performed this afternoon at the amphitheatre in Valašské Meziříčí.

My first — live encounter with classical music. Up until then I'd only heard concerts on vinyl, CD, TV or YouTube. It really is different. The acoustics and atmosphere of an open-air concert — a fantastic experience. Next time they could stop all the trains, but conductor Petr Vronský solved that cleverly by giving the signal to stop about a third of the way through the piece. All the instruments fell silent and to thunderous applause we waited for a freight train to pass. I found out that even though I barely know the names of any pieces, let alone their composers... I know all the pieces.

I'll go again next time.