Millenium Symphony Orchestra 18th Concert

Beethoven Coriolan Overture

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58

Weber Der Freischutz Overture

Poulenc - Concerto in D Minor for 2 Pianos and Orchestra

Piano: Christopher Hinterhuber, 신숙이

Conductor: 서희태

at Seoul Arts Center

Before the concert started, I took this photo and thought, ah, this is nice.

But distractions ensued. 

Amusingly interesting distractions:

1. The guy who sat before me and asked whether I knew in what year The Golden Bowl, which I was reading, was published. I said, "Twentieth century". Then he corrected me, "Early twentieth century". He so emphatically pointed out how difficult the novel was that, when he asked whether I was really enjoying reading it, I kinda had to say, "I'm... um, trying to enjoy it."

2. His fiancée who looked a bit like tired Virginia Woolf

3. The pianist who placed his smartly sexy iPad, instead of music score, on the piano. Am I old-fashioned, or simply old?

Seriously disconcerting distractions:

1. The old man who sat next to me and unabashedly, continuously shouted, "Bravo! Bravi!", at the top of his lungs between movements, all the while clapping unbelievably loud, louder than a fortissimo note from the whole orchestra, thereby succeeded in grabbing the sole attention from the crowd in that three-floor hall, including the orchestra, conductor, and the two guest pianists. The sweet couple sitting in front of me asked in a whisper, "is this orchestra paying him for doing that?". I said nothing but they looked serious. The couple left early, even before the concert ended. The possiblity people might take this man as my father (we were in a 2 x 3 box) wasn't flattering at all. Very juvenile of me. 

2.  The two utterly dull and unfunny stand up guys whose identities still remain obscure. Who pretended to explain about the composer, the music, and the pianists with wretchedly bad jokes, thereby totally screwed up the subtle, nuanced moments where one, moved by the audible beauty, holds one's breath. Those supposedly quiet moments were brutally destroyed. And it was none other than the audience who was actually paying them for doing exactly that. Absurd. We, undeservedly underestimated, got even more nervous but, I'm sure, didn't believe a word of what those two were saying. No one knew why, for whom they were there. 

I kept thinking, Oh God, how can I love these 'neighbours', for example?

As for the quality of the concert itself... I couldn't focus, really.