I paid my first visit to the Proms for a while today, seeing the BBC National Orchestra of Wales playing various pieces including Elgar’s Enigma Variations.
I’d entirely forgotten that the opening variation, C.A.E. (which is actually a portrait of the composer’s wife) was lifted lock stock into the soundtrack of the first Matrix film.
Naturally, we “prommed” for the princely sum of four pounds. Is there a better bargain to be had in London? There are a few more this season that I really would quite like seeing including appearances by Wynton Marsalis and Yo-Yo Ma, as well as pieces by Tan Dun.