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There will be a FREE Lord Of The Rings concert in Frogner Park, Oslo, Norway tomorrow saturday august 27. I don't know if Howard Shore himself will be present, though.
Later in the evening, A-HA will play a free concert on the same stage.
Me and some friends will be present on the A-HA concert. I'm not sure if we will catch the LOTR-gig though.
Will you be there, Thor?
see http://www.centennial.hydro.com/en/ringenes_herre.html
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And next saturday it will be in Bergen!!!
Music... in that INCREDIBLE park.... wow.
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Posted: |
Aug 27, 2005 - 3:48 PM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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Alright, I just now returned from the concert and here's my report:
First of all, let me say that it was great to have been to my first film music concert ever. That's an experience in itself. Also, the performance by the Oslo Philharmonic was fine - including the soloists. And Shore's arrangement seemed smooth and to-the-point.
But.....BUT.....BUT....
The context was all wrong! This was a free outdoors concert, which meant that there were thousands of noisy people - including whiney children and loud talkers. Not an ideal setting. Also, towards the end of the concert, there was a tremendous rainfall, which didn't add anything positive to the experience.
Also, the sound was a bit pinched and it was hard to hear the choir properly (a common problem with outdoors concerts, obviously).
This begs the question: why can't they have indoors film music concerts in this country? Obviously film music doesn't have the same respect as classical music, and so it has to be paired with huge "public parties" like this. Eh?
I'm now contemplating going to the a-ha concert in an hour, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for 100.000 people and muddy lawns.
All in all...an ambivalent experience.
NP: "Global Underground - Oslo" (Paul Oakenfold)
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This begs the question: why can't they have indoors film music concerts in this country?
NP: "Global Underground - Oslo" (Paul Oakenfold)
The Shore concerts have all been held indoors in the USA. At concert halls, no less.
NP: Music inside.
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And I just now returned from the a-ha concert (being slightly intoxicated as I'm writing this). GODDAMMIT, what a bunch of people. I'm guessing 120.000. I was clinched up against the Red Cross station at the right of the stage. Caught a glimpse of one screen, but nothing of the stage. But the music kicked ass, obviously.
NP: TARAS BULBA (Waxman)
List #247
1) Listening to music while not drunk makes for a better listening expeteince.
2) Counting the number of patrons might make for a good list.
3) No one really cares about such "diary" entries.
4) NP: Sarcastic smirk.
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Posted: |
Aug 28, 2005 - 11:55 AM
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By: |
Nils
(Member)
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Hey, Thor - you were at the LOTR concert, too? Why didn't I see you?! Oh, that's right, the other 50.000 people... Yeah, that's probably why  .
I must say I had a GREAT time, though. Where did you sit (or stand)? I guess that might have had some impact on the overall experience.
We (all 10 family members and friends) arrived about an hour early, so we got excellent seats (row 10) in the seating area in front of the stage. I thought the sound was generally good - of course a miked-up symphony orchestra will always sound a little metallic, but it certainly was LOUD enough, at least where we sat. In fact, I noticed some people covering their ears during some of the battle music. But I loved it!
I agree with you about some balancing problems.
We had no trouble with noisy kids where we sat - people seemed to be listening attentively.
The performances were excellent - except for the, ah, extensively out-of-tune boy soprano - and Sissel DOES impress. It looks like she just opens her mouth and, seemingly with no effort whatsoever, out come crystal clear tones HIGH up in the register. Amazing.
I, too, could have done without the last 20 minutes of pouring rain, though. On the other hand, the weather was good and generally sunny during the first one hour and 40 minutes.
A small curiosity: A little while before the concert, members of the Norwegian Tolkien Society came marching in in front of the stage and did a little show, in full LOTR costumes - including our Minister of Justice, Odd Einar Dørum, who is a big sci-fi and fantasy fan. He was dressed as Bilbo Baggins .
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I saw parts of the LOTR concert on the screen, sitting on the grass to the right of the scene. I think it was quite good, but probably a bit too long. The orchestra sounded very proffesional, clearly Norway's best.
But I have to say that the A-HA concert was the evening's highlight. 120 000 people - utterly amazing. Me and my friends stood about 15 meters from the scene, seeing both the scene and the big screens. Great! They returned for 5 encores, the very last one being Dark Is The Night - a perfect choice. Also nice to see the dedication to the late sax player Sigurd Køhn, who died in the Tsunami last year.
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