M
mediocrefunkybeat
Guest
Firstly, I do make a distinction between 'concert' and 'gig'. I see concerts as formalised, I see gigs as otherwise.
Regardless, I want you all to share your favourite live experiences from a viewing standpoint. I'll share mine:
Last year, I managed to get a ticket to go and see Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 - the 'Symphony of a Thousand' at the Birmingham Symphony Hall. An enormous concert hall that seats around three thousand and is about one hundred feet high. I was sat in the middle, at the back right in 'The Gods'.
I've been to an awful lot of formal concerts over the years. I've seen Benjamin Britten's War Requiem at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, I've seen the Halle Orchestra and Choir (my other half was in the choir) play some incredible repertoire and saw an amazing Violist called Lawrence Power play Berlioz there the week before last as well as numerous smaller concerts at University and elsewhere.
But this Mahler concert was different. I'd never listened to Mahler seriously before - or much since actually, but it was the most captivating and emotionally overpowering experience I have ever been through. The specific piece (Symphony No. 8) is a huge piece - in this instance there were over five hundred performers. The Orchestra (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) and at least five large choirs (including the Halle Choir - my other half was performing) and soloists. The performance had everything, delicacy, power, subtlety and majesty. I sat at the back with tears in my eyes for ninety minutes.
I will never experience it again quite like that.
Regardless, I want you all to share your favourite live experiences from a viewing standpoint. I'll share mine:
Last year, I managed to get a ticket to go and see Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 - the 'Symphony of a Thousand' at the Birmingham Symphony Hall. An enormous concert hall that seats around three thousand and is about one hundred feet high. I was sat in the middle, at the back right in 'The Gods'.
I've been to an awful lot of formal concerts over the years. I've seen Benjamin Britten's War Requiem at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, I've seen the Halle Orchestra and Choir (my other half was in the choir) play some incredible repertoire and saw an amazing Violist called Lawrence Power play Berlioz there the week before last as well as numerous smaller concerts at University and elsewhere.
But this Mahler concert was different. I'd never listened to Mahler seriously before - or much since actually, but it was the most captivating and emotionally overpowering experience I have ever been through. The specific piece (Symphony No. 8) is a huge piece - in this instance there were over five hundred performers. The Orchestra (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) and at least five large choirs (including the Halle Choir - my other half was performing) and soloists. The performance had everything, delicacy, power, subtlety and majesty. I sat at the back with tears in my eyes for ninety minutes.
I will never experience it again quite like that.