We were also thrilled to be invited to mark the anniversary weekend, with a live-broadcast performance at the BBC Proms celebrating space travel – with Holst’s The PlanetsSuite, Barber’s Violin Concerto, and John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine – at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Charles Thorgilson recalled playing at the Bournemouth Winter Gardens on 20 July 1969 as a young violinist. He drove his mum home after the concert before staying up all night to watch the Apollo Astronauts walking on the moon. We’re grateful that he’s kept his diary from that year and was able to outline the full programme, which included: Wagner’s Overture: The Mastersingers, followed by the Prelude & Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, and Beethoven’s Violin Concerto – with soloist 25-year old Uto Ughi – before ending with Berlioz’s Overture: Roman Carnival. The concert began at 8.15pm and was conducted by Nicholas Braithwaite.
BSO Librarian, Alastair Simpson, made a different sort of discovery for humankind when he found a viola part from a performance the BSO gave on the night of the ‘giant step’ in 1969.
We’d love to know who wrote the markings in the part! Do you have an idea? Drop us a note…
Feature image: Buzz on the Moon © Derek K. Miller (1969-2011)