Sticks and Drums

An array of sticks in readiness for playing the timpani in a performance of Brahms's First Symphony.

The concert was a "technical rehearsal" (i.e. uninterrupted play-through) yesterday of a May-Day concert given in the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Daniel Barenboim.

The playing was fabulous, both in technical and musical terms. This was certainly the best live performance I have ever heard of the symphony, and one of the very tops even of the recordings (I started hearing the symphony, if not listening to it, more than 70 years ago!).

Here, Daniel Barenboim is being applauded at the end of the performance.

The concert was broadcast live this May morning on German television, which is why there were many cameras around. That added a technical layer to our (specifically my!) enjoyment. New technology (LCD monitors) and lenses with fantastic zoom ranges were in evidence. Mrs Scharwenka, @ViolaMaths and I were seated just by camera #7, so were able to indulge in some interesting chats with the cameraman.