Prom 66: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Is this what they call a "proper" Prom? I believe it is. The majority of the audience are male Caucasian senior citizens, with a few groups of young music students. Not the best representation of British society, but that's the audience you would attract on a weekday.

I joined the queue before 4pm for the 7pm show, so i was already on the sidewalk. Though my number was 319, my ticket number was only 140, so the numbering didn't start at 1.

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Daniel Barenboim donned their bowties and coattails (what, only one woman?) and gave us a good show.

Schubert's Symphony No. 5 in B flat major was delightful, then dramatic, then sprightly. Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 in E flat major was over an hour long. Delicate, with a lot of string plucking, lovely pianissimos. The second part had horns to rival the Superman theme. Somehow I found the ending unsatisfying, as if incomplete. We clapped hard, but there was no encore to be had.

Listen to the broadcast here (available until the 10th).

The Tube engineers were on strike, so it was a long bus ride home. Overall, not a good day for my legs and feet.