No, you are right – this definitely does not look like the start of a standard Beethoven concert. But then there was very little standard about the Aurora Orchestra‘s performance of the Beethoven 5 at the amazing Printworks at Surrey Quays last Thursday.
The Printworks is at the heart of the massive Harmsworth printing plant, built in 1989 and, until 2012, churning out Daily Mails, Evening Standards and the Metro 24/7. (If you are interested in the printing plant itself see this post on the Rotherhithe blog.) Having lain idle for five years, in 2017 it opened as a ‘cultural destination’ to be hired for everything from product launches to pop concerts. It is massive (12,800 square metres) and, over its many spaces, can fit 6,000 people. The main printing space where the concert was held holds 2,000 – and this is how it looked and sounded when we arrived.
Small rostra were set up all round the space, in the middle of the milling audience, each of which could hold two or three musicians –
with the conductor, Nicholas Collon, getting the full pop star spotlight treatment on his rostrum.
Musicians fought their way through the crowd to reach their spaces to be bathed in light – of all colours – once the baton descended. This is a very short clip of a red phase….
How was it?
Amazing…… Beethoven enthusiasts will no doubt take issue with the sound – although not with Aurora’s playing. (They will also be horrified by the order of the mini excerpts below as I fear I have got them all the wrong way around!) It was not the Sofiensaal or the Concertgebouw – but there were 2,000 people, 50% of whom may never have listened to Beethoven before, crammed into a pop venue to hear and be excited by a ‘classical’ symphony. How brilliant is that!
And for those of us who have heard Beethoven before – it was also really exciting. The atmosphere, the lights, the fact that we had traipsed down to Rotherhithe in the rain stood in a pop concert queue to get it, the fact that we could all move around and get so close to the musicians that we could literally touch them….
OK – so this did do funny things to the sound balance, but who cares? You can hear beautifully balanced performances of Beethoven 5 every day of the week – how often do you get an experience like this?
So bravo Aurora. Already well known for their from-memory performances, their staged and masked performance of Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique, their child and classroom events – playing Beethoven in a pop venue is just another great idea.
The venue
For those of you who are interested in the venue, plans to redevelop the whole site into mixed use office and residential met with massive local opposition and the owners/developers – Broadwick Live and British Land – are now proposing to keep at least part of the building as a cultural site. However, it is scheduled to close for an unspecified period at the end of 2023. Talks are on going with Southwark Council.
Upcoming Salon Music concerts:
Sunday 2nd April – Highgate Society Lunchtime concert
Jonah Phillips and his group – piano, bass & drums
Book here – £15 to include copious quantites of Bucks Fizz
Sunday 7th May – evening – The Hanover Square Quartet
Music by Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn and Emilie Mayer.
Book here – £28 to include buffet supper and wine
Leave a Reply