I SAW A GREAT GIG TODAY. (Classical music content)

[Kandinskyesque]

Feeling a bit down having had to pull out of a gig tonight (health not up to it).

However, my old friend (literally old as he's 82) gave me a phone call at lunchtime to tell me the Engegard String Quartet from Norway were playing this afternoon in the Episcopal Church in Aberfoyle, my nearest village.

We ended up going to see them in a beautiful early 1800s church, sitting in the front row (my friend is a bit deaf) only 20' from the musicians, along with only about 30 other people. I wouldn't be lying to say it's a while since I was the youngest person in the room.

I'd never seen a quartet before at that distance and listened to Mozart's "Hoffmeister" followed by Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" over the course of 90 minutes.

I'm absolutely stunned by the sound, and the standard of musicianship.
I found out that there's a concert every month only a few miles from my house, feature the cream of classical touring musicians.

I think I might have found myself a new pastime.

 

[ClashCityTele]

Sounds like quite an experience. I should really do the same thing.
I love classical music and have dozens of classical CD's.
I've listened to Classic FM from their 1 hour test transmissions prior to 'going live'.
Yet I've never attended a classical concert!

 

[Engine Swap]

“Death and the Maiden" is a great piece and it sounds like you saw it in a wonderful venue.

Classical music is a safe harbor once you’re over 40. Partial to 20th century composers myself.

 

[PhredE]

If you like guitar and David Russell (he is from Scotland) ever does a performance within a reasonable distance.. go see him. He is one of the best in the world. Good classical guitar is something really special.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

String quartets are my classical jam. Orchestra stuff washes over me, but you can get the quartet scores and follow along. Look for YouTube videos like that!

 

[Kandinskyesque]

I was in a setting similar to this watching from about half the distance from the opening shot (same quartet) and there were no mic stands to obscure the view.
I didn't realise how visual an experience it was going to be because I could watch, hear and follow each individual player.

 

[Bonneville Bruce]

Sherman, set the way-back machine for July 1976 ...
I was on the job at the Snowbird Ski Resort near Salt Lake City, Utah, and walked into a room where a string quartet was rehearsing a Schubert piece. It was the four of them and me. They played like it was a Carnegie Hall performance with an audience of one. It was one of the most moving performances that I have ever witnessed, they were totally committed to the music. I felt honored and blessed to be there.

 

[ahiddentableau]

Your comment about how concerts can be a visual experience reminds me of something. When I was a boy a string quartet performed at my elementary school. Which is unusual enough, but what I remember most about it was the way the set it up. The concert was in the school gym--no surprises there--but they didn't use a stage. They placed the quartet right in the centre of the gym and piled all us kids around in a giant circle. It was beautiful, and being so close to the musicians really changed the nature of the experience. It seemed to much more immersive. You'd think a string quartet would be a hard sell to a bunch of kids between the ages of 5 and 12 but they had everybody won over in no time. Still one of my strongest music related memories.

 

[JeffroJones]

We ended up going to see them in a beautiful early 1800s church

Excellent

:::

 

[VintageSG]

Live music in old churches is a bit special. Our reverb pedals pale into insignificance compared to the complex, cavernous sound a 17thC stone church can reflect. Modern buildings?, not so much.
Quartets work well. Clavichords, cellos and harpsichords sound superb. The complexities of the frequencies reverberating in different paths around you build. Bach's French Suites and the Cello Suites are a real joy. Organ recitals are worth looking for. Yeah, of course, T&F will be spooned out, but man alive, dat bass!

Sitting 6' away from a very talented cellist as she brought both Cello Suite No.1 to life; and tears of rapturous joy to my eyes, is a memory that will remain.

 

[Bob Womack]

Couple of stories:

In college I was on the music department recording staff and as a result attended (worked) every recital. I loved it.

A few years ago i went to a performance of Arcangelo Corelli's Christmas Concerto (Op.6 No. 8) in a small theater. I was down close and in the center. This piece has been a favorite of mine for decades but this was the first time I heard it live. I was fascinated to find out that the melody lines physically moved across the stage between the string sections. It was quite stirring.

Bob

 

[Tonetele]

I love classical music; in fact all music , but I hate jazz. Jazz sounds like musicians playing wrong notes all over the place.
I'll cop flak for this.