Music is an important aspect of society and there are many groups that try to involve the audience as much as possible, one of which would be the BBC SSO and the City Halls complex situated in the Merchant City of Glasgow. As part of the Russian Winter Series, the BBC SSO held an afternoon event in the concert hall in which Rachmaninov's 'Piano Concerto No.3' was performed and discussed. During this session Stephen Johnson discussed this popular piano concerto and analysed many aspects of it, from melodies to orchestration, with many examples performed by the BBC SSO and solo pianist, Nelson Goerner. This is a video of the opening of the concerto, performed by another virtuoso pianist:
Nelson Goerner is a brilliant pianist and took absolute control of the music. There were moments where I was mesmerised by his playing abilities. He spoke with the presenter of how a concerto of this standard should be performed and gave little extracts of the music. After the discussion of the concerto, the orchestra performed the concerto which was brilliant. The sound of the orchestra was amazing and Nelson Goerner was an outstanding performer. His biography and repertoire that he performs can be found on his website - http://www.nelson-goerner.com/inglese/index_en.html
This event was free and there was a large audience considering that it took place on a Tuesday afternoon. The orchestra performed in the Grand Hall where the acoustics are excellent and allows the orchestra to achieve an amazing sound. As soon as the performance began the audience had complete attention on the musicians performing and I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was glad that I was able to attend this event. After the performance I could not help but join in with the rest of the audience to give a standing ovation to the orchestra and the soloist, Nelson Goerner. The BBC SSO perform regularly at City Halls. Details of their performances can be found on the City Halls website - http://www.glasgowconcerthalls.com/bbcsso
Music plays a vital role in our community and Glasgow is very lucky to have such a wide range of musical events that occur throughout the city and appeal to everyone and their preferences of style, from classical to heavy metal. City Halls provides an opportunity for many people to experience a variety of music and tickets are reasonably priced. There are also many educational opportunities, such as the one I attended, that allow people within the community to gain a wider knowledge on music. I feel that music is the most important art that is within society as it is something that people can relate to on many different levels, and there is such diversity that there is always something new to discover.
