Last classical concert you went to

[MartinT]

Romeo and Juliet performed by The Russian State Ballet & Orchestra of Siberia at the Anvil, Basingstoke. I'm not a great ballet enthusiast but I did enjoy the costumes and fabulous dancing. For me, though, the music of Prokofiev is wonderful and I revelled in the sound of the small-ish orchestra playing superbly and with some incredible crescendi - I wish I had my SPL meter to measure it but they must have gone well over 100dB on a few occasions. A great night out and good to see provincial touring companies like this visit little old Basingstoke.

[MartinT]

Coming soon: I have tickets for Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 at the Proms on 9 August and Martha Argerich playing a piano concerto TBD on 24 March 2012 at the Barbican, with Temirkanov and the St Petersburg Philharmonic, no less. Very excited about this one.

[BTH K10A]

Coming soon: I have tickets for Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 at the Proms on 9 August and Martha Argerich playing a piano concerto TBD on 24 March 2012 at the Barbican, with Temirkanov and the St Petersburg Philharmonic, no less. Very excited about this one.

Very nice, Martha Argerich is one of my favorite pianists.

I'm hoping to see Mitsuko Uchida at the Barbican later in the year. Again a wonderful pianist.

[MartinT]

The BBC Welsh SO were absolutely peerless last night, with superb timing, a great brass section (so important with this symphony) and excellent pace and emphasis from the French conductor Francoise-Xavier Roth. In fact, I could find no fault with them and they were easily a match for any of the big three London orchestras.

The less said about the obligatory new composition, the better. Why is it that so many composers insist on producing this atonal and dissonant nonsense?

The Albert Hall's organ was built for the Saint-Saens, and yet Thomas Trotter, the organist, was careful to set the instrument at a level where the orchestra were not overwhelmed. Again, the playing was superb and the overall sound sumptuous and thrilling. Of the three times I've heard this symphony live, this was easily the best played and interpreted. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert.

[julesd68]

I didn't know about the Argerich concert and have just booked!

Shame I came across it so late as only tickets left are very pricey.

I am so keen to see her before she retires.

She cancelled her Festival Hall concert this year that I had booked for, so let's hope she doesn't dissapoint again ...

[MartinT]

Don't say that, I am so looking forward to finally seeing her live. I don't even know which concerto she'll be performing yet (but I'm secretly hoping for the Grieg or Rach's 3rd).

[julesd68]

Sorry Martin, but forewarned is forearmed - she does have a reputation for pulling out at the last moment, if you'll forgive the expression!

I was due to see the Schumann which I would still like to hear. As long as it isn't Beethoven or Mozart I will be happy. Grieg would be wonderful & Rach would of course be stellar ...

[morris_minor]

I commented on my last concert in my "welcome post", when the lights went out during an LSO concert. Just like the band on the Titanic, they kept on playing in the dark There's a link to a nice blog post by the LSO's flute player in my post . . .

Next up is the State Ballet from Siberia - which is where this thread started. Let's hope the G-Live venue in Guildford have stocked up on 50p pieces for the meter.

[JJack]

Saw Joshua Bell at Carnegie Hall in NYC a couple weeks ago. A great talent, but a VERY big house for chamber music.

Next up is the London Phil next week, coming to my doorstep near Detroit, with Janine Jensen playing Mozart 5, plus "the obligatory new composition" as someone noted herein.

[MartinT]

plus "the obligatory new composition" as someone noted herein.

It's the blight of the Proms. I've heard many new compositions over the years but few have been memorable.