Stravinsky's Firebird Suite

... finally makes sense! It probably always made sense to listen to, but until last night too many bits were just a jumble of notes when I tried to play it. At last night's orchestra it finally came together, which is just as well as we are playing it in a concert on Saturday. Not that I can play every note, but at least I now have a handle on where they are meant to be! And it sounded wonderful with a full orchestra (lower brass and percussion usually come just for the last couple of rehearsals). Very dramatic!

After being slightly resentful that this concert and rehearsals were a time squeeze I could have done without at the moment I'm now glad I didn't decide to drop out as I realised last night how much I like the programme. As well as the Firebird Suite there is a Beethoven piano concerto, a pretty bit of Mozart for wind, and Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis for double string orchestra, which is just beautiful. If you like classical music but don't know it I highly recommend you download it, sit back and relax, and just let it flow over you.