Oldster School
Wow – Shanghai. To be honest, I'm gutted that it was such a 'hit and run' gig. We were delayed in Beijing (stunning airport, by the way) and ended up rushing into the hotel, scrambling around for instruments at the hall, a quick seating call and just time to get changed before the concert. Coming into Shanghai from the airport was like driving through a forest of skyscrapers (I'm pretty sure that somebody somewhere has used that analogy before). Shanghai is an immediately appealing city, out of one coach window a wacky silver tower, out of the other a 19th century Parisian.mansion. It's fast, vibrant and even noisier than Beijing, buzzing constantly. This buzz definitely transferred to the orchestra, no doubt helped by a fantastic 27 storey hotel (I was at the top!) and a very generous reception after the concert, hosted by Controller of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland, Ken MacQuarrie, who has been travelling with us. After the reception a few of us wandered down to the river to see the famous waterfront, a visual nightcap to a brilliant day. I'd been dreading the Shanghai-day ever since I saw the tour schedule – it turned out to be the best so far.
The used to be somewhere else - you couldn't make this up. Apparently, they loved the hall but not the location, so of course they simply moved it, brick-by-brick, to a lovely leafy spot. It was a cute little theatre (small stage = reduced string section size); on stage it felt more like an operatic set-piece, like we should be playing The Nutcraker or something. For me, the concert was mixed. Elgar's Froissart is a great opener but I'd like it more if it wasn't for In the South, which I think is a much better piece. Nicola's Lark was just beautiful, poised and fluid, I love what she does with it. Beethoven 7 is a tough one. It's very easy for it to become a heavy-duty symphony, old-school style – nothing wrong with that, just not my taste/schooling. I hear so much dance in that music but last night it felt to me like a heavy romp (albeit a very enjoyable one). Christoph was on good form though and his baton went flying in the oboes' direction at one point, charitably returned to him by the violas. Our encores are shamelessly cheesy and the audience loved them. Chinese Dances turned an hesitatant/overly-polite audience into a spontaneously cheering crowd and the Eightsome Reel is great fun, though there have been threats in the 2nd violins that we'll have to play it from memory next time.
So, now we're in (capital of Zhejiang provice, a 3 hour drive from Shanghai) for 2 days and 2 more concerts. I'm looking forward to a slightly slower pace and a change of programme.
Quote of the Day today is a visual one, from the escalators at Beijing Airport:
I might start a campaign to get the word "oldster" into popular usage...brilliant.
David Chadwick
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