I saw a live orchestra for the first time last year at The Royal Festival Hall, The Novello Orchestra playing along with Beauty and The Beast, I was completely enchanted. I then went back later in the year to listen to the Philharmonia Orchestra.
I saw a live orchestra for the first time last year at The Royal Festival Hall, The Novello Orchestra playing along with Beauty and The Beast, I was completely enchanted. I then went back later in the year to listen to the Philharmonia Orchestra.
An opportunity came up to go to the Royal Festival Hall again, I paid £10 for a seat in the rear stalls. It’s hard to put into words the emotions I felt when the orchestra started to play. The acoustics are amazing in this venue and the sounds of a full orchestra is spine tingling to say the least.
I found it fascinating to watch each of the sections of the orchestra, from the mix of people playing the violins, to the trombonists who spend a lot of their time sitting watching, to the musician playing the huge drums at the back of the stage. It’s a wonderful addition to the amazing sounds.
The Principal Guest Conductor for the evening was Jakub Hrusa, he was born in the Czech Republic and is a frequent guest with many of the world’s greatest orchestras. The energy he brought to his role was amazing, I imagine he was exhausted by the end of the evening.
This evening was one for joyful music, the main orchestra played Dances of Galanta by Zoltan Kodaly, they left the stage in order for a beautiful Steinway Grand Piano to be brought to the centre of the stage.
The second piece was by Edvard Grieg – Piano Concerto in A Minor Op 16. The piano was for the soloist Denis Kozhukhin, a Russian painist he’s established himself as one of the greatest pianists of his generation. Needless to say his playing was sublime.
The evening finished with 8 Slavoinc Dances written by Antonin Dvorak.
The whole evening was a delight, I’d highly recommend a trip to the Royal Festival Hall to experience the wonder of a live orchestra.
An opportunity came up to go to the Royal Festival Hall again, I paid £10 for a seat in the rear stalls. It’s hard to put into words the emotions I felt when the orchestra started to play. The acoustics are amazing in this venue and the sounds of a full orchestra is spine tingling to say the least.
I found it fascinating to watch each of the sections of the orchestra, from the mix of people playing the violins, to the trombonists who spend a lot of their time sitting watching, to the musician playing the huge drums at the back of the stage. It’s a wonderful addition to the amazing sounds.
The conductor for the evening was Jakub Hrusa, he was born in the Czech Republic
This evening was one for joyful music, the main orchestra played Dances of Galanta by Zoltan Kodaly first.
365 Happy Days 