This concert was built under particular conditions.

 

Not only because of the repertoire — which was already demanding — but because of how we got there.

 

For weeks, rehearsals were fragmented.

Sections were often incomplete, balances constantly changing. In the end, we had very few rehearsals with the full orchestra: essentially only those on April 4th and the final adjustment on the day of the concert.

 

The lineup kept changing until the very end.

We ended up with only one trombone out of three. One violinist could not attend the final rehearsals and arrived just minutes before the concert, unable to play.

 

All this had an impact.

 

 

From the audience’s perspective, the concert was very successful.

The church was full, the attention was high, and the atmosphere very warm.

 

From our perspective, there were several issues.

 

 

In Brahms’ overture, there was an immediate tendency to rush, which created some disconnection between sections.

The piece is quite exposed, especially for the violins, and intonation problems appeared in some passages. Still, we managed to recover and keep the musical flow.

 

 

Schumann’s concerto was probably one of the strongest moments.

 

Lara was very solid and musical, and we were able to follow and interact with her clearly.

There was a shared direction, and it was felt.

 

 

Brahms’ Fourth Symphony was more complex.

 

The first movement carried strong energy, and I could feel the audience’s attention. The unexpected applause at the end confirmed that intensity.

 

The second movement went well overall, apart from an unfortunate first horn entry.

The third movement had good energy, despite some imprecision.

 

 

The fourth movement was the most extreme.

 

On one side, it was one of the most emotional moments for me — especially the opening flute solo.

 

On the other, there was the most significant incident: the bassoons missed their entry in the chorale for several bars.

They got lost and chose not to re-enter immediately. I tried to bring them back in, but it didn’t work at that moment. They eventually returned and we continued.

 

 

At the end, I felt physically exhausted but still full of energy.

 

We took on a difficult program, with an unstable lineup and limited full rehearsals, and this was evident.

 

But throughout the entire concert, we never stopped making music together.

 

And in the end, that is what matters.