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At last the weather has turned. It's a bright blue sky, sunny day - and I've got to stay in doing my laundry! Fortunately I do get out later and find that although it looks very warm, it's actually rather cold, thanks to a strong breeze blowing throughout the city.
Today's big event is the world premiere of Howard Shore's "Lord of the Rings Symphony - Six Movements for Orchestra and Chorus" based on music from the movie trilogy. Alas, fatigue is starting to catch up with me - having a room right by the lift where people are wont to hover and chat, with enforced early morning rises after late nights, is not the ideal situation to be in.
		Desperately trying to catch up with web logs and email, I end up skipping lunch, although I do manage to catch up with Brian for a quick drink in the early afternoon. The day's papers are full of photo's from the previous night's Viggo exhibition, and there's also a very good picture of fan club members Lithian and Overlithe, accompanied by text that screams 'journalists stitching up a fan' at me. The tone of most of the article is fine, but the closing quote on Richard Taylor and Peter Jackson: "We feel like we know them because we spend so much time thinking about them and knowing what's going on in their lives" won't do anything to dispel the 'crazy stalker fan' image we all seem to get tagged with by the press. It makes me very nervous about my planned interview, 'to represent a foreign viewpoint', with New Zealand radio news. Just before the concert I grab a bite to eat, and bump into someone who recognises me from the Red Carpet 'Welcome' dinner and introduces me to Vic James, organiser of the Red Carpet tour who had not been at the Red Carpet welcome. He says things are going fine on the first tour, which is good to hear. A hasty, and somewhat rushed bowl of soup later (Thanks Vic for letting me push in and place my order!) and I'm across the road to the venue. The ticket says nothing about photography being disallowed so I take my camera, disguised in my New Line press bag. Alas, I forget I've removed the digital film to process that day's web log and that because I'm not using my usual camera bag have no spares with me, so the whole thing is useless. There is suddenly a large round of applause, despite the fact nothing much seems to be happening on stage. People are turned back to face the upstairs balcony and I look up to see Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh arriving. Flash bulbs are going off everywhere (despite the fact they can't possible have any effect at the distances they're being used from) and aisle wardens warn everyone not to use their camera flashes during the performance (because, you idiots, it distracts the performers). Needless to say, while people nod in agreement, the instruction is completely ignored when the concert itself actually starts :-( The Symphony is presented in six parts - each representing the six books of the original novel. The first two movements, to these ears, are the same as those performed at The Hollywood Bowl and in London last year, and last just under an hour. The music is well performed, and Howard's conducting is always fun to watch because he puts so much energy into it, but for some reason it lacks the 'tingling down the spine' the previous two performances have induced in me. A spark seems to be missing. Talking with a friend who'd also been at the London performance, he feels the same way although neither of us can quite put our fingers on why. One thing that was better this performance, was the young boy soprano. In Hollywood and London the boys were clearly nervous and didn't quite manage the notes - this time the young boy, Tom Atkins, is clearly enjoying himself and although there's one slight 'is his voice breaking?' moment, his performance from thereonin is flawless. The performance is accompanied by three screens behind the orchestra presenting many of Alan Lee's sketches. The camera moves around the pictures and zooms in, creating effectively an animated video backdrop. Unfortunately the screens are positioned very low behind the orchestra which means that while those in the circle seats upstairs presumably get a good view, those of us in the stalls get to see very little. I use the break to nip across the road to the hotel and grab the required digital film, but only take one photo during the actual performance (above left) - flash isn't the problem (a high ISO speed on my camera ensures flash isn't needed) but the noise the camera shutter makes is, so I can only risk one photo during a particularly loud section. When Viggo sings, from a stairway on the upper balcony we're suddenly in flash city central. I resist the temptation to join in. The new movements, lasting just over an hour in total, are wonderful and beautifully performed and conducted. This second half, unlike the first, now feels like something very special. Oddly the two 'pop' songs, albeit with orchestral backing, from the end of the second two movies ('Gollum's Song' and 'Into the West') are presented. For me this didn't really work (it's a personal thing down to my thinking the lyrics are just not up to scratch - Tolkien is often criticised for his poetry, but his lyrics were far better than what we have here, sorry!) but I'm grateful that at least the singer doesn't attempt a bad Bjork impression. My own dislikes aside, the inclusion of these pop pieces is probably the right move to have made since it introduces some 'light and shade' for an audience that probably doesn't go to classical music concerts very often, if at all. The reaction of the crowd when the performance is over is amazing. I'd thought the applause at the end of each movement, particularly in the first half, a little subdued compared with the two previous Shore concerts I'd attended, but the audience made up for it now with standing ovation after standing ovation. Howard was, if anything, even more visibly moved than he had been in London and struggled to keep back the tears as he acknowledged the applause of an audience totally enthralled by his music and the concert performance here tonight.
Stay tuned for future reports (indicated by a photo appearing in the main Itinerary calendar) Back to Day 5 report Forward to Day 7 report
Don't forget you can check out reports of lots of other Lord of the Rings -themed events in the Web Logs section

Email: ian@iansmith.co.uk