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The Concertmaster
Malcolm Lowe, concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, warming up before the concert on Saturday, November 21, 2015.
Andris Nelsons, conductor (and BSO music director)
Isabelle Faust, violin
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
J.S. BACH Komm, Jesu, komm! and Es ist genug
BERG Violin Concerto
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5
Symphony Hall, Boston, Massachusetts
Program notes: The Bach pieces were firsts for me (and the BSO), and were real nice. This was the third time I've heard the Berg violin concerto performed live. I still can't get my head around it; it seems to have no beginning and no end. I don't hate it, but it's an enigma to me. The Shostakovich 5 was superb; it exceeded my expectations. This week's performances of the Shostakovich 5 were recorded for a future release on Deutsche Grammophon.
Technical notes: I entered the hall right after it opened at 7 o'clock (for an 8 o'clock concert) with the hopes of getting a clean shot. I pretty much did, with the exception of two patrons in the second balcony, and lots of recording-related activity behind the first set of orchestra seats (at the bottom of the image) which I cropped out. The addition of the concertmaster warming up on stage was a real bonus! I took this shot by resting the camera on the railing of the first balcony, carefully stabilizing it with one hand and using a remote trigger with the other. This worked out pretty well, but the camera was tilted about 3 degrees clockwise due to the L-bracket I have attached to it. I had no hex wrench with me, so I couldn't remove it. I also had the WB set to daylight which made the preview look horrendous. Luckily tilt and WB were easily fixed in Lightroom. I chose not to open the angle wider because this would have included more people and also the chandeliers, which would have introduced too much dynamic range.
Lastly: The three exposed sections of the magnificent and recently renovated Aeolian-Skinner organ, Opus 1134, were illuminated preconcert and during intermission in blue, white, and red---in recognition of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. (The BSO has a very strong French tradition.) I had never seen anything like this before. It was a nice touch.
The Concertmaster
Malcolm Lowe, concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, warming up before the concert on Saturday, November 21, 2015.
Andris Nelsons, conductor (and BSO music director)
Isabelle Faust, violin
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
J.S. BACH Komm, Jesu, komm! and Es ist genug
BERG Violin Concerto
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5
Symphony Hall, Boston, Massachusetts
Program notes: The Bach pieces were firsts for me (and the BSO), and were real nice. This was the third time I've heard the Berg violin concerto performed live. I still can't get my head around it; it seems to have no beginning and no end. I don't hate it, but it's an enigma to me. The Shostakovich 5 was superb; it exceeded my expectations. This week's performances of the Shostakovich 5 were recorded for a future release on Deutsche Grammophon.
Technical notes: I entered the hall right after it opened at 7 o'clock (for an 8 o'clock concert) with the hopes of getting a clean shot. I pretty much did, with the exception of two patrons in the second balcony, and lots of recording-related activity behind the first set of orchestra seats (at the bottom of the image) which I cropped out. The addition of the concertmaster warming up on stage was a real bonus! I took this shot by resting the camera on the railing of the first balcony, carefully stabilizing it with one hand and using a remote trigger with the other. This worked out pretty well, but the camera was tilted about 3 degrees clockwise due to the L-bracket I have attached to it. I had no hex wrench with me, so I couldn't remove it. I also had the WB set to daylight which made the preview look horrendous. Luckily tilt and WB were easily fixed in Lightroom. I chose not to open the angle wider because this would have included more people and also the chandeliers, which would have introduced too much dynamic range.
Lastly: The three exposed sections of the magnificent and recently renovated Aeolian-Skinner organ, Opus 1134, were illuminated preconcert and during intermission in blue, white, and red---in recognition of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. (The BSO has a very strong French tradition.) I had never seen anything like this before. It was a nice touch.