A Slight Redemption, With A Twist

Two Thursdays ago (I know, I'm bad at this updating thing), I went to see a second performance of the Seattle Symphony. However, the adventures began before I even arrived at the concert hall.

I previously detailed my various bus adventures, including someone getting arrested and my poor luck involving the downtown tunnel station. This time both were combined when someone was arrested on the bus heading towards the downtown tunnel station. When the bus arrived, the driver wouldn't let anyone on, citing that the engine was overheating and needed to cool down. After about 10 minutes, we were allowed to board the bus, but the bus wasn't moving. Several minutes later, the police arrived to arrest a rider. Apparently he had been drinking and was verbally threatening other passengers. At this time, the bus driver then spoke to the officers and we disembarked from the bus to catch the next bus to the tunnel station. Needless to say, that bus was pretty packed with two busloads of riders, and I barely made it into the auditorium before the program began.

Tchaikovsky & Dvořák

Thursday, September 18, 2014

7:30 PM

Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - Richard Wagner

Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 - Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky

Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso – Allegro con spirito
Andantino semplice – Prestissimo
Allegro con fuoco

Daniil Trifonov, Piano

-Intermission-

Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70
Allegro Maestoso
Poco adagio
Schertzo: Vivace - poco meno moso
Finale: Allegro

This time I had orchestra level seating, which means I had a more "standard" view of the orchestra (sorry no pictures). Overall I felt that the orchestra played more as one cohesive unit, which was a nice improvement over the previous performance. I was pretty excited to see the Tchaikovsky piano concerto performed, though it would be difficult for anyone to match the legendary Van Cliburn. Trifonov is a very technically talented pianist, though he seemed to give off a nervous vibe, hurrying through certain passages; more concerned about finishing without a mistake than being expressive. His movements were a little jerky, and this was most evident when he was walking/bowing/etc. It seemed to reflect some lack of elegance and stage presence, reducing his ability to truly bring music to the audience. Overall the performance was pretty good, but definitely not great. My next date with the symphony is this Saturday, a performance that Hillary Hahn has pulled out of due to medical concerns. We'll see how that goes...