Oslo Phil 2006-11-16

Internal Occurrences (2)

• Comment
  • The first half of this concert was spoiled a bit by worrying about the parking fine I would be getting for leaving the car somewhere I shouldn't have. Moving it during the interval resulted in much greater enjoyment of the second half. (Thanks for your moral support, Håkon!) The Scherzo was quite impressive considering it was written by a 13-year old (although it didn't sound anything like Shostakovich), and the piano concerto needs to be given another chance, but the 15th Symphony is really starting to grow on me. I remember first hearing it at the tender age of 18, the year it was written, and being put off by the references to Rossini's William Tell overture. I didn't realize at the time that the "ticka-tum, ticka-tum" rhythm was also a self-reference (to the first cello concerto, among other things). Now I know Shostakovich's work better, it seems much more natural - and much more acceptable.
• Date
  • 2006-11-16