April 2, 2011: Zubin Mehta performs at Palace of Arts

April 2, 2011: Today's walk along the Danube was very enjoyable: the temperature was close to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius) and the trees were in full bloom. Here's a picture of the Vigado with a dogwood in full bloom (I think that's what the tree is).

Vigado

Walking down Vaci utca there were mobs of people strolling the street, drinking and eating in sidewalk cafes, musicians performing, and of course there were the statues posing for pictures. (The mother in the picture is encouraging her daughter to go to the statue for a picture but she was too frightened to go.)

Farther down Vaci utca, I encountered hundreds of kids (college aged) who were engaged in a massive pillow fight. Feathers were flying all over the place.

I returned home for a quick dinner and to get ready for the second concert I was to attend for the Budapest Spring Festival. Zubin Mehta conducted the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in three works by Verdi and Mahler's Symphony 1. The works by Verdi were very lively and rousing, and Mehta included the Blumine movement to the Mahler symphony. This movement is not always performed in Mahler's 1st and it was good to hear it included with this performance. Although Mehta's rendering of Mahler's 1st was very good, I couldn't help but wonder how LA's Gustavo Dudamel might have conducted it. I would imagine that he would rip through the music in the second movement -- like a train without breaks -- but Mehta seemed to control the train no doubt to the happiness of the passengers on board, but I would have loved to see it derailed! Also, the fourth movement (the one that has Frere Jacques in a minor key) didn't seem funereal enough. But the final movement Mehta livened things up and by the end, the orchestra played to the flourish that the ending deserves. The audience loved the performance and as a result, of the enthusiastic applause, Mehta gave two encores. On the whole, it was a very enjoyable evening. Before the concert and during intermission I took the following pictures from the top floor of the Palace of Arts.