The programme for tonight's concert was as follow:
- WEBERN- Passacaglia, Op. 1
- ELGAR- Cello Concerto In E minor, Op. 85
- RIMSKY-KORSAKOV- Scheherazade, Op. 35
My thanks to Emily for being my company tonight.
My ears could not quite appreciate Webern's Passacaglia, Op. 1, but it was fine in that my ears did not perceive it as noises. I used to take a module in the university that is related to contemporary (art) music, yet my ears have not being well adjusted to truly appreciate atonal and serial music.
The Elgar's Cello Concerto was worth waiting for. It was good. I think the cellist did a good job with her tone and good technique. Here's a quotation from the Washington Post on the cellist tonight: "Hai-Ye Ni sounded like the youthful Yo-Yo Ma... a technique that simply took no account of difficulties... with a beautifully controlled cantabile line, soulfully expressive...she ran brilliantly through all its obstacles." I think this description is close to being apt.
Being someone who do not have the luxury of having a library of recordings of famous works, tonight was my first time listening to the entire Elgar's Cello Concerto, from the first movement to its last. I think it is a good piece of composition, and it was a good experience listening to it live. For those who wish to read out more about this cello concerto, here is a link: http://www.elgar.org/3cellcon.htm.
The orchestra also did well playing the Scheherazade. There was some slips but overall, the orchestra had performed well, and I enjoyed myself. I realised that I was able to stay awake (in fact I became more awaked) despite having quite a tiring day when Scheherazade was played. Maybe this is my body's way of telling me whether an item was good enough or not.
Tonight was also the first time that I sat in one of the stall seats of the Esplanade Concert Hall as a audience. Most of the time, I would purchase the cheaper circle seats. Thanks to the lucky star, I was given the opportunity to sit in the stall-seat areas. In terms of the view, it was not the best of seats. I could not see the woodwinds player well enough from my seat today. Then again, I quite like the way the orchestra had sound from where I was sitting tonight. Emily commented that the orchestra sounded "raw", but I won't mind this "raw" sound. It somehow sounded more natural and real than the sound from the speakers that I would often hear from the circle seats.
I am glad that I went for tonight's concert, and I thank the lucky star for this opportunity. I felt that tonight's concert sounded better than the concert that I had attended last Saturday. Thanks to Symphony 92.4 for the tickets too!
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