Synergy represented by:
Left to right: Simon Grant, Andrew Busher, Gerry O’Beirne, Mike Dore, Heather Cairncross, Amanda Morrison, Rachel Weston, Micaela Haslam
“Once again we had just one rehearsal for our Sinfonia with LSO – at London’s Barbican this time. After our Berlin triumph in September, it felt as though we’d been doing the piece together for years, and I get the feeling that Daniel Harding (conductor) will be doing the piece again before too long. He definitely had the look of a Sinfonia addict by the end of his 2nd performance. It’s a look similar to that of someone coming to the end of a giant rollercoaster ride at the fairground.
Apart from Sinfonia the main excitement of the concert was that Lang Lang had pulled out (presumably due to illness) and was replaced at very short notice by Alice Sara Ott for Liszt’s Piano Concerto No.1. Apparently she did a fabulous job, and she’s only 22!
It is very rare that Sinfonia is the first piece in an orchestral programme, so I hope the LSO will forgive us when I confess that we headed straight for the pub following our contribution to their concert. To be honest, it would have been tricky to find a seat in the audience because the concert was extremely well-attended.
No post-concert revelries in the hotel bar to report, because of course we all went home. Still, we were thrilled to see the reviews, and even more delighted to be invited back to perform with LSO in 2011. See you then!”
Micaela