My first experience of a concerto held at the amphitheatre (Tata Theatre), NCPA was one which had all the above adjectvies specified. Additionally, sublime and ethereal are the other two adjectives which gain precedence over any other feeling that one might think to harbour - even unintentionally.
The violinists, the cellists, the violists, the flute-players, the drummer, the tuba players and the cornetists were seamless in their flow and so proficient that one could actually feel envious of the way they played their instruments. Music ebbed and music rose, hushed tones and resounding cresendo; music was offered and was laid before the listener like a fête - the conductor, adept at succeeding in the decocting of the listeners' attention span for the two hours in its entirety.
And, if the orchestra was the cake, the icing was yet to come. Since the event commemorated the 175th birth anniversary of the legendary composer Tachaikovsky, listeners gathered at the amphitheatre had another enrapturing performance in store by Israeli soloist Hadar Rimon who held the audience spell-bound with her deliverance of Tsaikovsky opuses to a standing ovation and the sounds of "encore" permeating from all around the amphitheatre.The deliverance by the soloist and the accompaniment by the orchestra was mesmerising and riveting; like a perennial river it flowed and flowed, saturating the sense of sight and the sense of hearing completely and absolutely.
The final chorus given by members of the Paranjyoti Academy was the apt curtain finale to the event, giving the audience yet another chance to rise up and give the cliched-yet-amply-deserving "thunderous" applause to the performers; making it an evening worth remembering, not just for the audience but also for the concertists and the entire choral group.
There are certain things that can be understood even by being just a bystander from afar and there are few things that one needs to experience on a personal basis so to form an opinion or a judgement about them. And attending a concerto, just to know and experience a sliver about the intricacies of music, features top-most unequivocally in the latter compilation.
