Piano at the Philharmonic

I had the amazing opportunity to go see Valentina Lisitsa perform at the Berlin Philharmonic. She is a phenomenal pianist. I’ve never been to a piano concert before and found it really cool how it was in the chamber music stage. This room has seating all around the stage in the center. It felt almost like we were about to watch a sports game. Our seats were looking at the back of the grand piano, which I found preferable because it allowed us to see her face while she was playing. The music was flawless and beautiful, but what I found really enjoyable was the fact that we could hear little sounds coming from her. I couldn’t always tell if they were just noises or she was talking to herself, but it was fascinating. It was not overpowering or obvious, but it was slightly noticeable at times. I felt that it really added to the live experience. It allowed for the audience to get a glimmer into how she was feeling while performing. The expression on her face was just as apparent as it is in actor’s faces, but her’s was genuine and people could tell. I especially loved comparing her facial expressions from her actual performance, to her facial expressions during her encores (there were 3). She was so much more relaxed and looked very happy during the encores, which was really nice to see. She knew she did well and no longer had that stress on her shoulders.

I spent some time looking at the other audience members during the performance as well. They were mostly older people, especially couples, but there was one little girl there with her mother sitting directly across from us. I would guess she was about 7 years old (give or take). She was so happy during the entire show. She would watch so carefully at times, and other times she would be conducting along. At the end, she was clapping and even ran down so she was in the front and as close as she could be to Valentina. It gave me joy to see such a young girl in complete awe. Music is an art form that can be enjoyable by all. It’s completely universal. I was really happy that I was able to add a musical concert onto the list of the multiple different art experiences I am able to witness on this trip. I feel as if I am expanding my horizons.