A2 (c. 23"x16") print on: Permajet Gold Silk (£40) Innova Soft-textured matt (£36)
Midnight, Berlin
My first ever Bruckner symphony, the 4th, I heard on a friends Dansette record player in his caravan digs whilst a student at Salisbury, 55 years ago. My wish was to one day hear it played by the Berlin Philharmonic in their home concert hall; my good fortune was to hear it there being conducted by Herbert Blohmstedt, then already in his late 80s. As the final chords died away, the conductor did not relax his arms, signalling to the audience to hold off applauding - for at least 30 seconds - whilst the beauty and power of the 'Romantic' sunk in. It was the 'right' thing to do, yet it was the first time I had ever witnessed that sublime hesitation.
A quiet stroll around Berlin afterwards with my friend and ex-business partner revealed this scene, which vaguely reminded me of another photograph I'd seen somewhere, but I've never been able to discover what and where.