Orchestra II

when the performance was better than a cd that i heard, there is no doubt, it's good.

went with a few frens to see the RLPO perform Brahms's Piano Concerto 2 and Tchaikovsky's symphony 4. and oh my word, the Tchaikovsky's symphony 4 under Vasily Petrenko's direction was just amazing. it was fresh, sharp and very well played. the audiences were electrified. one on the best performances i have seen so far.

I really like the Brahm's piano concerto 2, and seeing it performing live is just different from listening it to CD. Arcadi Volodos (the soloist/pianist) was quite flashy with his showmanship, but nothing detracts from his playing. it was amazing. (of course, he is performing this piece to every place he tours, but I am sure, everytime he plays it, it is different, and also, the orchestra is different). he interacted with the music played by the orchestra too. cool...

Brahm's 2nd piano concerto has much more to offer, much more composed than his first piano concerto, which was a mixture of darkness, bit eloquent and happiness. i think it was a piece that was very much for the future, instead of the mid 19 century. His 2nd piano concerto was a very much similar style to Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto 'emperor'. there are similarities, but also distinctness of brahms in there. Beethoven's piano concertos are usually light and easy going (i think); while Brahms's piano concerto weights more, has more structure and the second sounded the finest to me, of all the piano concertos. yes, in my opinion, it is superior to Rachmaninov's 2nd piano concerto too. well.. still, they are all lovely pieces.

more piano concertos to discover too! gotta wait till i got the money to collect them haha. ah.. and a superb set of hi fi will be required. aiming for Naim.

that's one of the reasons why i am staying here for a bit more longer. europe is best for classical music, and I want to discover, know and learn more.