This past weekend I ended my concert-going year on a spectacular note (both literally and figuratively!). The program included Elgar's Violin Concerto and the 2nd symphony by Sibelius and the orchestra was the Cape Town Philharmonic under the baton of Owen Arwell Hughes. I have never before encountered the Elgar Violin Concerto. I assumed it would be a large work, but I was unprepared for the sheer size and length of the concerto! The violinist was South African Zoë Beyers, recently appointed by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and she gave a marvellous account of the difficult solo part. Just the fact that she played almost non-stop for an hour is no mean feat! I have only known a few other works by Elgar - the Cello Concerto, Pomp and Circumstance Marches and the Enigma Variations - and was thus quite surprised by the very romantic sound of this work. What struck me the most was the fact that the violin seemed embedded into the orchestra, rather than just being a soloist. Elgar's love of riddles also came through quite strongly in the last movement, it seemed to me almost like a musical labyrinth at one stage, with seemingly dead-ends and glimpses of the main themes. All-in-all a wonderful work and I am at the moment searching for a recording. Any recommendations? The concert ended with the Sibelius, a work I know well, but have never seen performed. I must say it was mind-blowing, the way the main theme emerged at the end and the wonderful passages for the brass, as well as a large part for the tuba, my ex-instrument. It was great to hear the big guy from the brass section laying the foundation in some of the passages. I would say recitals by world class musicians like, Konstantin Sherbakov, Sergei Nakariakov and Maria Kliegel, together with this last concert were my concert-going highlights this year. What would rank as your most memorable concert experiences for 2007? Gustav Styger *********************************************** The CLASSICAL mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's HDMail High Deliverability Mailer for reliable, lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html