German Excellence

No, I'm not talking about the new BMW 335d diesel sedan. This week is the grand opening of the newly remodeled Alice Tully Hall and Lincoln Center. Apparently many of the concerts were sold out well in advance because all price levels were set at $25 for opening week. There were some tickets left for tonight's 10:30pm performance, so I decided to go see the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen perform Beethoven's First and Seventh symphonies.

Wow. Double wow. First of all, this new Chamber Music Hall sounds amazing. Finally, a concert hall with acoustics deserving of New York City. I wish the NY Philharmonic would build a hall that sounds this nice. Second, any audience who comes to see a show at 10:30pm on a Monday night when NYC received a foot of snow earlier in the day REALLY REALLY wants to be there. The performers knew that, and there was this amazing energy on stage and in the crowd. Even though it was the group's second performance of the evening, they appeared refreshed and extremely energetic, as well as on top of their game. Finally, their trumpet section was playing on baroque trumpets, something I've never seen in a live performance. They were so bright and brassy with all those extra harmonics, especially at the end of the 7th symphony.

They received a standing ovation after the first part of the show, and 4 standing ovations at the end of the show. The only time I have ever seen this was when the Berliner Philharmoniker played Firebird Suite. The conductor decided to play an encore, probably because he thought it was the only way to get the audience to stop clapping.

If the promoters decide to put on more shows like this, I'll probably end up subscribing next season. I'm definitely looking forward to future concerts in Alice Tall Hall.