Nan at the Barbican 

The first piece was nicely done, and the strings sounded very lush and warm in the hall. The second piece...well, let's just say it was a blur. I have problems understanding Bartok, and especially after a long day and a big dinner, I couldn't focus. Nan nodded off, and then I started falling asleep. Nick apparently stayed up the whole piece. Anyway, the soloist appeared to be very skilled, but I don't remember much more than that.

At intermission, I downed a Coke, and came back to hear the Scheherazade. Like the first piece, this is an old warhorse of the Romantic period, so, of course, it was easier to stay awake. The orchestra played very smoothly, until the last note when the assistant concertmaster came in half a beat early. Oh well, I guess nobody's perfect.

The interesting thing about the concert was the little differences between this one and my experiences in America. First of all, the audience was super casual. There were people in jeans in the first row, and people were wearing t-shirts and jeans throughout the audience. I guess it's not as big a deal as going to the symphony in LA. Tickets were cheap too, starting at 5 pounds (like a movie ticket).

Most of the audience was young. At the Walt Disney Concert Hall, all of the orchestra seats are filled by white haired people. The Barbican was a mix of younger and older folks. I guess Brits are more into classical things than Americans.

The intermission was quite long too. It was enough time to get a drink, sit around, talk, and then come back to the hall. I don't know if that's a good thing for the orchestra as maybe they get cold, but it seems more civilized. Sometimes in LA it's all you can do to walk out of the concert hall before they start chiming for you to go back in.

Okay, that's it for tonight. Tomorrow, we go to do some more sight-seeing, but this time, no trains out of London. Just the House of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, that kind of thing...