Nic

In the programme’s description of Rachmaninov: “If there were a conservatorium in hell and one of its students had been asked to compose a symphony on the subject of the seven plagues of Egypt, and had written a symphony like Rachmaninov’s, he would have won a prize for it.” The fuck?

So, this one has the following pieces

Hindemith Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
Really cool piece. I was able to hear each brass and woodwind instrument individually and their interaction with the strings.

Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme
Kind of boring. Cello soloist kind of dominated the piece to the point where I was desperate for any other instrument. Soloist did keep making hilarious faces though.

Rachmaninov Symphony No. 1 
Started off kind of cool. Would probably have been a nice piece but I got really annoyed by the concertmaster. A concertmaster is supposed to lead the violins (and the rest of the strings/orchestra) in bowing and tempo, a symbol of unity. This concertmaster kept flourishing and fidgeting throughout the performance. Doing his own thing while the rest of the orchestra was normal. That really annoyed me and kept distracting me from the music.

I spent most of it with my eyes closed trying to listen to the music so I wouldn’t get distracted by the concertmaster but it’s not quite the same when you can’t see the orchestra. I much preferred the concertmaster for the first pieces, she does it far more professionally.