Saturday, May 06, 2006
Perfect - Simple Plan
When you talk to me about classical music, i will tell you that one orchestra sets the standard - the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ("RPO"). If there is perfection in classical music, it would be RPO!
I never really got many opportunities to listen to symphonic orchestra performances until i was in London for me undergraduate days. Those days, i will go to the Royal Festival Hall to watch the RPO perform.
But you see, at tht time, there was nothing to compare the RPO with! So i never realised how good they really were until i started listening to live classical performances and also attending classical concerts when i got back home. It was then i realised that the RPO is far superior than the rest - i knew they werer good but i never knew they were that good!
One of the "test" i use is to listen to the horn section of an orchestra. With so many players playing at the same time, it is usually very difficult to get a good sound quality - and to maintain it! But the RPO does it just s well!
Anyways, i rekindled my affair wif the RPO last nite. It was the RPO playing rock songs!!!! "Symphonic Rock" it was called. What a mouth-watering combination - for me, anyway!
It was at the Royal Albert Hall and i got me ticket for 5 quid only!!!! It was a "restricted view" seat (see the pic on the right) and i couldn't see most of the strings section including me favourite - the cellists. Oh well... it was 5 quid, mind you! RPO. Royal Albert Hall! As the cantonese would say "Tai toe larn"!!!!
Now before you accuse the RPO for "selling out" and going for crowd pleasers, let me tell you that symphonic music and rock music actually go pretty well together! Really! Eric Clapton uses a full orchestra to back him on some of his blues and rock songs during his concerts in the Royal Albert Hall. And it is brilliant! The strings and horns really add to the rock music. i also remember listening to a group of 5 cellists playing heavy metal music! Awesome!
The concert was really good. And it was a good way to expose a lot of people to the RPO. There were so many youths there - the kind that you'd only find at a rock concert! And from the start, they made it clear that they were there for a good time! They weren't disappointed!
While waiting for the conductor to take his place, some of the youths got a little restless and started the "Mexican wave"! the seating arrangement in the Royal Albert Hall is in a circle so it worked pretty well - and the wave reached the stage, some of the horn section joined in with the wave too!!!! It was quite a sight. These old (grey haired) men in their white tuxs with their polished musical instruments doing the wave with us. They were really sporting.
They were flawless too! I was almost moved to tears! Among the songs they played were Millenium, Bittersweet symphony, Stairway to Heaven, Living on a Prayer, Imagine, We are the champions, Careless Whisper, Wonderwall, A whiter shade of pale, Layla, Bat out of hell, Bridge over troubled waters and the excellent Bohemian Rhapsody!
At the end of the night, the RPO receive thunderous and enthusiastic applause. We in the circles even started stomping our feet on the wooden floor to add to the applause!
Here is the view inside the Royal Albert Hall (for pics of the exterior, go here to see some pics taken during last winter):-
I never really got many opportunities to listen to symphonic orchestra performances until i was in London for me undergraduate days. Those days, i will go to the Royal Festival Hall to watch the RPO perform.
But you see, at tht time, there was nothing to compare the RPO with! So i never realised how good they really were until i started listening to live classical performances and also attending classical concerts when i got back home. It was then i realised that the RPO is far superior than the rest - i knew they werer good but i never knew they were that good!
One of the "test" i use is to listen to the horn section of an orchestra. With so many players playing at the same time, it is usually very difficult to get a good sound quality - and to maintain it! But the RPO does it just s well!
Anyways, i rekindled my affair wif the RPO last nite. It was the RPO playing rock songs!!!! "Symphonic Rock" it was called. What a mouth-watering combination - for me, anyway!
It was at the Royal Albert Hall and i got me ticket for 5 quid only!!!! It was a "restricted view" seat (see the pic on the right) and i couldn't see most of the strings section including me favourite - the cellists. Oh well... it was 5 quid, mind you! RPO. Royal Albert Hall! As the cantonese would say "Tai toe larn"!!!!Now before you accuse the RPO for "selling out" and going for crowd pleasers, let me tell you that symphonic music and rock music actually go pretty well together! Really! Eric Clapton uses a full orchestra to back him on some of his blues and rock songs during his concerts in the Royal Albert Hall. And it is brilliant! The strings and horns really add to the rock music. i also remember listening to a group of 5 cellists playing heavy metal music! Awesome!
The concert was really good. And it was a good way to expose a lot of people to the RPO. There were so many youths there - the kind that you'd only find at a rock concert! And from the start, they made it clear that they were there for a good time! They weren't disappointed!
While waiting for the conductor to take his place, some of the youths got a little restless and started the "Mexican wave"! the seating arrangement in the Royal Albert Hall is in a circle so it worked pretty well - and the wave reached the stage, some of the horn section joined in with the wave too!!!! It was quite a sight. These old (grey haired) men in their white tuxs with their polished musical instruments doing the wave with us. They were really sporting.
They were flawless too! I was almost moved to tears! Among the songs they played were Millenium, Bittersweet symphony, Stairway to Heaven, Living on a Prayer, Imagine, We are the champions, Careless Whisper, Wonderwall, A whiter shade of pale, Layla, Bat out of hell, Bridge over troubled waters and the excellent Bohemian Rhapsody!
At the end of the night, the RPO receive thunderous and enthusiastic applause. We in the circles even started stomping our feet on the wooden floor to add to the applause!
Here is the view inside the Royal Albert Hall (for pics of the exterior, go here to see some pics taken during last winter):-
It's a really nice Hall. The last time i was there was in 1994 when my Church members sponsored me to go there to watch a Christian choir performance. I can't believe i'm gonna miss Eric Clapton when he performs there later this month!!!!! :-( (Read about it here)
# posted by imissw : 2:27:00 am
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nice pics!...lucky u ....my old church St Helens organises their Men's Conference there every year....the next conference is this month i think....
-hondaztec-
-hondaztec-
# posted by 
: Sat May 06, 04:34:00 am
: Sat May 06, 04:34:00 am
oh btw, ive left some comments in your London pics section(City Of London)...i used to work at Threadneedle St(Bank Station)!...lol
-hondaztec-
-hondaztec-
# posted by : Sat May 06, 04:51:00 am
: Sat May 06, 04:51:00 am
WOW! I've never heard anything like what you've described. I'm intrigued...and a little envious. =)
Gee...that hall is breathtaking!
Gee...that hall is breathtaking!
hey hondaztec, nice to hear from u again. sori mate but no comment found in the other blog!
hope things are fine wif u!
krissy - well, while i enjoy classical music, i din really listen to much back home in m'sia so my knowledge is pretty limited. in my limited knowledge, the RPO is brilliant. Anyways, u'll be travelling soon and it'll be me who is envious! take care!
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hope things are fine wif u!
krissy - well, while i enjoy classical music, i din really listen to much back home in m'sia so my knowledge is pretty limited. in my limited knowledge, the RPO is brilliant. Anyways, u'll be travelling soon and it'll be me who is envious! take care!
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