bosiemoncrieff
Headphoneus Supremus
At the Philharmonie for Sibelius violin concerto and Langgaard symphony 1 — an enthusiastically Nordic evening. The Sibelius was extremely good. I often search for the best metaphor to describe the experience of a conductor or instrumentalist bringing out sounds or phrases or accents I hadn’t heard before in a work (or flavors I hadn’t tasted in a coffee brewed as filter that emerge in the intensity of espresso). monet and his haystacks and cathedrals gets at it. I heard so many new turns and colors in the Sibelius it’s as if the conductor were making it do yoga and introducing new positions — new to me, if not to the transcendental work of music.
The second piece, the symphony, struck me as a melange of Sibelius and Mahler. The back row of brass came in for the end of the last movement, evidently because 17 brass weren’t enough, and the trumpets, trombones, and tuba needed to be doubled for the full effect. It was long but lots of fun. It seemed lesser than Mahler but better than a lot else. Better than Tchaikovsky for sure, and nearly as tuneful. Perhaps with an small excess of hot air, but with a lot to offer despite that.
Sibelius’s economy was always his secret weapon, one which Wagner or bruckner or frankly even Mahler could have learned from. This performance may prove the best yet - I looked through the YouTube music streaming service (I know it’s crap compared to idagio, I get it for free) and there doesn’t seem to be anything in the catalog that would hold a candle to Berlin Phil. Listen to it.
Schipol is an absolute hot mess—both our bags failed to make the transfer, which wouldn’t have been that bad, except an idiotic Italian clerk forced us to check the carry on, where we had put all the essentials, anticipating the temporary loss of our baggage. It was 13kg, she said, and the maximum is 12. There won’t be any overhead space, she said. There was plenty. It was fully booked, she said. There were a dozen open seats. So we’re without clothes and medication and the travel coffee rig, but we’re managing.
It was 94 today. I hope it cools down. Though Weissensee (near our flat) was a scrum of sunbathing.
The second piece, the symphony, struck me as a melange of Sibelius and Mahler. The back row of brass came in for the end of the last movement, evidently because 17 brass weren’t enough, and the trumpets, trombones, and tuba needed to be doubled for the full effect. It was long but lots of fun. It seemed lesser than Mahler but better than a lot else. Better than Tchaikovsky for sure, and nearly as tuneful. Perhaps with an small excess of hot air, but with a lot to offer despite that.
Sibelius’s economy was always his secret weapon, one which Wagner or bruckner or frankly even Mahler could have learned from. This performance may prove the best yet - I looked through the YouTube music streaming service (I know it’s crap compared to idagio, I get it for free) and there doesn’t seem to be anything in the catalog that would hold a candle to Berlin Phil. Listen to it.
Schipol is an absolute hot mess—both our bags failed to make the transfer, which wouldn’t have been that bad, except an idiotic Italian clerk forced us to check the carry on, where we had put all the essentials, anticipating the temporary loss of our baggage. It was 13kg, she said, and the maximum is 12. There won’t be any overhead space, she said. There was plenty. It was fully booked, she said. There were a dozen open seats. So we’re without clothes and medication and the travel coffee rig, but we’re managing.
It was 94 today. I hope it cools down. Though Weissensee (near our flat) was a scrum of sunbathing.
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