Ludwig play Beethoven July 2014   

St James Church, Lower Hutt.  Sunday, 27th April.

DaffodilIntro

This concert was the second concerto Ludwig has played with us. This time, it was on the new Steinway. Given the depths of winter, (and competition for bookings) it was on a Sunday afternoon. The weather was reasonable and in fact had been sufficently warm that daffodils were blooming in the adjacent grassy areas above the stream.

The large appreciative audience included His Worship the Mayor and  the Chilean Ambassador and his wife.


This is the rehearsal a little earlier in the afternoon. It is notable not so much for the heating yet to take effect as for the fact that Brent's hands are momentarily motionless.

This has only taken 8 years and many, many blurred photos.  The alternative is to use a massive flash and leave the orchestra blind. Opinion is divided on that. Roughly 40 to 1.

Celli prior to concert.

The Concert

The concert comprised two Beethoven pieces, the Symphony No.1 and the Piano Concerto No.5 ('The Emperor').

In between was 3Keys: a short lighthearted intermezzo celebrating the new piano.

Orchestra playing Beethoven's first symphony. Orchestra
Horn at rest We were honoured to have His Worship the Mayor present for the concert. He spoke at the beginning of the second half, when the piano had been rolled out onto stage. Mayor Wallace spoke of the ongoing committment of the council to Arts in the city, before concluding with some reflections on the piano, which you can see is also reflecting him. Mayor

Intermezzo - 3Keys

The Orchestra has made donations three times to help in the purchase of the new piano - and has symbolic ownership of 3 keys, all adjacent and rather high. That is, E6, F6 and G6, which are well above normal singing range. The score below is written an octave lower than played.

  Our conductor Brent composed a short piece in which the piano (played by Ludwig) delightedly and possessively nipped about this key trio, and didn't disturb any other donor's real-estate.  

The accompanying orchestra (who own their own instruments) were broader in their range, with just a whiff of film score triumph to underscore everyone's happiness.
 3 Keys
Ludwig delighted the audience with his spirited performance of this well-loved Concerto.
 Ludwig playing beethoven

At the end, when presented with a bottle of wine, Ludwig announced that his father was having a birthday. He asked him up and presented the wine. Then Ludwig and the orchestra played Happy Birthday, with the entire audience singing along.