Yuja Wang, Piano -- Concertgebouw, AMS

'Gebouw' = 'gheBOUW', with the 'g' absolutely not the English 'ge' as in 'gender', and means 'building'.
'Concertgebouw' = literally 'building where concerts are held' = 'concert hall'

One of those really good days.

Some housework, some colouring, some gaming, in equal propertion.
Then, in the afternoon, the two books from Waterstones arrived.  Next time, I should simply go to Waterstones in AMS and browse there, but the fact that there is a branch in the capital does not mean they will always have what I wish to order.

16.00 -- AW dropped me off at the train station.
16.26 -- The train departed on the dot.  This doesn't always happen.
17.30 -- Arrival in AMS.  Grey but not raining.  Police and border police out in force because of the Ajax-Marseilles football match in the evening
18.00 -- A truffel risotto and hot tea with lemon at an Italian café, with real Italian waiters
19.00 -- Tram #12 ride to the Concertgebouw.  For the first time, I used OV-Pay.  What is this?  Simply press your debit card or Q-code on your mobile to the payment device to check in and then again to check out.  No coins or bills needed, no need to buy tickets in advance, no ink stamps on a card; all of that is no more.
19.30 -- Finished sorting out my barcode issue at the cashier's as I could not print out the ticket they mailed me.
20.15 to 22.30 -- Finally!  Yuja Wang at the piano, Klaus Mäkelä conducting.

Appetizer -- Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Main course 1 -- Ravel's Piano Concerto in D for the Left Hand
Main course 2 -- Ravel's Piano Concerto in G
Dessert & Coffee -- Debussy's La Mer, which is rather heavy

No encores but Yuja's interpretations of Ravel were brilliant.  This is the first time I've watched her live.  Her performance was worth much more than all the effort and expense.  I would definitely like to attend more of her concerts, if possible.  An observation -- her sexy concert gowns are famous and tonight they did not disappoint.  Gowns?  In the plural?  Yes.  She wore a purple sequined creation for Ravel's Left Hand concerto, and a white ensemble for his Piano Concerto in G.  I am now wondering if she took a quick shower between those gowns.  Most likely not.  You can now tell from the main shot which Ravel they were busy with.

My seat was in an area behind the orchestra but the acoustics were perfect.  This was also my first ever visit to our famous Concertgebouw and I loved the atmosphere.  The audience is very close to the podium, the lights don't go completely dark.  It's almost like someone's drawing room set up for some cozy chamber music.  Beside me at the topmost row were two lady New Yorkers who shared with me how enthralled they were by everything they'd seen so far in AMS  -- the orderliness, the bicycle lanes, the cleanliness (huge question mark there!), the public transport system, and how different it is compared to NYC.  Do I live in AMS?  Thankfully, no!

22.35 -- Back at the tram stop, and it arrived two seconds after me.
22.55 -- Back in the train, which was already waiting for me.  Simply magnificent.  There's nothing like a train that leaves on time when one is tired, even when one has had a lovely day.
00.10 -- Back in the car; AW picked me up.  He'd just returned from Thursday evening live bridge.

And what did I do in the train, at the restaurant, and in the concert hall before the concert and during intervals?  Right -- I read Pamuk!  Cherry on the cake -- when I got back home, I noticed that new information from the genealogy centre had arrived.  I'll be working on that in the coming week, after work.  Enough to keep me happily occupied.

Thankful for a super fabulous and wonderful day!  Thankful also that it remained dry the entire time, the very slight after-dinner shower not enough to be counted.