To the Royal Festival Hall in deep midwinter with Bobbie, as part of the BBC Symphony Orchestra 60th Anniversary festival. We went to a couple of these concerts; this was the second of them.
Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich waved the stick and David Butt played the flute. We heard three great works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
Symphony No 39 in E Flat Major
Flute Concerto in G Major, K313/KE285c
Symphony No 40 in G Minor, K550
I’m not sure this was a perfect fit of conductor and orchestra for these works, but it was lovely to hear these familiar pieces in the Royal Festival Hall. I cannot find any newspaper archive reviews for this one, so my one-line review based on a memory of an event from nearly 34 years ago (as I write) will have to do.
I loved this wonderful monologue, written and performed by Wallace Shawn. At the time, in my log, I declared it to be:
Excellent.
Thirty years on, writing in late January 2021, I remember it vividly and now, in the time of Covid and dysfunctional politics, it seems so apposite and prescient.
This was the first time I saw Wallace Shawn and/or his work live. I had previously enjoyed his film work, not least My Dinner With Andre, so was thrilled to see him perform.
I saw this original, authoritative performance with Bobbie Scully. It was a National Theatre/Royal Court Theatre joint production. Why don’t they do this more often? Here is a link to the RNT archive record for it. It showed at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs and at the Cottesloe – we caught it at the latter.
Strangely, the text of the piece is in the public domain – I assume by design – so if you want to read the draw-droppingly still-relevant piece, it can be read here. Or if that link ever fails, try this scrape here.
If you click through the 2009 piece to Michael Billington’s review of that production, he confesses to having been smitten with the piece the first time. That tells us that Michael Billington goes to see stuff at the theatre even when it isn’t his turn to write the review. Now THAT’s a theatre enthusiast! Nicholas de Jongh – you’re outvoted!
Bobbie and I went to a couple of Friday evening concerts at The Royal Festival Hall as part of the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s 60th Anniversary festival.
We were supposed to see the great Günter Wand performing a couple of Beethoven Symphonies, but Günter pulled out at the last minute so Andrew Davis decided to shake a stick at one of Günter’s signature pieces:
Anton Bruckner – Symphony No 8 in C Minor.
Hence, a one piece concert, this.
I did subsequently get to hear and see Günter perform this piece with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at what turned out to be his last BBC Prom hurrah – another occasion when we turned up to hear one set of pieces and got Bruckner 8 instead.
It’s just as well that I like Bruckner 8. I guess I have become mighty familiar with it over the years, collecting four Bruckner 8’s in 10 years between 1989 and 1999.
Malcolm Hayes in The Telegraph was unsure about this brave (but in his view, flawed) 1991 attempt:
This is one of the very first comedy lyrics I wrote – for no particular purpose other than to amuse myself and friends.
I later adapted it to make it a little topical and it was used in NewsRevue.
Here is that 1991 original lyric:
BUILD A ROCKET OR TWO (A Song to the tune of “Pick a Pocket or Two” from “Oliver!”) VERSE ONE In this world, one thing counts, On defence, large amounts. Missiles like these, Don’t grow on trees; You’ve got to build a rocket or two, You’ve got to build a rocket or two, boys, You’ve got to build a rocket or two. Guns like these, Don’t grow on trees, You’ve got to build a rocket or two. VERSE TWO Why should we, pay more tax, For warheads, with Anthrax? Splat ’em en masse, With mustard gas; You’ve got to build a rocket or two, You’ve got to build a rocket or two, boys, You’ve got to build a rocket or two. Germs like these, Don’t spread with ease, You’ve got to build a rocket or two. VERSE THREE If it’s Nukes, that you choose, Build a Scud, or a Cruise. Kill with aplomb, By Neutron Bomb; You’ve got to build a rocket or two, You’ve got to build a rocket or two, boys, You’ve got to build a rocket or two. Fallout? These, Last centuries, You’d better build a bunker or two.
