When a baroque orchestra misses the plane…

David Rohde says:

I’m not sure where on their tour this occurred, but I have to note their appearance with Nicola Benedetti at the historic Cabell Hall at the University of Virginia, which is in Charlottesville, about 120 miles southwest of Washington. The event was kind of a magical mix of artistry, acoustics and audience, something that Nicola herself noted in very heartfelt comments to the audience at the end of the evening before they dove into encores by Vivaldi and Tartini. The sound of their instruments in the right environment – the Cabell Hall auditorium is kind of a three-quarters-in-the-round, amphitheater-like setting even if indoors – creates a real dramatic tug to the music that rescues it from any sense that baroque music is just for background entertainment. I noticed during their performance of the Four Seasons concertos that quite a number of the audience had sat forward in their seats as Nicola and the 15 musicians used precise and specific articulations, along with some very dramatic tempos, to make it a real story. I’m not sure the bus provides quite the same level of acoustic support for the specific timbre of their instruments, but at least you get a sense! Very entertaining.