Beer with subtitles

Don’t fuck with Big Blue.

I love the internet. Pick your page size, margins and number of staves and out pops a PDF of manuscript at the other end:

http://www.musicsheaf.com/

And bookmark your personal favourite.

I’m been home from Chicago for over a week now. I’ll make some posts of the more interesting stuff that happened soon; although there were definitely one or two stand-out moments, it was a bit of a trying trip overall. Just home from a long stint in California, it really was a struggle to muster the enthusiasm to up sticks for yet another trip to the states. Had it not been for an opportunity to visit a new city, Chicago, I probably would have called the whole thing off.

Not to worry, however; I had some good times in the end and a chance to play in Chicago Symphony Hall (and to hear the Chicago Symphony themselves) was obviously not to be sniffed at.

Here, one week on, are the lingering moments and memories from Chicago:

• The ribeye steak in Morton’s.
• A guided segway tour.
• The view of the city’s skyline from outside the planetarium.
• Dinner and drinks at the top of the Hancock Tower.
• The El and the loop.
• The Chicago Art Institute and Seurat’s Grand Jetté.
• The Tiffany glass domes in the cultural institute.
• The “cliff” of tall buildings fronting Millennium Park.
• Supping wine in the opulence of the Drake Hotel.
• Flying to Boston, business class.
• Attending the Chicago Symphony’s rehearsal.

Yes, not a bad trip at all…detailed posts and pictures to follow.

Well, it was quite a thing, it really was. Rarely has a perilously positioned brass neck’s pay-off been so great. I could have played tourist for the morning; I very nearly did. I had tickets bought and audio player rented for the Chicago Architectural Walking Tour. It meant an early morning but somehow I’d gotten my accoutrements together and carcass down to the ticket office and left time for breakfast.

To celebrate, I’d rewarded myself with breakfast (muffin tops, alá Seinfeld, from a local coffee chain). En route, I’d seen bodies entering and exiting Symphony Hall. It was early morning; my subconsciousness pondered the meaning of this whilst I feeded upon muffin tops.

Some context is required: although we had played in Chicago Symphony Hall and had several days to spend in the city, we had ourselves taken in no shows. Between arrival, concert, jetlag and general “getting our bearings”, we’d made no provision for entertainment as such except for noticing Chicago Symphony were playing Thursday, i.e. tonight. We, unfortunately, had another gig that clashed heart-breakingly with that of the CSO’s. This unfortunate fact had placed something of a damper upon the trip, to say the least. We were sojourned just five minutes down the road in the Hilton Hotel; it may as well have been a light year away.

Back to the moment: 10am, bodies entering the hall…no show scheduled…rehearsal? Could I be so lucky? Well, I declared in the safety of my own mind, it’s worth a try. Emboldened by the Pittsburgh Symphony’s “open rehearsal” in the NCH last year, I decided it was worth ago…

It was closed. Family and special guests of the orchestra only. Sorry son, not a hope. Come back November 9th. Well, with any luck I’d be back home by then. But, wait! I played here the other night! I’m one of you guys! Kiss me, I’m Irish! Well now, that’s a different story…I entered bearing proudly the moniker of “travelling musician”. Half right, at least.

One very quick text later to my brass buddies ("omg, come down to the hall right now and listen to THIS") and I’m seated just in time for Sibelius’ violin concerto. Christoph von Dohnány is conducting, one Arabella Steinbacher performing the solo. Just like Pittsburgh’s, their rehearsal is essentially the concert: play the piece, play back a few random bars. A bit like Gordon Ramsey’s F Word – “bar 80, violins. bar 114, horns. Sibelius violin concerto…done.”

Following this, my trombone colleague arrives with supernaturally good timing for the highlight of the evening, (morning in our case) Bruckner’s 4 symphony. This is a treat from start to end. A delightful horn solo is rewarded with the orchestra’s foot stomping (tonight’s audience won’t get that!), the most perfect string section imaginable is counterbalanced with a most bombastic brass section putting in their oar for some demanding ff passages. Then, at the end, we got to hear the horn solo again! Magic.

Not much more to say. It was simply surreal: sitting down, savouring what is quite possibly the best orchestra on planet earth perform for me, my friend and just one other person. Now, if I never do anything else again, you can put that on my tombstone!