At the Salle Gaveau. I can’t remember if I’ve been here before.
The band was the Orchestre Pasdeloup. Oldest orchestra in France. But, I’d say a third tier group.
Four pieces on tap. Mendelssohn’s Songs of the Night & The Wedding March. Started on a sour note — the brass was horrible. They recovered but not fully. Then it was on to “Restless Oceans“, a typically modern piece that bordered on atonality and playing REALLY LOUD cause that’s important! Still, it had its moments. Third up to bat was “Concerto d’Aranjuez”, by Rodrigo. Which was the best performance of the night. I’d heard it in Budapest as well. In any event the guitarist was very good and the band nailed it. The finality was Beethoven’s 6th. It was, OK. The orchestra was barely 50 in size. The piece suffered from that. It lacked a punch when it needed it.
The venue is dire need of a decent makeover. Obviously “just” painted, but they must have done crap job in prep.
Found this interesting, they put plexiglass shields to keep the horns from deafening the woodwinds.
