Your last concert was to see who and when?

Florida Orchestra in Tampa a couple weeks ago, playing R Strauss Divertimento for Winds, Barber Knoxville Summer 1915, and Mahler 4. Not the CSO or Concertgebouw, it was very, very good!

Florida Orchestra, a week ago, playing Auerbach's Icarus, Prokofiev second violin concerto (Hadelich) and Pictures at an Exhibition.  Sat in about the 8th row -- closer than I like, but not too too close.  Great to hear live music again.  The Auerbach was very interesting and made me want to hear it again.  Hadelich is as good as they get and that's a fatastically beautifyul concerto.  I became familiar with it from a Connoisseurs recording at least 40 years ago, Syeryng performance.  And lo and behold, Hadelich plays an ex-Szeryng Guaraneri.  May be I just heard it on teh very same instrument!!!  And Pictures is Pictures: virtuosic and powerful music, showcasing the entire orchstral palette in the Ravel transcription.  The Florida Orchstra is actually a quite fine ensemble -- and this coming from someone who spend their formative orchestra going years hearing Solti, Giulini and many others conduct the CSO..

 

I gotta say, this concert reminded me just how crappy my actually pretty good but fairly modest system is from the standpoint of The Absolute Sound.  In fact, on that measure, lets face it, all of our systems, including super-megabucks ones, suck by that standard, at least as far as orchstral music is concerned.  It's often remarked that real musicians are rarely audiophiles.  That's why.

 

Richard

Hey jeroboam! Um, isn’t Grimaud’s artistry something one hears?

More generally, I’ve always thought that if the experience of music is improved by the visuals, the music itself is lacking. Seems to me paying attention to what you’re seeing is a way of not paying attention to what you’re hearing. Idiosyncratic view, I know.