Home Again

I suppose that this technically isn’t a tour blog, as I’m actually writing this sitting in my kitchen. We returned to Stansted airport this morning, mercifully before the end of half term rush. I also feel a little guilty, as a large proportion of the orchestra had a few hours at home before rushing up to Angel Studios to record with Placido Domingo. I managed to take that off, hence the guilt-although I’m not suffering too much. But please bear it in mind next time you feel like asking a musician what they do during the day.

Last night we gave the second concert in Madrid (repeated on Sunday at the Barbican-tickets still available). Colin still used his stool, sometimes, and sadly still didn’t kick it off the stage ! Sharon (THE piccolo player) caught up with Sir Colin in the interval and asked how he was feeling. He replied that he’d felt better, but it was difficult to feel ill when we all played as beautifully as we did ! He’s so nice, and I think Sharon, judging by the far away look and teenage smile on her face, was suitably charmed. As I said in the last blog, he’s not man of the year for nothing.

Before the blog masters at LSO towers start getting twitchy at my irreverence, although I know Sir Colin wouldn’t, I suppose I should tell you about the concert!

Schubert’s unfinished symphony is always a favourite of mine. This is partly due to there not being anything terribly difficult for the flute in it. I am always astonished at the blend of sound my woodwind colleagues get in the main theme in the first movement. When the oboe and clarinet play in unison, even though I am sitting right beside them, they sound like one instrument. It really is incredible, I feel like I’m intruding when I have to join in.

Bruckner 6 is a strange work in my opinion. I think its one of those love it or hate it kind of pieces. I know Andrew Marriner is evangelical in his enthusiasm for it, I am a little more unsure. Last night was the second time I have played it with Sir Colin, and it really did start to make sense. Once again, his mastery of the architecture of the whole piece makes for a great performance. I think that the string section all deserve a medal for playing more tremolo bowing than it is polite to ask for. There was a small amount of relaxation for aching joints after the show in the various bars and restaurants, but not too much as we had a very early start this morning.

Its always nice to get home after a tour, although I suppose it doesn’t really finish until Sunday night in London. But I do get to stay in my favourite hotel for a few nights before we welcome Valery back for more Mahler next week.

If you are coming, enjoy the concert on Sunday.

I will.

The Rain in Spain

In case any of you were feeling a little envious about our globe trotting exploits, especially now the figures about commuting have been shown to be false, I am happy to tell you that it is raining cats and dogs, and bulls, probably. Bulls, in case you were wondering, because we are in Madrid. I’m sure there is a famous song about rain in Spain but with all this Bruckner going round my head, I seem to have mislaid it. I expect it will come back to me on the plane home.

We arrived here yesterday from Lisbon after performing Bruckner 6 and Schubert’s Unfinished symphony. The concert hall there looks like an old bull ring, maybe it is. The acoustics aren’t particularly helpful for the pieces we played, but it was s good concert none the less. The hall in Madrid is wonderful with a, rare, nice backstage area which provides us with espresso strong enough to wake the dead, which is how some of us are feeling in a very busy year of touring. Sir Colin has been feeling a little off colour, and as a result has been provided with stool for the concert. I have never seen him conduct sitting down in a concert before. Tonight is no exception, he sits down for the first few bars, but cannot resist standing up at the first climax, which is in about bar 20. Every now and then he remembers to sit down, but is soon on his feet again! He drives the scherzo along with such energy, I half expected him to kick the stool off the stage like a classical Jerry Lee Lewis. Well, he is man of the year you know!

After the show, I had a quiet drink with Joost our second bassoonist, where we managed to put the world to rights in under two hours, a new world record for us.

Today is one of those luxurious days which don’t happen very often. We don’t have to work until the concert. A free day in Madrid has meant not having to set the alarm(most welcome) and a trip to the Prado Museum to see the Goya exhibition. With all the death and destruction in his work, it was very pleasant to come out blinking in the sunshine. I took full advantage and sat outside on my own in a pavement cafe, eating tortilla and reading a book for an hour. As a busy father of three, this is a guilty pleasure which I enjoyed immensely!

So now I am back in my room getting ready for the Bruckner 6 concert later, and then home tomorrow morning.

Any questions, you know where I am.

International Commuters

I was sitting on my suburban train last week, amusing myself by reading the Metro free newspaper. Most of the time, like you I’m sure, this is a way of filling in time on a hot and overcrowded train, and also helps to avoid eye contact with other humans thereby avoiding conversation. I don’t think I’m being controversial by saying that its articles don’t have the same gravitas as those of the Times or the Western Mail, for instance. However on this occasion there was an extraordinarily in depth article which said that if you spent two hours of your day commuting, at the end of your working life you will have spent 12 years of your life sitting on a train. Or in my case standing up. It struck me, that as an LSO player, we often spend significantly more time “commuting” to various places around the globe. This week for instance, we are spending over 24 hours in transit. This is not unusual for us, but does mean that if you spend your entire working life (I joined when I was 28 and am now 36), you would spend about 20 years commuting, roughly. Angela Barnes in the horn section was 21 when she started-I recommend getting a travel card now before the annual price hike.

Anyway, the point in this ramble is that i thought I should do something more constructive on my commute, so I bought a tiny, whizzy new laptop, which I am using right now on a flight to Lisbon. Whilst I think its too early to say that the Metro paper changed my life, when my first blockbuster novel appears, I shall certainly thank them in the blurb.

It does also show how odd an existence life in an orchestra can be. We are currently on the second day of a trip to Spain and Portugal. Yesterday I got up at 5.30am and drove to Stansted Airport, caught a flight to Valencia, had a bite to eat for lunch and then went to a rehearsal and concert. Finally I crawled into my bed at about 1 am . A very long day indeed. We played Schubert 5 and Bruckner 7, the same concert as last Friday in the Barbican. The hall in Valencia is one of my favourites , it has a very good sound and you are surrounded by the audience. It almost feels like you are playing in the round which can be quite unnerving if something goes wrong. However, with Sir Coin Davis wielding the baton we are in very safe hands. I love playing the Bruckner with him. In such a huge work, you really need a conductor who understands the overall architecture, otherwise it can end up sounding like a long line of unrelated chunks of sound. Sir Colin really keeps the music flowing, and doesn’t let the long melodies wallow around getting slower and slower. When we do slow up at an important climax, such as where the cymbals and triangle make their only appearance, in the slow movement, it really makes a huge impact. By the end of the symphony, I am always aware of the long arching journey we have made form start to finish,, which isn’t the case with some other conductors. Last nights audience certainly agreed, as Sir Colin was called back on four times!

Tonight in Lisbon, we are performing Schubert’s Unfinished symphony and Bruckner 6. You can hear this concert on Sunday night at the Barbican if you wish to make this blog a truly interactive experience. I shall no doubt write some more blogs on this trip over the next few days. But until then, dear reader I shall leave you with a mathematical question to which you may email in your answer. There is no prize, its just for fun.

If you spend 12 years of your life commuting when you travel 2 hours a day. Sir Colin is 80 and probably commutes many many more miles than the average commuter. As his “working life” is already far longer than most normal men, by my calculations, he will have commuted for almost 120 years fairly soon.

This either means my maths isn’t what it used to be, or the Metro article has some slightly inaccurate figures.

I await your answers.