Pre-concert talk tension

Back in the spring of this year, when I was putting the pieces in place for this season's programme I thought I'd mix things up a bit by not giving an end-of-season pre-concert talk. Sir Mark Elder was conducting the final concert and he always gets a huge crowd when he does the pre-concert talks, so it was obviously the right thing to give way to him. Watching BBC 4's Symphony programme recently has also been a telling reminder of what a superb advocate he is for orchestral music.

The sensible thing to have done at that point would have been to book in the pre-concert talks as normal and take a break from this season. But somewhere my adventurous (for which read reckless) head took hold and I decided I've have a go at a beginner's guide to a concert. Since I'd had the most input into the Halle's concert on 24 November, that seemed the obvious slot to pick...et voila!

Of course, it's obvious enough until you sit down to write the thing! Yes, I knew all the pieces pretty well, and they all had great stories attached to them. As a group of composers, Dukas, Jongen , Faure and Respighi also fit together really well, so there wouldn't be a problem finding enough to say about them. But when you've got just half an hour to cover the essential points with some musical illustrations and a bit of anecdote, it really hits you how much of this game is about leaving stuff out. And pitching it correctly - not being too technical, or basic, formal or informal, was a real headache.

I read my first draft out to Deb, my wife, as we drove down to London on Saturday. Speaking at a speed that would be far too quick for a lively acoustic like the Royal Concert Hall, I managed it in 29 minutes. But that left out six music clips and a five minute chat with the organist, Jonathan Scott. Yesterday afternoon saw the text reduced by a page, making it just about workable. But I'll still need another evening spent on it tonight, to get it to a comfortable length. And I've got a handout to make, too. All in all I suspect Ill have spent about a week, on and off, on a talk that will be over in thirty minutes. Hopefully it'll all be worth it but I reckon that next time I'll stick to a conversation piece.

If you're curious, my first ever pre-concert talk (in the proper sense) will be at 6.30pm on Thursday 24 November in the auditorium.