Last night I had the pleasure of seeing a fantastic violinist at work. I wasn't so impressed with the orchestra (the RPO), but Maxim Vengerov was amazing. Brilliant. Wonderful. All the superlatives in the dictionary.
The Britten Violin Concerto I can take or leave, but he was excellent. Ravel's Tzigane I had never heard before, but both the piece and the violinst were great. Really good fun music to listen to and watch. Vengerov then played an encore. I wish I knew what it was. It blew me away, left me absolutely speechless. If anyone knows can you tell me please? I would love to get hold of a recording of it.
So there you go. You may gather that I enjoyed it. Elgar's Enigma Variations in the 2nd half rounded it off nicely. Being in the RFH brought back some fantastic memories. It hasn't changed that much. I could see myself sat in the stalls, playing music pinned to the violinist in front's back, looking up at a stage full of cellos, with Sir Simon Rattle conducting and Howard Blake playing the organ, breaking some world record or other. I can see myself on stage, playing my heart out. I can see myself back stage in tears because I knew that it would be my final time playing there. I can see everything as clear as if it was yesterday, when it was over 10 years ago. I wish I still played in an orchestra that I loved as much as that one. I need to go to more concerts.
