When we went to the Philharmonia Britannica concert, in a church just off of Sloane Square in Kensington, we were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed the classical music they played. The programme that night comprised three pieces – Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto Number 3, BWV 1084; Mendelssohn’s violin concerto in E minor, Op. 64; and Beethoven’s symphony number 5 in C minor, Op.67.
We first listened to the Brandenburg Concerto. The instruments playing were three violins, three violas, three cellos, a double bass, and a keyboard posing as a harpsichord. There were three movements, but the second movement was not what Bach originally wrote for the concerto, but ‘copied and pasted’ in from another of Bach’s concertos. The music was quite lively and old fashioned, however, towards the end of the 1st and 3rd movements this repetitive tempo and mood did get rather superfluous and boring. In contrast to the first and third movements however, the second movement was extremely interesting and moving. It was played very emotionally, and captured our imaginations. Overall, we would rate the piece at about 5/10.
The second piece, the violin concerto by Mendelssohn, was amazing. The solo violinist (Francesca Barritt) played with so much passion and vigour; it was incredible to listen to. She memorized the whole piece, which was compromised of three movements, and about thirty five minutes long, and played without a single mistake. The orchestra and solo violinist played so well, that it almost created a story in our heads as we listened. During all three movements, there was a very memorable, beautiful melody that kept coming back, and stuck in our heads – just what an amazing classical piece like this needs to keep it going. Mendelssohn wrote such great tunes, one of his friends suggested him putting words along with the pieces. Mendelssohn replied however ‘Musical emotion is indescribable because it is too precise for words.’ This piece was fantastic, and we rate it as a 9/10.