⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Usher Hall
I have somehow gone my whole life without seeing the Berlin Phil live, and having finally put that right at Usher Hall, I’m not convinced any other orchestra gets to call itself the best in the world anymore. Sorry, everyone else. It’s them now.
This was the opening night of their two concert residency, their first Festival appearance in 20 years, and under Chief Conductor Kirill Petrenko they sounded exactly like a band with something to prove despite having nothing left to prove. Sharp, melodic, properly passionate. It was a joy from note one.
First half was Elgar’s Enigma Variations, and Petrenko held the whole thing together beautifully, letting each variation breathe without ever losing the thread. Second half was where I got genuinely giddy, because Tchaikovsky’s Fourth is one I already know well. I put it on regularly at home purely for the brass section, which gives me actual goosebumps even through a pair of ropey speakers. Hearing it live, with a brass section this good, was something else entirely. It did not disappoint. Not even slightly.
Now, the bits that weren’t the orchestra’s fault. My seat neighbour had developed what I can only describe as a cough, splutter, phlegm situation, and in a stroke of pure comic timing it only kicked in during the quiet passages. I spent a fair chunk of the Elgar with a finger jammed in my ear like I was defusing a bomb. Maybe next time I’ll get a seat mate capable of behaving themselves in a room this special.
And can we talk about Usher Hall security for a second? Jobsworths, the lot of them. I was already fuming before I’d even sat down, which is quite the achievement for an evening that ended up being this good. They have a real gift for taking the shine off a good mood before the music’s even started.
None of that mattered once the orchestra actually played. This was a five star night, no argument, and I am already counting down to the closing ceremony for another dose of the Berliner Phil.
PS: to my coughing neighbour, there’s a chemist two minutes from Usher Hall. Just saying.