Was surprised at just how entertaining I found yesterday's concert with the SSO. Proceedings began with a short 5 minute overture from a late 19C comic opera by some chap called von Reznicek. Pure fluff, tunefully so. I found myself tapping my feet, and wouldn't have minded a few minutes longer. In fact I suspected that I wouldn't have minded sitting through the whole show had it been on the agenda for the evening. And even though the Saint-Sains symphony that comprised the second half of the programme is thought of as a serious piece, again I heard it as something close to aural cheesecake - a sort of happy luxury of sound to listen to. Loved the bits with the organ, by the way. Its sound added a gauzy depth and almost cinematic gravitas just when it felt needed.
But it was Sir Stephen Hough's own piano concerto that definitely provided just what the listener who's in the mood for a bit of impossible glamour required. I came across a version on YouTube today and it confirmed what I thought at first hearing. This is meant as pure entertainment, surely, but entertainment of genuine worth.
Interesting that the composer's own programme notes are so well written. Music of real intelligence as well as feeling.
Not bad for just $21.00 eh? (I claimed the discount for senior citizens.)
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