There are no props, no artificial backdrop, and no orchestra.
In a nutshell: The smart suits, the velvet backdrop, the full orchestra, this was a classy offering from the Puppets.
In the wistful first section, the clarinet plays dreamy musings against the cool, contemplative backdrop of the orchestra, scored for just strings, harp and piano.
The death of João Carvalho plays out to the backdrop of an orchestra of screaming, excited fans, many of them children.
And in the Martin, the lighting on a backdrop behind the orchestra shifted among shades of blue, purple and red as the work moved through its 23 scenes.
This was a challenging venue but allowed the camera crews and set crews (with their lights and smoke machines) to have great access around the orchestra, and provided a fantastic backdrop for the Ten Pieces film.
The work itself shows Liszt both at his visionary best and at his most thumpingly banal: Grosvenor's job was to create a space for himself, and, in the long stretches where the orchestra was just providing a backdrop, to make every note glow.
There were impressive stretches where the orchestra provided a supple and elegant backdrop to Ms. Batiashvili's lovely playing, especially during the searching violin lines in the development of the first movement.
Most of the thematic ideas are in the percussion line; the orchestra either provides a soft, rumbling backdrop, or echoes themes first heard from the battery of bells, metal drums, clay pots and vibraphone.
The chamber orchestra, conducted by Patrick Gandy, was largely anodyne backdrop.
