Dublin, the city felt really familiar when we got back there on Wednesday, having wandered through its center on Sunday and Monday. The concert at the National Concert Hall Wednesday night was well-attended, and once again the audience was incredibly receptive. Ian Wilson has been at many of these concerts and the audiences seem especially happy to have a composer in their midst. I don't know what programming is like in Ireland and the UK, and I read about a lot of new music over here, but I don't think it's as prevalent as it is in the US, and I definitely don't think it's as integrated into mainstream chamber music programming.
The Dublin concert also yielded a pretty amazing review, which you can read above.
On Thursday, most of us piled into cabs and went to Áras an Uachtaráin, the official residence of the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese. (After a week in Ireland, I can almost pronounce the name of the place, but only by ear - not at all by looking at it on paper. Phonics, anyone??) Each of us shook hands with her and had our picture taken (those will post soon), followed by tea and coffee. It was a pretty unusual opportunity - meeting a head of state, through chamber music no less - and she was welcoming and gracious. As a total outsider to Irish culture (not a drop of Irish blood as far as I know), I've been amazed at the pride people here feel in the country and what it stands to produce and accomplish in the 21st century. It's a very nice thing to witness, actually, and I've found the idea of that pride infectious - where this country has been in comparison to where it is and where it's going, is something we can all take pride in.
So, tonight the ensemble played at Wigmore Hall. I've heard about this place for years, but now I understand why it really is one of the best chamber music halls in the world. I've been listening to this program for 10 days, and I felt tonight as though I was hearing something entirely new. When Warren came in for the first time in the Harbison, the sound was enormous - it reminded me of those old Memorex print ads, with the guy in the chair being blown backwards by the sound. You can hear absolutely everything in the hall. This was a pretty sophisticated audience, too, and they were very quiet (except for the guy with the endless rustling, who would not be deterred by fierce looks, even from Jordan Christoff), letting the musicians occupy the sonic space. The Harbison seemed especially energetic tonight, and I'd be surprised if many in the house had heard it before - fairly recent American music probably doesn't get a lot of play here. The audience seemed completely entranced by the Brahms as well. Warren took a lot of time at the end of the piece, letting the sound fade away, but also letting the feeling of the piece dissolve organically in time, rather than bolting from the bench (Warren never bolts from the bench, but some pianists do).
But it was the Wilson that really sounded new to me tonight. For the first time, I felt I was hearing how the piece goes together, hearing the different colors pop out of the brass and woodwinds, feeling the intensity of the strings, and also getting to feel the piece structurally. And the emotional impact, which the piece has been having on audiences throughout the tour, was especially great in a place where the musical impact could be entirely felt.
So that's it! We're off to Belfast in the early morning for our final concert, tomorrow night. Don't know that I'll check in here following that concert - we leave the next morning at 4:30 AM and I may just spend those last few Irish hours in the pub.
AM
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