Beer with subtitles

It’s not quite New York, not yet, but I stumbled upon Shakespeare in the Park today in the Green. That is to say, I obtained a leaflet the previous day and then spent a rare Sunday afternoon in the city and then – even rarer! – remembered something.

There was a smallish crowd when we arrived at 5pm which, by 7pm, had turned into quite a decent crowd.

The play was Twelfth Night. Unfortunately, I was unfamiliar with this play apart from the cross-dressing bit which I remembered from studying the first act years back in secondary school. However, this was really all I needed to know – it was most entertaining all round. Lots of dancing about, silly voices, dressing up and clever word play. That Shakespeare fellow could really write.

The announcer made some mention at the start of “15 minutes”, but this was the two hour-long play in its original text (so far as I could tell). When finished the same announcer emerged to say that the play is free because they cannot charge for it in the park….however, if we wished to loan the actors some money then we could deposit it in their umbrellas. Very inventive, although I’m reminded of the Bill Bryson book where a beggar on the street asks him could he “loan” a dollar. I loaned them a fiver.

Anyway, this (along with the inevitable trip to the Porterhouse) concluded a very enjoyable weekend swanning about Dublin 2…

I was lucky enough today to attend an open rehearsal with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. A friend had somehow obtained tickets; he rang the other night and it’s rarely when you get a phone call which you know is going to mess up completely your weekend plans that you immediately say “yes, yes, where, when, can I have 10 tickets?!?!?”.

I arrived in plenty of time (strange for a Sunday morning) pepped up on espresso and just in time to accompany some of the musicians themselves into the hall for the morning rehearsal.

First on the programme was Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” which has been one of my favourite pieces since forever. Wayne Marshall played it with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra earlier in the year and, while very impressive, it hadn’t made any lasting impression. Overall, that concert had been a disappointment – but that’s a story for another blog entry.

Today, Barry Douglas was at the piano. And Pittsburgh Symphony were accompanying him. Needless to say, this performance (although just a rehearsal!) was in a totally different class – a much more measured reading by the soloist; Marshall had rushed everything, Douglas took the slow parts slowly and the fast quickly. To me, this evokes more effectively the images of New York that I think Gershwin had in mind…both the giddy excitment and naked ambition alongside the great public spaces and abundance of culture. A city that has everything, reflected in the music.

The rehearsal process itself is different in some ways from what I’m used to and yet precisely the same. A run-through of each piece is followed by closer examination of some key points; not so different from us, but when the conductor states his requirements the players actually absorb what he says and give it to him immediately! They play that part again – once, and it always sounded better, somehow – and the piece is rehearsed. So similar and yet so different.

Following the Gershwin we had Ives’ Second Concerto. I was unfamiliar with this piece but thoroughly enjoyed every moment. The playing (at least compared with what I’m used to, we don’t get Pittsburgh very often in Dublin) was subtle and perfectly balanced – for example, when the woodwind needs to peak through everybody else backs off. Again, so obvious, but so hard to get right.

In this piece the brass began to shine – I thought this ranked along with the Boston Symphony’s brass section, which made a huge impression on me last year.
Last on the programme was a mixture of Shostakovich and Strauss. Very entertaining and what sticks in my mind was a wonderful trombone solo. Like in one of our concerts, the principal trombone stands up, points out the bell and starts blasting away. However, as if to confirm my suspicions of the brass section (being world-class) the sound was warm, the music wonderfully played and seemingly effortlessly towered above the entire orchestra. Just like a trombone should.

What a great morning!

Normally Merrion Square is quiet; quiet, that is, for the city’s second largest square which is only five minutes walk from Stephen’s Green. Maybe the green hogs all the visitors – it has got a lake, after all.

So it was great to see Bishop Ryan Park jammers owing to the first “Street Performance World Championship”. “World” might be dubious if meant from an administrative point of view (like “world cup”) but was reflective enough of the entertainers, who hailed from Australia, Canada, Europe and the US.

The first performer I encountered was Space Cowboy, whose show I dropped in on at the half-way point. I can’t have missed much, though, because he was just starting to sword swallow when I arrived. The picture below shows this but doesn’t convey the personality needed to keep the large group pictured entertained. Wonderful stuff!

The conclusion was juggling three knives on a 3m high unicycle whilst blindfolded. You know, the usual street theatre stuff.

Greg Frisbee was on shortly afterwards. Nothing so death defying as the first act, but funny. And tying a tie with one hand is a useful skill, I think.

As I said, it’s rare to see Bishop Ryan Park so busy. It’s not really a residential area and so tends to be quiet on the weekends, so this festival is really welcome.

A great way to waste a few hours.