Berliner Philharmoniker with Sir Simon Rattle 11/12/16

I played clarinet and base clarinet in our high school symphony band. For my whole life, I know that there is a group named Berliner Philharmoniker as one of the finest musical groups. Today, I finally got to attend a concert tonight in Hill Auditorium, with Sir Simon Rattle as the conductor.

Sir Simon Rattle, conductor

Seeing remotely my idol Andreas Ottensamer, one of the principal clarinetists, and flutist Emmanuel Pahud whose name has been stuck in my head for a very long time because my friends play flute and so his name got mentioned millions of times, walking and playing live was just a surreal experience.

Aside from that, principal oboist Jonathan Kelly and whoever played euphonium solo throughout the whole concert deserved special recognition, probably the best oboist and euphoniumist I have every heard. All the musicians, at least the soloists, were the finest in their category and they blended so well that sometimes I felt like I could not tell what the instrument was (or what this 'new' instrument was).

The music never stops before the piece ends. The fluidity and dynamic in the group (and hence the music) are just incomparable. No wonder Sir Simon Rattle has been highly praised as one of the greatest conductors.

And... I cannot help falling in love with Mahler Symphony NO. 7. So elevating and rich. Almost ... almost... cried :)

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My Current Ranking (我心中目前的排名 )

1. Berliner Philharmoniker: 行雲流水，實力百分之百展現。個人實力強，整體實力也強，合奏的時候各種樂器無縫的合在一起。樂段根樂段在不同的樂器之間無痕的流動，音樂彷彿就在樂團之間不間斷的奔流，層層堆疊把整個樂曲的氣勢累積到最高點後綻放。

2. Bavarian Radio Orchestra: 是個用心詮釋的團，出盡全力，熱情洋溢，表現力扎實多變。

3. Chicago Symphony: 無瑕(至少我找不到)，乾淨，表現力豐富，張力驚人，收放自如。中場 7 分鐘的 standing ovation 真的是實至名歸。

4. St. Petersburg Philharmonic: 雄壯威武，氣勢滂礡，樂曲層次分明，托疊出千軍萬馬的氣勢。

5. New York Philharmonic: 沈穩，同樂器協調性佳，但樂器間有時候會分家，變成明顯的分部。另外，稍嫌保留實力，沒有菁英盡出，發揮全力的態度。不過有些樂段的處理的確很乾淨。

*I heard that Montreal Symphony Orchestra is really good, but I have not attended a concert. San Francisco Symphony is probably also really good, but the only concert I have attended came with a rather experimental and weird piece, so I don't know what to say at the time.