Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Valentines Day 2007, Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Last night was the first of the MSO concerts for 2007, and the best thing was it was a free concert at the Sidney Myer Music bowl. Firstly, I must say its been a long time since I’ve been to see a Symphoy Orchestra. Yet let’s not forget that yesterday was a special day and I had someone special to spend it with. I knew I wanted to go on a picnic somewhere, but where? When I saw the MSO concert advertised, I knew it was a winner. The weather was dazzling, a nice, dry heat of 30ish degrees, there were a few wispy clous in the bright blue sky. We found a nice (but rare) green patch on the lawn on the hill overlooking the music bowl and settled in on the rug with the picnic. When we got there the seats at the front were filled, and there was a smattering of people across the hill.

By the time the orchestra was warming up, the sun was beginning to dip in the sky, clouds were rolling in between the buildings in the city, and the lawn was packed. Even the kid who had been wrapping himself in a picnic blanket and rolling down the hill had nowhere to move.

The orchestra played 3 pieces, a suite from Rimsky-Korsakov, a piano concerto by Rachmaninoff, and a symphony by Kalinnikov. The first piece was really nice, and we enjoyed watching the different sections of the orchestra do their thing. The timpani was fun, the double bass section looked all cool. The harps were really beautiful and stood out over the top of the rest, and I love seeing other instruments that you just can’t imagine on there own finding a perfect place within a piece, like the oboe. The Piano Concerto was amazing. There was a short interval, and then they began the final piece, the symphony by Kalinnikov. We noticed early on that several instruments had been removed from the stage – the Piano, obviously, was gone, but so was one of the harps, the trumpets, and most of the rest of the percussion section. Remaining in the back row was the woman playing the timpani, and one other gentleman, standing perfectly still, waiting.

Throughout the beautiful piece I wondered, what would be his role – the cymbals, perhaps? The triangle? While I enjoyed watching as some of the music moved in waves across the stage, from the bass section on the right to the high end on the left, I still kept a loose eye on the man. Only when we were distracted by the sky being lit up to the west by the flame towers at crown, did I really look away. (Well, other than staring into someone’s eyes on occasion) Half an hour into the piece, the music began to peak, as the elements of the orchestra rose in intensity. I finally saw movement form the gentleman in the back. He was warming up his hands, and as the music climzed, he brought out the triangle with floursih, and I'mpleased to say i could hear it over all the other instruments. Brilliant work, triangle man, brilliant.

The Conductor returned, and we were given a pleasant enore performance, probably another ten minutes of a piece that I didnt know. It finsihed, and as we began to applaud we heard a booming behind us, and turned to look over the hill to see a display of fireworks. It was a beautiful way to spend a beautiful evening.