Final concert in Milan

Friday night's concert in Milan ended the MSO's European tour in a bang with much warm applause from the audience and broad smiles from the MSO musicians. There was excitement at finishing the tour but not without a bittersweet thought that an extraordinary experience was coming to a close. But what a way to go out. The concert was also attended by the City of Melbourne delegation after a week of Melbourne a Milano celebrations. Fitting that one of Melbourne's greatest icons, the MSO brought it to a close.
Debora

Some concert reviews

Agence France Press (Paris)
'the Australian orchestra impressed for its precision of attacks of the winds and the dynamics of the percussion...But above all with Stravinsky's Rite of Spring the MSO was able to prove the cohesion of its sections and its sense of rhythm'

El Periodico Mediterraneo (Castellon)
'Excellence, vesatility and perfection unted together on the stage.'

Heraldo de Aragon (Zaragoza)
'Oleg Caetani achieved the objective [of the music] of Rachmaninov's Second Symphony effectively, with a lot of expression and moments of excellence. Long applause followed.'

Diario de Noticias (Pamplona)
'Caetani conducted from memory and took the podium in the manner taht was reminiscent of the old masters. His conducting was confident and emphatic and not overly exaggerated in gesture, although very eloquent.'

'The relationship between the lower strings of the orchestra and the soloist [Repin] was very beautiful with delicate soft playing in the second movement [Sibelius Violin Concerto] and opening up with an explosion of strings in the theme of the third movement.'

Flight to Milan

One of the funniest moments on tour was the flight between Berlin and Milan. In a comedy sketch worth its Monty Python weight in gold, the Chief Flight Stewart proclaimed over the loudspeaker that 'I am the boss, the big big boss and Chief of this aircraft', much to the amusement of our Chief Conductor, the musicians and staff on board. He has us all in stitches as he then proceeded to introduce the flight staff by name and hair colour, throwing in a blonde joke or two along the way. Thanks go to all the crew for looking after us on the flight.
Debora

Calling Dr Hook!

Thank goodness for Dr Hook! The sniffles started in Spain and then spread through a section of the orchestra and staff. Travelling in close proximity and with the relentless touring schedule, it takes one bug and then it starts. Fortunately no-one has been stricken with flu or anything more serious. So far we have only needed to source a local player when we were in Madrid to cover for one of our musicians. The Orch management team did a fantastic job to find someone at short notice.

Debora

Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart...

Last night's concert in the Berlin Konzerthaus was enthusiastically received by the audience. Some German audience members commented to me on the warm, dark sound of the MSO strings, even suggesting the sound they created might be the envy of some of their own orchestras! After the high of the Paris concert, I feared there might be a plateau in the performance energy but the band once again put on a brilliant show, inspired by their surroundings and the reaction of the audience. The hall was absolutely gorgeous with paintings on the walls and ceiling plus marble busts of composers (Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart to name but a few) around the walls of the auditorium. One wonders what they might think of the MSO concert! If only they could talk...

Debora

MSO's visit to Villers-Bretonneux

I was particularly touched to read in The Age today of the visit to Villers-Bretonneux by Geoff Payne and some of the Orchestra members.

Although my father had fought in the Middle East in the second war, he had a lengthy association with Villers-Bretonneux and the neighbouring town, Bullecourt, through his involvement with Legacy. He had visited both towns on a number of occasions, including the Villers-Bretonneux school, and had hosted visitors from there to Australia. He counted the mayor of Bullecourt, Claude Durrande, amongst his closest friends, and his service hat and revolver are on the display in the Villers-Bretonneux museum.

Our sponsorship of the MSO, under the Orchestra Chair Program, is in memory of my father. As a lover of music and as some-one with a close association with Villers-Bretonneux, I believe he would also have been very touched by the visit and the performance by the orchestra members.

Thanks to Geoff Payne and the other members of the Orchestra, on behalf of my father.

Many thanks,
Jill Grogan

Hola Todos!!

G´day Mum and Dad.....I hope you´re reading this. Everything is great here. The food and wine and beer are all fantastic. Saw my first snow yesterday. I´m keeping warm and out of trouble and my Vegemite supply is holding up. Happy Australia Day... have a VB for me. Love Andy XXX

brief summary til Zaragoza

Last night we played in the auditorium in Zaragoza. In all deference to Sylvia's post about the old, distinguished halls of Europe, we have played in three brand new halls in three cities and all have been excellent in both presentation and acoustics. To my taste, Zaragoza is the best of the three. The wooden interior was stunning visually and presented a beautiful, warm blended sound that was pleasing to the audience and clear to the musicians. Last night's concert was a joy to play in that hall.

Barcelona was also an excellent venue. Both Barcelona and Zaragoza seated audience members all the way round the orchestra, though most of the seats were in front.

Barcelona was a very frustrating city for me as a tourist because we spent so little time there. Once the busses arrived at the hotel, there was time for a quick meal at a restaurant before rehearsal at the venue. Then a two hour break before the concert in which to get some food and see what was close by the hall. It was frustrating too because there were too many choices even to visit close to the hall. Its a city I must get back and see properly.

This leg of the tour (through Spain) really leaves us no time for any sightseeing other than the odd tease. But I suppose we are here to play concerts. Its just as well that those are going well.

Personally I would like to thank all the generous patrons and sponsors of this tour. This is an amazing opportunity for the orchestra which wouldn't be possible without the help of those people. Thanks.

Barcelona concert

Last night´s concert in Barcelona was like another first night because we had a new program (Rachmaninov´s Second Symphony) and a new concerto by our fantastic soloist, Vadim Repin (Sibelius Violin Concerto), with two encores by Repin and one by the Orchestra. The hall was very clear and responsive, a warm sound - perfect for Rachmaninov! It was our second 'modern', wooden hall. Over the last few years there have been many new halls built in Spain with interesting interior designs.

Graeme and Joan Evans.

Bus ride to Zaragoza

Some musicians just got off the bus in Zaragoza after a five and a half hours bus ride from Barcelona. It only takes three! Unfortunately our bus driver got lost twice and doesn´t seem to own a map. Bus Two won´t be very popular tomorrow.

Brock

Trouble getting here

One interesting story about the trip was that when we all were going through immigration in Australia, one of the double bassists, Damien, was stopped and his passport confiscated. It turns out that it had gone through the wash and was slightly damaged. Disaster! The group had to go on, and nothing could persuade the immigration officer to return Damo´s passport. One of the orchestra managers, Kate phoned Erin who works in the MSO office and asked her to do what she could. Apparently she worked miracles. Damo got a new passport (he said the woman at the passport office was extremely helpful) and was on a plane by midnight--only 7 hours behind the group. He had a completely different trip, through London and arrived in Valencia where he caught a cab to Castellon. He arrived at the hotel 8 hours after the rest of the orchestra. AMAZING!

Today we will begin rehearsals. Everyone seems pretty happy and ready to go. Yesterday I walked with a group of musicians down to the port of Castellon (about 1.5 to 2 hour walk) and had a l0vely lunch on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. After lunch we slowly made our way back. The weather was a unseasonably warm 21 and very sunny but with a nice breeze. I could easily get used to this!

We're here!

Writing this after 12 and a half hours' sleep after umpteen hours on a plane and various other modes of transport, I feel quite transformed. Travelling like this and being nearly 28 weeks pregnant has proved challenging to say the least. Patience is not something I possess much of at this point, so one can imagine how gracious I was feeling at the tail end of the trip... Anyway, with that behind us sleep was high on the list of priorities. And decent food of course. Last night most of the Orchestra found the restaurant with perhaps the only English- speaking waittress and enjoyed various tapas dishes, and for the less adventurous of us, steak and chips...

We have our free day today in Castellon, which is basically quite industrial, though with a quite typically European centre with tapas bars/cafes and cobbled streets containing very narrow stores full of fashion, lots of baby clothes (!) and designer sunglasses. Unfortunately with today being Sunday, absolutely nothing is open (just like Melbourne in the good old days) so we are forced to either take it easy or to hop on a train to Valencia.

I´m looking forward to tomorrow's rehearsal to get this tour really happening, and to give our first concert here in Castellon. It´s always exciting to play a new venue and to see how our sound is transformed in various ways, to enjoy it and to experience new challenges with shortcomings and also to luxuriate in the advantages of older halls.

Until next time,
Sylvia (double bass)

MSO in transit

After 30 hours in transit, we´ve finally made it to Castellon, the first stop on our European tour. Getting on the bus at ABC Southbank feels like a distance memory now with many inflight meals and movies in-between. After a couple of hours stopover in Singapore stretching our legs, we flew to Milan where we had another hour on the ground. This time we weren´t allowed off the plane. A weary musician, Andrew Weiss cheekily asked our travelling Doctor,

¨Hey Stephen, do you have any pills to make the hour go forward?¨

Stephen quickly replied, ¨I´m not Dr Who, I´m Dr Hook!¨

Our journey finished with a three hour bus ride, down south through the Spanish countryside. As we passed the olive and orange (yes, the real Valencia ones!) groves, the sight of our hotel was a welcome one, and sigh... a hot shower!

Winter coat

40 degrees this weekend in Melbourne, and I find myself heading to the dry-cleaner's to collect my winter coat! The first possible laundry day is in Paris so I have to pack twelve changes of clothing, and I must confess that I have absolutely no idea whether it is all going to fit in my suitcase. I reckon it will, but it'll be a close-run thing. I am really looking forward to the plane trip tomorrow as a) I love aeroplanes and b) it'll give me time to go through the phrasebook. Although there is no force in heaven or on earth that is going to make my French pronunciation sound classy.

Finally!

I am looking forward to the plane. We have been busy preparing for this tour for months. First we prepared and performed all the repertoire last year during various concerts. Then in November and December we had to fill in around 7,528 forms (maybe more) for visa applications, insurance information, personal details, hotel and dietary requirements, etc. We had to finalise if we planned to park at the studio during the tour and precisely which instrument was to be taken (and all various and sundry accessories) before Christmas. Each instrument was carefully packed, then measured and weighed and documented for all the customs requirements. Then back at work this year for four days of serious rehearsals. Usually we rehearse one program for four days. This time we rehearsed three and a half programs. All the programs are full of challenges. It was a very strenuous beginning to the year! Now a couple days off to pack everything and get ready for the long flight. I am looking forward to just sitting still for a while on the plane!

Where are the lights?

What a day for a power outage in Southbank! The MSO's production team were busily packing the freight for Europe when the lights went off. Luckily a backup generator located somewhere in the ABC building kicked in, so there's light in the Iwaki Auditorium, but not in every part of the building. Fortunately the packing continues...as the freight leaves tonight!

Last rehearsal before the Tour

Today is the last day of rehearsals before the MSO jets off on Friday for the start of our second European tour. There's a real buzz amongst the Orchestra and staff. After months of preparation, the tour is now a reality as tickets, luggage tags and itineraries have been handed out. Before the last note fades away at the end of today's rehearsal, our production crew will start packing the freight for tonight's flight in the wee small hours. From violins to timpani, the instruments will be securely packed into hard-sided, padded road cases on wheels which are loaded onto the plane and anchored down. Our freight also contains musicians' concert dress, music stands, chairs, conductor's podium as well as production, artist and marketing requirements including gaffer tape, irons and MSO signage. Everything an Orchestra needs on Tour!

Caetani arrives

It's a lighting trip to Australia for the MSO's Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Oleg Caetani. He arrived in Melbourne at 2am this morning and by 10am was already in rehearsal with the Orchestra. He's in town until Tuesday for the last set of rehearsals before the MSO departs on Friday 19 January for Spain - the first leg of our European tour!