Buddha's birthday, and an upside down violinist ...
Post categories: behind the scenes
|11:49 UK Time, Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Half-way through the flight from Tokyo to Seoul, writes Phil Hall, I turn on the inflight TV and see an unexpected sight: the back of my head. Asiana airlines is showing the Last Night of the Proms from 2009. Word quickly spreads amongst the orchestra and we muse on our fellow passengers watching it blissfully unaware that they are surrounded by the very orchestra they are looking at.
Blue skies greet us in Seoul (an improvement on the smog we had here last time) and after a quick swim I pay a visit to the old Downtown Temple opposite the hotel. It is Buddha's 2554th birthday and thus a holiday in Korea. The temple grounds are full of the devout, bending in prayer, singing and lighting incense.
Another culinary challenge awaits us in the form of Kim Chi (pickled, chillified cabbage), a delicious octopus Nakji Bokum (a sort of fiiery paella) and a pancake of scallions and oysters washed down with beer and Soju (Korean fortified sake). Unlike some of my more adventurous colleagues, however, I pass on eating actual live octopus (the tenticle suckers stick to the roof of your mouth, apparently).
It is a free day for most of us and I take the opportunity to indulge myself with a Korean massage, and body scrub, great for easing the aches and pains of travel and viola-playing. Afterwards I float off with glowing skin to attend a delightful chamber music concert of Webern, Mendelssohn and Schumann put on by some of my string colleagues.
The next day we have an outdoor concert (unbelievably the first ever in South Korea) in the Olympic Park, next to the Olympic Swimming Hall and Gymnastic stadium. News is broken to us that our flight home from Hong Kong on May 27th could possibly be cancelled due to the BA strikes... we collectively cross fingers. The rehearsal at the Park is hampered by a grossly out-of-tune piano for the Grieg concerto and a man issuing a constant stream of public announcements over a PA system; 'I want to kill him...' utters our disgruntled conductor. For dinner we are all given a lunchbox but get further frustrated when we are told we can't be seen to be eating whilst sitting on the grass as it's National Grass Awareness week! ....what are the chances??
We've all done open air concerts (or 'muddy field' dates as they're known) back home but they usually consist of Last Night of the Proms fare (although ironically never with the BBCSO) and with the audience bringing a picnic and flag-waving. Here, 7000 people listen with rapt attention to the dances from Smetana's The Bartered Bride, the Grieg piano concerto and Dvorak 9 almost as if they're sitting inside a hall. The evening is gorgeous and as if to cap it, a flock of geese flies squawking overhead after the slow movement. We treat them to a couple of encores: a Korean folksong, 'Spring in my Hometown' in which I see people in the audience nodding along in rhythm, and Fučik's March of the Gladiators which gets Carol, my desk partner, very animated. It may have become circus music but I shall never forget Jiří's earnest conducting of it.
The next morning I wake early and go to the gym where I see tonight's soloist Chee Yun standing on her head. As I pass by I wonder if she can also play the violin in that position... The concert is in the Seoul Arts Centre. A large Hall seating around 3600 people.
It's practically full and they are very appreciative, even of the Tippett Corelli Fantasia which I doubt many in Seoul know. They go berserk for local girl Chee, the soloist in the Sibelius violin concerto and love Brahms 4.
I've enjoyed coming back here. One learns more about different cultures with every visit and we shan't easily forget the warmth and beauty of the Korean people.
Phil Hall is sub-principal viola of the BBC SO
Comment number 1.
At 01:57 21st May 2010, bluestateprommer wrote:So it didn't occur to the airline crew to let the other passengers know about the BBC SO being on the plane with them? One also wonders how they reacted to Malcolm Arnold's "A Grand, Grand Overture", especially to what happened to JB, JP, SH and DA towards the end.
In general, did you get a sense of tension in the air, with the Cheonan sinking investigation in the news?
On the lighter side, one also wonders if the audience clapped along to Fučik's "March of the Gladiators" just like the 2007 Last Night audience.
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Comment number 2.
At 23:45 23rd May 2010, maestrolover wrote:I have to agree it was a lost opportunity if noone passed a message to the crew that such an illustrious orchestra featuring on the in-flight entertainment was actually on-board too. Might have picked up some more fans for the BBCSO.
How do you deal with the jetlag flying long-haul eastwards? I've always found that a real killer as a tourist (flying west is OK) and can't begin to imagine how I'd sound if I actually had to play my violin on arrival! Any secret tips from you and your colleagues?
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