Tamerlano Blog 8 (21 Feb 2010)
11.00am- Salzburg Grosses Festspielhaus
Brahms’ 2nd Piano Concerto and Beethoven’s 5th Symphony- the former magnificently played by Emanuel Ax and the orchestra is my Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra. It is thrilling to conduct this piece with this masterful pianist, who delivers the extreme technical difficulties of this piece with a chamber-music like intimacy. My orchestra is on great form.
We had a scare just before the concert when our 1st trumpet has succumbed to the ‘flu. Fortunately our other principal trumpet steps in and also at almost no notice agrees to play natural trumpet in the Beethoven. The whole ensemble is on fire for the Beethoven and the (full) public responds enthusiastically.
After the concert I have a meeting with the Culture Minister. In Austria high culture is one of the defining points of the state and certainly in the case of our minister (David Brenner) there is great pride in the major cultural institutions.
Then back to London.