A nght at the Proms

On Monday evening 23 of us had the great pleasure of going to the BBC Proms at the Albert Hall-amazingly a building built with the money left over after the construction of the Albert Memorial opposite, the funds for which were raised by public subscription. The nation's appreciation of Albert was clearly considerable. We went to a concert given by the Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra led by the Maestro Manfred Honeck. He follows on from the many illustrious Music Directors and Conductors in the past including Otto Klemperer, Fritz Reiner, William Steinberg and Andre Previn. Manfred Honeck began his tenure as the orchestra's Music Director in 2008/2009 after periods as Conductor of some of the most famous orchestras in the world.
The programme contained works by Beethoven )Piano Concerto No.4), Tchaikovsky (Symphony No.5) and work by the lesser known Braunfels.
The Marketors' connection with the orchestra goes back to Past Master Keith Arundale's very successful trip four years ago to Pittsburg. After the concert we had drinks 'back stage' and met with Honek and some of his principal musicians, a rare treat.

The Beethoven Piano Concerto was played by the world famous pianist Helene Grimaud with great sensitivity and to huge applause. Proms audiences always make clear what they like! This was a wonderful evening and we can only wish the Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra well as they continue their European tour in France and Germany.