Excellent concert last night. The guest pianist Michel Dalberto was riveting on the Ravel Concerto for Left Hand, but his encore was even better: He took Strauss' Four Last Songs and reworked them for piano. He played one of them and it was achingly beautiful.
The performance of La Valse brought the relatively small crowd (about 900) to their feet. Interesting, but as the symphony improves and tries to reach in new directions, the audience is smaller but more appreciative. So, they're playing for the people who want and demand better, but is that enough?