Continuity Spans Three Centuries at The Music Hall

To the Music Hall on Friday, for the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra, appearing as part of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival.

We were struck by the continuity of the event in its location. Qualitatively, the only difference between what we experienced and what an concert-goer of the 1860's would have experienced is that the performance we attended was lit by electric light rather than gas.

We wonder if, by any chance,

they might be related?

Only the content of the evening's programme differed - the EYO were playing music which post-dates the 19th Century. Bernstein and Gershwin were top of the bill, with pieces by Shostakovich and Richard Strauss in the first half.

So, a youth orchestra who's member's careers will reach their height in the mid-21st Century, performing music from the mid-20th Century in a hall build in the mid-19th Century.

Truly, plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

The audience in the 19th century was better dressed, though.