Photo: screenshot from BBC Radio 3 Instagram stories
This may have been a prom where physical attendance at the Royal Albert Hall would have been more beneficial to soak up the atmosphere. We’re told by the presenter that the hall is in complete darkness, and it’s only later on Instagram stories that I see the trombonist in his full clown regalia.
As it is, I tune in from the portable DAB radio in my bedroom. The show starts off with a haunting trombone solo - lots of rips and tears. Could almost have been hooked up to a Wah Wah effect. Like a distorted morse code, such is Berio’s Sequenza V!
Next we move to Boulez, which is a tune in a similar vein. I guessed the instrument was a clarinet, and I’m pleased to get my thoughts confirmed when looking up the playbill.
Back to Berio, and this one has more layers in the form of vocals and harpsichord flourishes. I struggled to catch all of the words with my radio being on low volume, but it seemed to flit from French to English, and back again. Zany, nightmarish. A collection of existential crises. Traditionally, these are the things I try to avoid before bed.
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