I went to another concert last night
Yes, Angelika called me on Thursday to remind me about the concert on Friday. It was excellent. It was at ‘my concert’ opera house and I had an ideal seat in the middle of the circle, so I had a perfect view and sound reception.
The Komische Oper orchestra was directed by a guest conductor from Bulgaria called Rossen Milanov with the French pianist, Jean-Francois Heisser. Very popular and had to take two encores before the audience would let him go.
The programme was :- Schnittke: (K)ein Sommernachtstraum ( A reference to (Not) A Summer Nights Dream!) – which was delightful in how he made fun of the classic style and parodied it with atonal developments. Great.
It was followed by Prokofiew’s Piano Concerto 2. opus 16. A real showcase of a piece which this pianist made look as easy as opening a door. He was a ‘mature’ pianist and the ease of his style reflected the many years and experiences of playing all over the world.
After the break the orchestra showed what it could do by playing Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dance. All translations of the original German programme by me! A really great evening of music and one I needed after two weeks of intensive work covering for ill and absent teachers.