Headbanging for Barenboim

Outside, waiting in queue to get in the Odeon

Inside, just a few minutes before El Dani's entrance

~

~5,000 people and every single ticket sold~

That was the verdict of the concert of June the 29th at the Odeon Of Herodes Atticus, featuring maestro/pianist Daniel Barenboim and the Filarmonica della Scala.

In a program consisting of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.3 and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, il maestro and the orchestra, did not fulfill our-admittedly- very high expectations but nevertheless received the audience's frenzied ovation.

Peak moment: Daniel Barenboim at the piano, rewarding us with Chopin's Nocturne no.8.

Wrong entrances, mistakes - both by the orchestra and the soloist, a few squeeks from the brass during Ludwig's 3rd Concerto, were probably the result of the lack of rehearsals (unforgivable for an Orchestra and a maestro/pianist of this calibre) - no wonder why the rehearsal -that lasted 'till just 20 minutes before the scheduled time of the concert- kept the theatre's gates closed and about 5,000 people queueing at the entrances.



The Symphonie Fantastique sounded also quite unrehearsed but the experience was overall a lot better. First two movements didn't get my attention and I was wondering if it was me or the orchestra that were more bored. Probably the Orchestra. Then, during the "Scène aux champs" things started to get better and better and the peak arrived with "Songe d'une nuit de sabbat". Loud, really loud as a matter of fact, but fantastique indeed!

La Forza del Destino ouverture for the encore and the audience going really wild ("I really needed some Verdi after that" said a Mme behind me), but certainly not the best Forza I 've ever heard.


Needless to say that the athenians worshipped El Dani and they kept calling him on stage again and again. No more encores guys, hit the road.

~

A wonderful night indeed, a nice surprise by the athenians that flooded the Odeon, and a very good answer to the Director of the Athens Festival, mr. Loukos,
and his poor allegations (regarding low ticket-selling for classical music concerts).

Maybe you should give it a second thought herr Loukos?
Coz now, you really don't have an excuse...

Barenboim and West-Eastern Divan Orchestra flood the Plaza Mayor de Madrid

5000 spectators.

A star-conductor and an orchestra with musicians from Palestine, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and 26 andalucians.

Daniel Barenboim and his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra offered an open-air concert on the night of August the 5th at the Plaza Mayor of Madrid. Haydn's Sinfonia Concertante and Act I from Die Walküre were on the menu!

Angela Denoke as Sieglinde, Simon O´Neil as Siegmund and John Tomlinson as Hunding received the tremendous applause of the audience that flooded one of the most beautiful plazas in the world 3 entire hours before the beginning of the concert!



Sobre el escenario, Barenboim lanzaba miradas furtivas al público con una sonrisa cómplice a la vez que dirigía con batuta enérgica la orquesta de la concordia.

On stage, Barenboim was giving furtive looks to the audience with an "accomplice smile" while conducting with his energetic baton the concord orchestra.

A member of the audience said to the El País reporter:

"¿Wagner? Ni idea, hombre, no suelo ir a la ópera ni escucho música clásica, pero me gustó ese trozo de La Walkiria que sale en Apocalypse Now. Mi novia me dijo que iban a tocar otra parte de esa ópera esta noche, así que aquí estamos"

"Wagner? I have no idea, man, i don't go to the opera and I don't listen to classical music but I liked that piece of the Valkyrie that sounds in Apocalypse Now. My girlfriend told me that they would play another part of that opera tonight, and here we are!"

Isn't that what it's all about???