For last night, Meetup threw up something again - this time, the Kensington Classical Music group were off to see an apparently famous pianist called Lang Lang. Now, the name meant nothing to me, but I probably had seen him before. More important to me was the programme of Beethoven and Mozart.
And so I was headed to the Royal Festival Hall. Now, it occurred to me that my new flat is more convenient for there.. so wouldn't it be handy just to stay there last night? since I have the keys n all. So I checked with the landlord, and the internet was working - and so after work, I raced home and packed a bag, with the necessaries, plus what I wanted to wear today. Mind you, I wouldn't have time to go there before the concert - but I checked, and the Royal Festival Hall has a free cloakroom. Ideal! So I dragged quite a lot of luggage with me into town.
I decided I had reason enough to use the lift on the Hungerford bridge. It is handy, how you can get there without using steps - there's a ramp leading upwards to the Festival Hall from beside the lift. Then I had to thread through crowds to get to the shop where we were supposed to meet the organiser - made it, got my ticket, and headed downstairs for the cloakroom, where a lovely man took my bags.
Heading upstairs from there, I couldn't find where the lift was, but I knew my way from the next floor up. And I waited for the glass lift, for quite a long time, because I do think it's worth it, to get that singing.. All the announcements about the concert start being imminent had come while we were still waiting for the lift, so when I got up there I made a mad dash - just around the corner, to Door D. And mine was the very back row, and the second seat in, so I didn't have to search too hard or inconvenience too many people. And I had just about enough time to get my breath back before the concert started.
The Philharmonic started us off, a grand piano pushed over to the side. After a relatively short Beethoven piece, half the orchestra left the stage to enable the movement of this behemoth of an instrument. (They came back after the piano was moved to a position where it neatly obscured many of them.) And in due course, the Great Man appeared, hair fashionably tousled in the manner of celebrity classical artists.
And he played some Mozart. He did play very well, but I have to say this was a new take on Mozart for me - while technically it sounded like Mozart's style, it was rather different. Which I put down to the uniquely flamboyant style of the pianist. I read a review of one of his previous concerts that mentioned how the orchestra always seemed half a bar behind him, and indeed he did seem to be on a mission to show us how easy he found it. Not only did he play fast, but whenever he had a free appendage, he played to the crowd with it. A free hand wasn't just left dangling - o no, it was waved in the air with a flourish! His feet, when not occcupied with pressing pedals, were slid back and forth. His head just wouldn't stay still. All in all, the impression was that he found all this really easy, and wanted to make that point.
He finished to a tumultuous round of applause - indeed, there was hardly a free seat in the house. I don't remember a previous occasion when all the boxes were occupied - including the royal box, although probably not with royalty. As one of my companions remarked, they looked Chinese, and might have been the pianist's family. And on the fourth iteration of this applause, he agreed to play a little bit more. Goodee - frankly, I was sick of him already.
It was a relief to leave at the interval - not least because I hadn't eaten before going there, and was in need of food. Which came in the form of Divine chocolate bars, which are indeed delicious. After the interval, we returned - and no piano! No Lang Lang! Something of a relief for me - although his appearance was a bit brief, I thought, for a concert that was primarily sold on the basis of his performance! (Should have been called "The Philharmonic Orchestra with Lang Lang".) Instead, we got some more Beethoven, courtesy of the Philharmonic.
Afterwards, I took the singing lift all the way down to the cloakroom, discovering that the lift on that level was indeed hidden around a corner. By the time I got upstairs again, everyone had dispersed - which was a shame - although it was wiser for me to get going, because I had to get all this stuff to the new place! Which I did - and then needed something to eat. It was really too late to eat out, so I hunted for a takeaway, and came across Dallas Chicken and Ribs, near Clapham Junction station. I ordered the grilled chicken burger meal, was told there'd be a wait, and took a seat. After the allotted time, he served my meal in a bag, so I took it to my new home.. and it was very welcome: although I found the sauce far too spicy and I don't think I'll bother with there again - there are plenty of eateries locally.
Tonight, I'm off to Sands Film Studios in Rotherhithe - which works out handier again if I stay in the new place. Not there for a film though - nope, I'm headed, with the World Music Meetup, to see a Nepalese band called Namlo. Well, they sounded good on YouTube!
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