On Thursday night I stopped by the St. George Concert Hall to pick up some performance brochures, particularly the Orchestral Concert Season brochure. I noticed that "Tasmin Little", who the Music building at the Bradford University is named after (I found out that they give out memberships to the public for use of space and piano practice rooms), was playing the first Chamber event of the season the following night at 7:30pm at the Bradford Cathedral. A bunch of Canadian teachers were also planning to see Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at the Alhambra Theatre on Friday night at 7:30pm. Hence, on Friday, after cheese and drinks at Bradford Academy where Impact (our recruiting agency) gave a presentation on an opportunity to train teachers in Uganda and India during school holidays, I jumped into a taxi with the others heading back to the City Centre (7:10pm). I hadn't been able to reach the box office by phone and the Concert Hall where I had picked up a brochure was already closed so as I considered whether they would be selling tickets at the door, I dropped my stuff off at my apartment. I decided I had enough time to go find out and I really wanted to see this performance, so I flew down the stairs again (7:20pm) and ran the three blocks over to the Cathedral. Just in time. So awesome living so close to great places to be.
I haven't heard a lot of piano & violin works so this was a real treat. Tasmin Little graduated from Bradford University and told the audience that her favourite place to play is Bradford. Great repertoire. I liked the Sonatensatz so much that I sent a link to my sister in hopes that one day we could actually pull it off! The Sonatensatz is from the "F-A-E" sonata whose name in Italian refers to the lonely life of the concert violinist, which Tasmin noted with a wry smile. The Kreutzer was not what I expected but I've always loved Beethoven and I think I'd have to hear it again to really understand it. The Delius was gorgeous. Delius is a 19th century composer born in Bradford. What didn't make it onto the printed program was the Estonian composer Arvo Pรคrt's "Spiegel im Spiegel" which Tasmin described as being the Moonlight Sonata in a major key. We heard two encores as well, a Hungarian dance arrangement and a delightful jazz piece that I recognised but whose name I do not know...
Intermission. The cathedral, where I worshipped two Sundays (I think?) ago.
I had been offered row 5 seats on the other side but when I took a look, I realised it was on the wrong side of the piano. It doesn't look great in the photo but I was pretty pleased with my last minute choice of seats. Really, I didn't need to see any more than just between those the pillars. I could see Tasmin in her entirety and I could see Mr. Lenenhan's hands at the piano. Good enough. Paid way too much for this little concert but paying 5 Pounds to hear the St. Petersburg Orchestra two weeks from now as an Under 30 audience will make up for it!
I haven't heard a lot of piano & violin works so this was a real treat. Tasmin Little graduated from Bradford University and told the audience that her favourite place to play is Bradford. Great repertoire. I liked the Sonatensatz so much that I sent a link to my sister in hopes that one day we could actually pull it off! The Sonatensatz is from the "F-A-E" sonata whose name in Italian refers to the lonely life of the concert violinist, which Tasmin noted with a wry smile. The Kreutzer was not what I expected but I've always loved Beethoven and I think I'd have to hear it again to really understand it. The Delius was gorgeous. Delius is a 19th century composer born in Bradford. What didn't make it onto the printed program was the Estonian composer Arvo Pรคrt's "Spiegel im Spiegel" which Tasmin described as being the Moonlight Sonata in a major key. We heard two encores as well, a Hungarian dance arrangement and a delightful jazz piece that I recognised but whose name I do not know...
Intermission. The cathedral, where I worshipped two Sundays (I think?) ago.
The concert musicians I've known say that after a while the only good thing about touring is the playing itself. Apparently everything else sucks. I can definitely identify...
ReplyDeleteAll the old churches and cathedrals give the British a huge advantage for performance spaces. I have noticed the audiences over there generally tend to be older though...