[Open Book]

Too many good ones to name. There's nothing like a live concert. I hope I will one day feel comfortable attending one again.

I was blown away by a concert performance of Wagner's Das Rheingold on Boston Symphony's outdoor summer stage led by Andris Nelsons. No costumes or staging, just the singers standing in front of orchestra with minimal physical interaction. Part of the fun was that it was a lovely summer evening and I was seated front row center - just lucked out with the tickets.

 

[Brahmsian Colors]

As a high school student back in the 1950s, with violinst Nathan Milstein and conductor Fabien Sevitzky performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.

In the 1970s, with Leonard Bernstein and the NY Phiharmonic performing the Schubert Fifth Symphony, Dvorak Seventh Symphony and Ravel Concerto For the Left Hand

Again, the 70s with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra playing the Rachmaninoff Second Symphony.

In 1996, the most memorable of all, with Yuri Temirkanov and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic giving the most inspiring performance I've ever heard of the Dvorak Eighth Symphony. Prodigious sounding horns, glowing cellos, wonderfully sensitive violins, absolutely gorgeous woodwinds. All there in spades.

 

[mbhaub]

Semyon Bychkov and the Vienna Philharmonic, performing Franz Schmidt's wonderful Second Symphony, as well as Brahms's Third Symphony, at the London Proms. This was topped off with an encore of Elgar's 'Nimrod', resulting in a noticeable frisson throughout the audience, as the first notes emerged. The highlight for me though was the Schmidt symphony, one of my very favourite works and so rarely performed on these shores.

Hey I was at that concert. The whole reason I went to London that summer. Hard to believe any orchestra could play that extraordinarily difficult Schmidt score so flawlessly. The audience roared its approval - a good sign.

Picking one concert as the best is really hard...so maybe it's one that if I could go back and hear again it would be the Mahler 6th done by the Tucson Symphony with George Hanson conducting - maybe 15 years ago? So it was the great orchestra of Cleveland, Chicago, Berlin, or London...but they played like they were possessed - it was thrilling, spooky, heart-wrenching. And they added the original 3rd hammerblow - and the original orchestration along with it. The very ending was breathtaking - those stark, angry chords tapering off to nothing. The conductor held his hands high and steady daring the audience to start clapping. He held it silent for at least 30 seconds and then you could finally breathe. I'll never forget it.

 

[Open Book]

Hey I was at that concert. The whole reason I went to London that summer. Hard to believe any orchestra could play that extraordinarily difficult Schmidt score so flawlessly. The audience roared its approval - a good sign.

I love that you went to London just for a concert. And probably just for that work? I believe in pilgrimages like that.

 

[Knorf]

In 1996, the most memorable of all, with Yuri Temirkanov and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic giving the most inspiring performance I've ever heard of the Dvorak Eighth Symphony. Prodigious sounding horns, glowing cellos, wonderfully sensitive violins, absolutely gorgeous woodwinds. All there in spades.

I heard Temirkanov with St. Petersburg live on tour doing Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony. It was a staggering performance! People were left in tears in, what year was this, maybe 2002 or 2003? Anyway, almost even better was their encore: "The Death of Tybalt" from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. I've never heard a more perfect fortissimo orchestral tutti staccato in my life, and I doubt I ever will.

 

[Brahmsianhorn]

1983 - Israeli Philharmonic performing Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade under the night sky in front of the lit Old City walls of Jerusalem. I was 9 years old and never forgot it.

1992 - Joshua Bell performing the Brahms concerto with the Austin Symphony - I sat in the front row middle, and this started my love affair with this work

1996 - Brahms Symphony No. 1, Abbado/BPO, Carnegie Hall, I'll never forget those Berlin Phil string players' faces turning red as they gave it their all

2008 - Renee Fleming in Capriccio at the Vienna Staatsoper

2008 - Bruckner Symphony No. 8, Thielemann BPO, Berlin Philharmonie - It was so thrilling seeing my favorite symphony performed by my favorite orchestra in their home auditorium

2012 - listening to Joshua Bell outside his dressing room play through the entire Mendelssohn concerto in Portland. I was the only one there in the hallway. I was performing with the choir in the second half, and everyone else was yapping away in the dressing room. Funny enough, when he calmly strode towards the stage, Strad in hand, and the conductor Helmuth Rilling following, there was no one there to open the large door for them, so I volunteered!

2018 - Now this takes the cake, three consecutive days in August I'll never forget the rest of my life. Monday: Tristan und Isolde at Bayreuth conducted by Thielemann, I sat center middle; Tuesday: Mahler 9th with Rattle/LSO at the Salzburg Festival; Wednesday: Bruckner 9th with Barenboim/W-E Divan at the Lucerne Festival. Three of my favorite works conducted by arguably their greatest living exponents in settings to die for. Unforgettable.

If I had to choose one it would probably be the Rattle Mahler 9th.

 

[Eric Zamir]

Please include the performer(s)/group(s) names, the pieces on the program, and why you picked this particular concert. For me it is the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's performance of Carmina Burana, absolutely marvelous. I am hoping and praying to God that I can attend the Berliner Philharmoniker's possible tour this November, where they are performing Charles Ives' Central Park in the Dark, Andrew Norman's Unstuck, and Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel and Ein Heldenleben. I chose the DSO concert because I remember being blown away by the size and power of the orchestra and choir performing, such a magical experience.

Wow, that's a tough one! There are two that come to mind, because of the setting and the substance: Summer, 1973, Tel-Aviv, I was visiting Israel on a summer youth trip (I was 16) and took a chance on going to the Huberman Concert Hall to see if anyone was selling. I managed to buy a ticket from someone who couldn't make it. Zubin Mehta, Israel Philharmonic, Lynn Harrell, Dvorak Cello Concerto, Holst, The Planets. I grew up on those pieces, and it was the first time I had heard them live. And all on the off-chance there was a ticket.
Fast forward 44 years, took my wife to Prague and Vienna for a weekend of music and fun. I had already tried online to book tickets to the Czech Philharmonic, but it had been sold out for ages. Arrived at hotel, ran to the concert hall (a few meters away), and managed to snag the two most amazing seats to a concert the same night. Behlolavek had just passed away, so it was a concert in his honor, with Semyon Bychkov, and an all-Tchaikovsky program, including the piano concerto. Another amazing, emotional evening, and at short notice. What an orchestra! What a hall! What great sound, and what a wonderful audience. Both times!

 

[Kollwitz]

Mahler 9, Haitink and the LSO at the Barbican in May 2017. A fantastic performance, direct, beautiful, challenging and utterly compelling. It stood comparison with the great recorded 9s I'd heard and was all the more incredible for being live.

A more leftfield choice would be a concert from March this year at Symphony Hall in Birmingham. Omer Meir Wellber replaced Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla at the last minute (well, the day before I think due to illness). Bartok's 3rd Piano Concerto, with Piotr Anderszewski, was a wonderful start to the concert. I hadn't heard it before and wanted to experience it 'fresh' in concert. It was fabulous. The second piece was Bruckner 6. Since getting into Bruckner, I'd long felt that 6 was the weakest of the mature symphonies, but over the last few months I'd completely fallen for it and it now might even be my favourite of all so I was really looking forward to hearing it live. Wellber's interpretation was fairly swift, flowing and dramatic. The CBSO were really committed and the outer movements had some utterly exhilarating moments (helped by the acoustic which is so much better than the Barbican or Festival Hall). The adagio flowed beautifully and the scherzo was gripping. In terms of sheer enjoyment, this might be top of my list, even if other performances I've seen might be seen as objectively better by many.

 

[mbhaub]

I love that you went to London just for a concert. And probably just for that work? I believe in pilgrimages like that.

I do it all the time. An expensive hobby, no doubt. I've traveled the US just to hear Schmidt's music. Caught the 4th in Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco, Dallas, Minneapolis. And Das Buch in Cleveland. But I've also traveled to hear Mahler symphonies - just hope the Mahler festival in Leipzig in 2021 isn't cancelled!

 

[perdido34]

Mahler 10 with Rattle/Cleveland, the only time they played together.

 

[perempe]

2014-04-07
Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra (=Hungarian State Opera Orchestra)
Lionel Bringuier
Hungarian State Opera House

Debussy: Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un faune
Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 (with Miklós Perényi)
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé

this was perhaps my 1st real concert after some opera performances, a memorable one.
---
2015-01-19
Hungarian State Opera Orchestra
Hungarian State Opera House
Tamás Vásáry (conductor)

Kodály Zoltán Peacock variations
Liszt: Hungarian Fantasy (with Mihály Berecz)
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7

This one is special for the long encore: they played Die Fledermaus overture and Brahms' Hungarian dance no. 5 twice (with different conducting styles). To be honest, the concert was 8 days later than the last performance of Die Fledermaus. yesterday I found the concert on YouTube.

---
2017-12-04
Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer
Müpa

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major
Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Brahms: Symphony No. 3

I upgraded from my stalls left box 6 in the intermission. I attended a performance of the same symphony by the Miskolc SO a couple months earlier, did not expect night & day difference. I was wrong.
---
2018-12-16
Eötvös Loránd University Orchestra & Choir, László Kovács
Rutter: Magnificat

I inquired in a letter, didn't have to purchase a ticket. Rutter's Magnificat was in the 2nd part of the concert. I didn't expect such quality from an university orchestra, the choir was excellent. there were 2 performances that day, should have stayed for the evening as well.
---
2019-05-12
Danish Chamber Orchestra, Ádám Fischer
Liszt Academy

Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 / Figaro overture (encore)

Went to a free university chamber concert, calculated the intermission in the main hall, took a seat. Apart from the 1st part - an overture from Haydn and Mozart's Symphony No. 38, I missed my grandmother's 92nd birthday with relatives coming from the US. (Would do it again, Figaro overture has never sounded so good from The Budapest Philharmonic.)

 

[Merl]

Being a Mancunian I grew up with the Halle but was too young to see them with Barbirolli. However I did see all of the Barbirolli's predecessors at some time. Favourites? Remember a glorious Loughran Planets and Beethoven 7th and a superb Bruckner 4th with Stan. Such a shame that the orchestra was so badly run-down and underfunded in the 80s.The Free Trade Hall didn't have a great acoustic and the bar was pathetic but I miss the place.

 

[caracalla]

I spent my teenage years in New Zealand, where top-class international acts never came. Well, hardly ever. Menuhin turned up with his orchestra in 1970, which was beyond exciting for a 15yo. Counting down the days like a kid with an advent calendar. Did the Bach double violin concerto among other things, and I just couldn't believe how charismatic he was. Four years later we got Bernstein and the NYPO, who played Mahler's 5th to an almost hysterical audience. I couldn't wait to get back to London, where this sort of thing is always on tap, but of course it was never the same. Audiences so blasé, taking it all for granted. I have never attended a concert which gave me half the hit those did, and never will. Hunger is always the best relish.

I hasten to add that Kiwis are now far better served in this respect, so there's no need to feel sorry for them.

 

[Becca]

Being a Mancunian I grew up with the Halle but was too young to see them with Barbirolli. However I did see all of the Barbirolli's predecessors at some time. Favourites? Remember a glorious Loughran Planets and Beethoven 7th and a superb Bruckner 4th with Stan. Such a shame that the orchestra was so badly run-down and underfunded in the 80s.The Free Trade Hall didn't have a great acoustic and the bar was pathetic but I miss the place.

I also grew up in the Manchester area when Barbirolli was in residence and even went to the Free Trade Hall a couple of times ... unfortunately not for concerts and not by any wish of mine ... school speech night. I had to wait over 8 years after moving to California to see Barbirolli conduct, and then just once, not long before he died

P.S. Merl ... I presume that you mean 'successors' :lol:

 

[mahlernerd]

I spent my teenage years in New Zealand, where top-class international acts never came. Well, hardly ever. Menuhin turned up with his orchestra in 1970, which was beyond exciting for a 15yo. Counting down the days like a kid with an advent calendar. Did the Bach double violin concerto among other things, and I just couldn't believe how charismatic he was. Four years later we got Bernstein and the NYPO, who played Mahler's 5th to an almost hysterical audience. I couldn't wait to get back to London, where this sort of thing is always on tap, but of course it was never the same. Audiences so blasé, taking it all for granted. I have never attended a concert which gave me half the hit those did, and never will. Hunger is always the best relish.

I hasten to add that Kiwis are now far better served in this respect, so there's no need to feel sorry for them.

I live near Ann Arbor, MI, and there is an organization called the University Musical Society (UMS) of the University of Michigan that brings in three to four world-class orchestras every year. I stumbled upon the UMS when I found that Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra was coming 45 minutes from where I live. Since I found that out, we have had the Montreal Metropolitan Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Next season, that I hope they will have, they are bringing in the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Berliner Philharmoniker, Mariinsky Orchestra, and the National Symphonh Orchestra of Mexico.

 

[flamencosketches]

Being a Mancunian I grew up with the Halle but was too young to see them with Barbirolli. However I did see all of the Barbirolli's predecessors at some time. Favourites? Remember a glorious Loughran Planets and Beethoven 7th and a superb Bruckner 4th with Stan. Such a shame that the orchestra was so badly run-down and underfunded in the 80s.The Free Trade Hall didn't have a great acoustic and the bar was pathetic but I miss the place.

I also grew up in the Manchester area when Barbirolli was in residence and even went to the Free Trade Hall a couple of times ... unfortunately not for concerts and not by any wish of mine ... school speech night. I had to wait over 8 years after moving to California to see Barbirolli conduct, and then just once, not long before he died

P.S. Merl ... I presume that you mean 'successors' :lol:

I had no idea the two of you were English.

I've been to very few orchestral concerts in my life, as I just got into classical music last year. Probably the best of the bunch was Ravel's Piano Concerto, Prokofiev's 4th, & the Stravinsky Firebird Suite w/ Lionel Bringuier conducting the Atlanta SO, the soloist was Lise de la Salle, she was damn good.

 

[Knorf]

I've been to very few orchestral concerts in my life, as I just got into classical music last year.

Wow, you've really thrown yourself into it! That's awesome. I'm excited for you!

Of course I'm excited for all of us. It's an amazing, unending road through stupendous scenery. I got hooked on Classical music in my pre-teen years, and the delight in learning and exploring hasn't let up even for an instant.

 

[Merl]

I had no idea the two of you were English.

I've been to very few orchestral concerts in my life, as I just got into classical music last year. Probably the best of the bunch was Ravel's Piano Concerto, Prokofiev's 4th, & the Stravinsky Firebird Suite w/ Lionel Bringuier conducting the Atlanta SO, the soloist was Lise de la Salle, she was damn good.

I hope Becca doesn't mind me saying this but after a convo we had we discovered that we both lived in the same area of Manchester and possibly at the same time, with probably less than a quarter of a mile between our houses. However I would have been about 10 back then and Becca would have been about 80. :lol:

 

[Becca]

I hope Becca doesn't mind me saying this but after a convo we had we discovered that we both lived in the same area of Manchester and possibly at the same time, with probably less than a quarter of a mile between our houses. However I would have been about 10 back then and Becca would have been about 80. :lol:

...and getting younger every day :lol: Actually I was probably long gone when Merl was born (thankfully )

 

[Merl]

...and getting younger every day :lol: Actually I was probably long gone when Merl was born (thankfully )

...and getting younger every day :lol: Actually I was probably long gone when Merl was born (thankfully )

Hahaha. Yes you were long gone, Becca. Ive just recalled the conversation (my memory aint what it used to be). Strangely enough, i was talking to someone in one of those Google groups, years back, and we were chatting about the Free Trade Hall and we worked out we'd seen a few of the same classical gigs (and rock gigs) there. To make it even weirder I discovered that he had lived on the road opposite my old school, quarter of a mile away, and was the son of my scondary school music teacher. Small world.