This was the night of the penultimate concert of this year's Proms. It
couldn't have been a better day with clear blue skies and warm evening
temperatures tempting everyone out. We began with an early dinner at Carluccios
which ended with coffee profiteroles with chocolate and hazelnut sauce - really
delicious. We walked up the road, enjoying the warm evening and entered by door
4 to find our seats in the circle with this precipitous view. There were plenty
of promenaders queuing for seats this evening.
The
concert, Prom no.75, was given by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted
by Bernard Haitink, a conductor we have seen many times. The programme was:
Haydn
Symphony No. 104
in D major, 'London'
R.
Strauss An Alpine Symphony
The last piece has
no specific movements, but takes us through a day in the Bavarian Alps. It
begins with a spectacular sunrise and so on through the day with cowbells and
tinkling streams, waterfalls and meadows. A storm blows up and suddenly there is
thunder rolling across the landscape as the wind and thunder machines are brought
in. The storm abates, the sunsets and night falls. It involves a huge orchestra
with plenty of wind and percussion and a full complement of strings. It was a
great performance and the audience really enjoyed it.
We were treated
to an encore, which was Johann Strauss II's waltz Voices of Spring. A jolly finale to a
wonderful concert and our visit to the Proms 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment