I’m convinced that there is no harder test of one’s orchestral mettle than playing a Beethoven symphony – especially the Symphony No. 2.
What a pain (literally – there are next to no rests for the violas, and we’re busy all the time, scrubbing away or doing something that requires just the wrong combination of physical effort and mental concentration) this piece is!
Compared to it, the Wagner Overture to Tannhäuser was a walk in the park (albeit a brisk one tonight!).
Oy, my arms and neck are sore!
More later on our guest conductor and how the concert went last night…