mirga (and the CBSO) at colston hall…

I went to Colston Hall last night to hear/see the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (you’ll know them better as the CBSO) performing Lili Boulanger’s “D’un Matin de Printemps”, Debussy’s “La Mer” and Mahler’s “Symphony no.1”. Actually, although I’m on Colston Hall’s emailing list and frequently check out their website, I’d completely missed that the CBSO were coming to Bristol… so it was ENTIRELY down to Moira (who spotted it on Twitter) that I ended up buying a ticket.
Let’s face it, the REAL reason for wanting to attend the concert wasn’t so much that it was the CBSO (brilliant though they are) or for the music to be played (although I’m a big Mahler fan and also love Debussy’s “La Mer”)…
It was because Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla was the conductor.
If you’ve never seen her ‘perform’, then you MUST make sure you do so at the earliest possible opportunity. She is simply wonderful.
The only previous time I’d seen her ‘in action’ was in January last year, at the Birmingham Symphony Hall (not long after she’d been appointed Director of the acclaimed CBSO at the ridiculously young age of 29). As you might be able to tell from my blog post of the time (it’s worth reading just for my ‘slightly’ over-the-top review!), I was utterly captivated by her.
Well, yesterday evening (AND six months’ pregnant!)(Mirga, not me), she and the CBSO gave the large and enthusiastic audience a night to remember.
Mirga, undoubtedly, is a true super-star.

I watched/heard the performance from the fourth row of the stalls (and the extreme right, facing the stage). Although this meant that much of the orchestra wasn’t directly visible, it DID provide me with the perfect position from which to watch the conductor perform from her rostrum.

It was a completely intoxicating experience… as a performer, she was mesmerising… and passionate, and powerful, and tender. Utterly enchanting and quite, quite magical.  
She has clearly already forged a formidable relationship with both the orchestra and the audiences.
The orchestra loves her.
She loves the CBSO.
I absolutely love her.
And, after last night, Bristol loves her too.
Photo: Receiving the audience's acclaim at the end of yesterdays concert (yes, she’s definitely pregnant!)

grayson perry: typical man in a dress…

Went to see/hear Grayson Perry last night at Colston Hall.
He’s a pretty amazing bloke… definitely one of those people I’d have in my “dream team”. I don’t think I realised just how good he was before going to see his brilliant exhibition at The British Museum in 2011 (“Grayson Perry: Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman”?). Since then, I’ve been captivated by his art, his various excellent television series for Channel 4 television (“All Man”, “Who Are You?” and “In the Best Possible Taste”) and his stunningly good Reith Lectures in 2013 (which you still listen to via BBC iPlayer).

Grayson Perry has the happy knack of being able to communicate with anyone. I suppose you could even describe his manner as “matey” (which, on the face of it, seems a somewhat strange description for a cross-dressing potter!). He’s a natural communicator (and performer). He’s articulate, perceptive, funny, instinctive and intelligent. He’s able to challenge people without appearing to judge them. He’s utterly compelling. Last night, he mainly focussed on the subject of “masculinity”. The Colston Hall blurb described him as a “lecturer and bestselling author with traditional masculine traits like a desire to always be right and to overtake all other cyclists when going up big hills”.

The theatre was full. He’s clearly a very popular, well-loved bloke!
He talked on stage for an hour against a backdrop of visual images to illustrate his words (strutting his stuff in a couple of flamboyant and colourful dresses and outrageous shoes!). For the second half of the show, he’d encouraged the audience to tweet on the subject of masculinity (during the interval) and spent some time talking about these… before a Q+A sequence, followed by a final summing up of what he believes masculinity should (and shouldn’t) be about.
Somewhat bizarrely, during the course of the evening, I found myself at times wishing that Grayson Perry was our Prime Minster. Maybe I could envisage Perry, with his high-heeled, sparkly blue wedges, waging war (rather more effectively than the current Opposition) with a well-shod Theresa May across the Dispatch Box?!
If only…  
It was a rather wonderful, uplifting, entertaining evening.
At a time when everything in the world at present seems bleak and depressing, Grayson Perry brought a little bit of hope and inspiration!
He’s become a national treasure. How did THAT happen!?
Photo: Grayson Perry on stage last night (we were in row D!)…

the ukulele orchestra of great britain

Ruth+I went along to Colston Hall last night to enjoy a wonderful evening of music+fun with the brilliant Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. It was the second time I’d seen them and I just love their quirky “take” on songs. Over their 29 year history, they’ve obviously established a large repertoire of favourite tunes which were duly acclaimed by the knowledgeable, enthusiastic audience (you got the firm feeling that almost everyone there had seen them before!). They're brilliant musicians and singers... and very funny. 

One of those lovely, happy evenings of live performance where you just knew you could relax – safe in the knowledge that you were in the hands of supreme professionals.
Photo: quick snap from last night’s concert.