down to watch them! 

My seat was on the back row at the end which meant I had few people near me. Those who were all wore masks. I'd say 85-90% wore masks there were a few people who think they are indestructible. 

The programme was all Vivaldi and the ensemble leader Adam Chandler was very chatty (which I like). I never expected to hear a classical leader say we need to tonk this one!! LOL

Concerto for viola d'amore, string & continui in d RV 394

Introduzione al Gloria: 'Cursagittas, cur tela, cur faces' for contralto, strings & continuo RV 637

Concerto 'per violino in tromba marina', string and continuo in G RV 313

'Nulla in mundo pax sincera' for soprano string & continuo RV630

Concerto for Violin, organ, strings & continuo in d RV541

Psalm 126: 'Nisi Dominus' for Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Contralto, violin 'in tromba marina', viola d'amor, chalumeau, cello, organ, strings & continuo, RV803

As you can see early music has lots of unusual instruments and a unique sound. The most famous of those pieces I would say is the Nulla. 

I'm back next two Sunday's 

Live Music at Saffron Hall with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields

I do have photos to share but I'll do a catch up on local walks tomorrow. Given it was half term I had a quiet week avoiding places ;) Well sort of 

You wait ages for a concert and two come at once.  I arrived the obligatory 10 minutes before arrival and wandered to my seat. There were no crowds and it wasn't even full for this limited capacity which was a shame but I guess I understand. I do hope they broke even. They are doing two performances an evening so the concert was only for an hour. The programme was 

• Telemann (arr. Sachs & Alessi)   -    Fantasia No.2 in D minor 
• Mozart arr. Lowicky                    -    Adagio K580a  
• Martinu                                        -    Allegro moderato from Quartet
• Sally Beamish                              -    Ariel 
• Grieg                                            -    Two Nordic Melodies Op.63 II Cow Call 
• Corelli                                          -    Badinerie from Suite for Strings 
• Mozart                                          -  Symphony No.39 in E flat major K.543

It was an enjoyable hour but my highlights were the older pieces I find modern classical a bit jarring. For most of the pieces there 3-4 musicians (the Beamish was solo flute). By the time of the Mozart there were 22 musicians.

Very enjoyable.

Live Music at Saffron Hall with the Castalian Quartet

A couple of weeks ago Saffron Hall posted some upcoming live socially distanced concerts. I sort of ummed and aahed but when I looked at the tickets it was obvious that the hall would be very quiet and very safe so I booked tickets for 3 concerts of which the first was tonight.

I arrived at the mandated time (10 minutes before start) picked up my pre-ordered diet coke and went to my seat. I was in an area that seats 28... there were 3 of us! and I reckon 15 in total on the balcony which supports 150? The main auditorium had all seats removed and the there were individual tables of 2 and 4 for family groups. Even then not all seats were taken.

It was the first concert they have done there in 5 months and the first I had been there since February 2020!!  

It was an hour of string quartets with the Castalian Sting Quartet who won the 2019 Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist of the Year. The programme was:

Janacek - String Quartet No 1 in E minor "Kreutzer Sonata"

Dvorak - String Quartet in A flat Op 105

It was blissful to see and hear live music again as opposed to through speakers. The hour passed quickly and alas there were too few of us to give the musicians the amount of noise they deserved but it was wonderful. I am back Sunday ;)

The Tallis Scholars

I apologise for the lack of updates, storms and real life have sort of got in the way and I will no doubt update you all fairly soon as some big changes are afoot.

However yesterday after a very productive morning (thanks to my good friend Stuart) I managed to spend an afternoon at Saffron Hall. The Tallis Scholars were founded in 1973 and are one of the countries finest proponents of early music and here were joined by the National Youth Chamber choir.

They are named after the Tudor composer Thomas Tallis and the programme was dominated by Tallis and his younger contemporary William Byrd.

First Half
Tallis - Loquebantur varlis linguis
Tallis - Suscpie quaeso
Part - The Woman with the Alabaster Box
Byrd - Gaudeamus Omnes
Byrd - Tribune, Domine

Second Half
Allegri  - Miserere
Croce  - Miserere
Part - Tribute to Caesar
Tallis - Spem in alium
Encore - Spem in alium from bar 108

With the exception of Part the program was predominantly 16th and very early 17th century.

The first half was very good, my favourite parts? The Byrd probably, but the second half was the bit of the programme that caught my eye. Now the headline piece was Spem in alium Tallis magnus opus  featuring 40 voices. However for me the best piece was Allegri's Miserere which was hauntingly beautiful.

New Year's concerts

Traditionally a New Year Concert takes day on New Year's Eve/Day. The most famous one is the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in Vienna.

Saffron Hall scheduled there's for Saturday 4th January and I thought ? Why not!

The orchestra was the BBC Concert Orchestra with Conductor Bramwell Tovey and pianist Martin James Bartlett.

The concerts in Vienna are notable for being full of music by the Strauss family and this was no different.

What was nice is that it was a lot less "formal" than a normal concert with Tovey telling the audience about the pieces and cracking jokes.

Part one

J Strauss - Overture to Die Fledermaus
Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (1st Movement)
Rachmaninov - Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini

The Rachmaninov was performed by Bartlett who is previous BBC young musician of the year and still only 23 (he won in 2014)

Part Two
Baewicz  - Overture
Mozart - Symphony 25 1st movement
J Strauss II - Perpetuum Mobile
Eduard Strauss - Alpine Rose
J Strauss II - Pizzicato Polka
J Strauss II - Champagne Polka
J Strauss II - Blue Danube

I admit I have never head of Baewicz who is a female 20th century Polish composer nice piece, not sure it fit the programme but it was a good piece.

the encores were
J Strauss II - tritsch-tratsch polka
J Strauss II - Radetzky March

good music? lots of laughs? what more could one want?

Musical Sunday

I had tickets to the Wigmore Hall to see violinist Rachel Podger play solo Bach.... or a dark Sunday morning I could have easily pulled the duvet up but but no!!

I hopped off the tube at St Paul's and had a coffee and breakfast in Cafe Nero.

I had loaded up the phone (yes blog coming) with 10,000 Maniacs (Natalie Merchant era), Dar Williams (I had forgotten how  good she is), the Delines and Indigo Girls and wandered.

It was rubbish weather!

Christmas coming?

St Clement Danes church.

Bomber Harris

Dowding

Gladstone

The statue on the plinth was falling a part last time I was here... now gone!  I ought to stress one of the things I love about London are its Squares... They are places to escape the throngs and you see some nature.... There was a Blue Tit and a Grey Squirel..... For all the Grey Squirrel is maligned I'm amazed how they survive in these small oasis

Anyway the concert was Rachel Podger playing solo Bach for Violin

Sonata No 1 in G minor BMV1001
Parita No 1 in B minor BMV1002

I specifically liked the Parita I didn't like the numpty who left their phone on vibrate which went off twice!!

Now the problem from a live performance point of view with the Bach was when it ends I don't want to break out in applause. I find it makes me introspective and makes me think. But it was really good, I got the impression the audience felt the same as the applause wasn't initially spontaneous ..... when Ms Podger came out again it was much more exuberant .....

a nice Sunday morning and I'm back in two weeks for something different classically wise!