Friday Morning at Disney Hall

I had the luck to use my mother-in-laws ticket to Disney Hall to hear the LA Phil on Friday morning. It was a bit of a chilly day, and rain had fallen, making the streets slick, and washing off the dust from the buildings and plants.

The program was delightful; Beethoven's' violin concerto (1806), followed by Jean Sibelius' Lemminkaien Suite (1895-96). The violinist for the Beethoven, a Russian woman called Viktoria Mullova, was incredible. She stood in an amazing canary-yellow Chinese silk dress which puddled delightfully at her feet, giving her a hovering quality.

Sadly, during the last part of the third movement of the Sibelius the fire alarms were tripped. Shrieking electronic "whoops" and the flashing of strobe lights made it impossible for them to continue for the better part of twenty minutes. I felt so sorry for them all - it was transporting enough for us the audience and then cruelly abrupt an interruption, I can't imagine what it must have been like for the orchestra.

Once the alarms were silenced Esa-Pekka Salonen pulled them together for the final movement. Amazing rebound! We gave them an ovation, of course.