~floating on a cloud
Last Sunday was wonderful! I was completely high on happiness.
What raised my spirits was the concert at Stockholms Concerthall. It was the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra with the conducter Gustavo Dudamel. Did I love it? YES!
It was unbelievable. They were so good and I was so happy to sit there and have the privilege to listen to them. It was completely sold out too. So many people from Venezuela were there, and for once in your life - there was an enormous warmth in that room which I've never felt before. It bothers me to admit that we Swedes are very withdrawn and dull. We're sometimes too formal that it bores me to death, and I am so glad that for this concert we let loose and tossed the dullness aside!
Before the concert began, when entrance was being taken, the applause were much more different; more welcoming and in a way full of longing. The Venezuelan wave took over, you applauded "with all your might and heart". The orchestra was spectacular. These kids (okay, they're not really kids, more like 22ish) really listened to each other and connected. They had a perfect understanding, the conducter had no scores in front of him and at one point he just stood and waved the beat while they kept playing on. How remarkable isn't that!? And this is a youth orchestra! As the concert ended and applaudes were being collected, I'll tell you - it was the best thing ever. Standing ovations, applaudes that lasted for ever, red-pink and sore palms... and the one time in your life when you can toss this dull etiquette of ours aside - we cheered, whistled and roared! Everyone seemed to go quite bezerk, and I wondered if the Berlin Philharmonics recieved this much gratitude as well?
Either way, it was immensly great! Bravo! Perfecto! Bravissimo! etc, etc... A great programme.
Carreño: Margariteña
Ginastera: Fyra danser ur Estancia
Stravinsky: Våroffer
Dvorák: Slavisk dans nr 8 g-moll (extranummer)
Bernstein: Mambo ur Symfoniska danser ur West Side Story (extranummer)
All the pieces were beautiful, and naturally my ultimate favourite (apart from the marvelous and humorous Mambo) was Stravinsky. No surprise there if one's favourite composer is Shostakovich, I'm bound to love Stravinsky too.
However, the best performance was Bernstein's Mambo. It really lifts your spirits, and you can't help but get carried away with it. Oh, how I wished that my mother had just forced me with the violin instead of piano. Just sitting there watching; I badly wanted to go home and pick up the cello again, work my way up so I too could be a part of it! It was freekin' splendid!!!
After the concert, I felt like running down the street humming out the Mambo piece and yelling Mambo where ever I went. But I did no such thing of course...
Ending the night, the girls and I went to visit Helen. We watched the match between Germany and Australia. Do I need to clarify who won with 4-0? No offense, but the land down under had no chance against Deutschland.
All in all, the day was fantastic, and the soccer game was the cherry on top!
Last Sunday was wonderful! I was completely high on happiness.
What raised my spirits was the concert at Stockholms Concerthall. It was the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra with the conducter Gustavo Dudamel. Did I love it? YES!
It was unbelievable. They were so good and I was so happy to sit there and have the privilege to listen to them. It was completely sold out too. So many people from Venezuela were there, and for once in your life - there was an enormous warmth in that room which I've never felt before. It bothers me to admit that we Swedes are very withdrawn and dull. We're sometimes too formal that it bores me to death, and I am so glad that for this concert we let loose and tossed the dullness aside!
Before the concert began, when entrance was being taken, the applause were much more different; more welcoming and in a way full of longing. The Venezuelan wave took over, you applauded "with all your might and heart". The orchestra was spectacular. These kids (okay, they're not really kids, more like 22ish) really listened to each other and connected. They had a perfect understanding, the conducter had no scores in front of him and at one point he just stood and waved the beat while they kept playing on. How remarkable isn't that!? And this is a youth orchestra! As the concert ended and applaudes were being collected, I'll tell you - it was the best thing ever. Standing ovations, applaudes that lasted for ever, red-pink and sore palms... and the one time in your life when you can toss this dull etiquette of ours aside - we cheered, whistled and roared! Everyone seemed to go quite bezerk, and I wondered if the Berlin Philharmonics recieved this much gratitude as well?
Either way, it was immensly great! Bravo! Perfecto! Bravissimo! etc, etc... A great programme.
Carreño: Margariteña
Ginastera: Fyra danser ur Estancia
Stravinsky: Våroffer
Dvorák: Slavisk dans nr 8 g-moll (extranummer)
Bernstein: Mambo ur Symfoniska danser ur West Side Story (extranummer)
All the pieces were beautiful, and naturally my ultimate favourite (apart from the marvelous and humorous Mambo) was Stravinsky. No surprise there if one's favourite composer is Shostakovich, I'm bound to love Stravinsky too.
However, the best performance was Bernstein's Mambo. It really lifts your spirits, and you can't help but get carried away with it. Oh, how I wished that my mother had just forced me with the violin instead of piano. Just sitting there watching; I badly wanted to go home and pick up the cello again, work my way up so I too could be a part of it! It was freekin' splendid!!!
After the concert, I felt like running down the street humming out the Mambo piece and yelling Mambo where ever I went. But I did no such thing of course...
Ending the night, the girls and I went to visit Helen. We watched the match between Germany and Australia. Do I need to clarify who won with 4-0? No offense, but the land down under had no chance against Deutschland.
All in all, the day was fantastic, and the soccer game was the cherry on top!
WATCH THIS VIDEO! And you will understand why I got so high last Sunday.
It was amazng to watch. You wanted to stand and yell MAMBO with them. Look at the fun! They dance with their instruments and let loose and just play together. Fantastic things that I wish I could be a part of (and I bet you do too).
