Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
On last Tuesday night, Calibaby and I went to a concert given by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor.
This is the first time, to my knowledge, that we have ever attended a concert that was being recorded live - of any genre.
I do not know if they can use the tapes, though - they were recording in Michigan in March, so there were sick people a plenty in the audience, and therefore a lot of coughing, sneezing, and throat clearing. Hopefully they can edit the crowd sound out?
The first half of the concert was a piece of music I have never heard before - and it was a lot of fun! It was Ravel's Mother Goose Suite, a ballet based on some famous fairy tales. I especially enjoyed the music to Tom Thumb, with its twittering birds! The oriental flavors of the Laideronette music were also very pleasant and unexpected.
The second half of the program was Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, and the orchestra played it much better than the CD that I have of it. I especially loved the second movement, with its dance rhythms - and the brass played magnificently in the fourth and fifth movements. They had this ginormous brass instrument I have never seen before in the back row next to the two tuba players. I had to call Fisty to ask him if he knows what it might have been and he thought it might have been this:
Anyway, the orchestra was great, the musical selections were unusual and a lot of fun, and I am very glad that I got to hear them.
It was great! They played a great mixture of classical and jazz. 
They did a great job with Carmen - both playing the music and acting otu scenes. The tuba player dressed as the bull was hilarious. 
