Last night I went to see the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. I went to see one of four free concerts that the MSO put on every year and they are WONDERFUL!
I arrived early so as to stake out a good claim with my picnic rug. As I lay there in the sunshine on a perfect summers eve reading Pride and Prejudice, I was delighted to see how many people around me were equally absorbed in a book.
When dinner had been devoured and the cheese and wine consumed, the music began. First the audience was delighted with excerpts from A Midsummer Nights Dream by Mendelssohn. Then after interval, as the sun made it’s final decent behind the hills and the stars appeared in the deep blue sky, Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 rang out clear and strong. The soloist for this piece was astounding, she wore a striking red dress and played like the devil.
I have been to see the MSO before in the concert hall. It was good, but it cannot possibly compare to the experience of hearing this music outdoors, it’s something beautiful that is meant to be free.
When the night came to an end, the spell was broken. Curled up with a warm blanket, lying under the stars, I wished I could fly my picnic rug home like a flying carpet. Instead I got on a dirty, fluorescently lit train filled with noisy, smelly, well lit people... Oh well, at least I can lose myself in the wonderful world of Pride and Prejudice where florescent lighting is unfathomable!
252 days remaining, 18 books to go.
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