Weaving magic from memory
A forthcoming gig at Drumsheds by the Aurora Orchestra could be one of the most exciting of the year
My journey with live classical music is ongoing - sometimes it grips me, like the Prom I saw earlier this month by the Berlin Philharmonic led by their chief conductor Kirill Petrenko (I couldn’t take my eyes off him, and the playing - of Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony - was incredible) but sometimes I find myself struggling to concentrate and, occasionally, fighting my own eyelids. It may be down to my own state of mind and body, it may be down to the music, or something else, but sometimes I just can’t get into it.
One orchestra for which this has never been an issue is the Aurora Orchestra, which is led by Nicholas Collon. I would confidently describe the gigs I’ve seen by them as some of the most thrilling I’ve seen, in any genre.
Their thing is that they play everything from memory (I was gutted to miss their Beethoven’s Ninth at the Proms, which by all accounts was totally knockout), which means no music stands, and - unless you’re playing something that requires one, like a cello - no seats. The performers stand, which allows them to move with the music as you would normally if you were playing, say, a jazz gig.
It also means that because they know the music so well, they’re really inside it - you can see it course through them, it’s a whole other level of orchestral experience, in my view.
Which is why I will 100 percent be at their upcoming gig at London superclub Drumsheds on October 17. They’ll be playing Stravinsky’s The Firebird, a piece I’ve loved since I was a teenager - I can’t remember why but I think it was on some album I randomly got hold of and I felt like I’d discovered it (the solipsism of youth, there).
Drumsheds, a former industrial warehouse, is fucking massive, so the players will be spread out around the space, with the audience also standing, milling around them. Which I think is both risky and potentially electrifying.
It also has a very early curfew for a club, so their two performances will take place at 6.45pm (arrive between 6-6.30) and 9.15pm (arrive between 8.30-9). Hope to see you there!
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