in Royal Festival Hall - 1956

from Southbank Centre Archive:

Having just arrived in London in 1956 from Hungary following the foiled uprising there, I was soon captivated by the - then - space age experience of this vast, magical bubble of music making.  As a medical student of limited means, I became a regular visitor to the choir stalls for 5 shillings (25p) a throw. Best experiences were Stephen Bishop (Kovacevich) playing the Diabelli Variations on a Sunday afternoon and Yasha Horenstein with Shubert. 

cite as

Southbank Centre (ed.), Southbank Centre Archive. In Southbank Centre Archive. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1447681905719 accessed: 28 March, 2024 (Southbank Centre Archive, http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/about-us/history-and-archive/southbank-centre-archive)

location of experience: Royal Festival Hall

Listening to

hide composers
Diabelli Variations performed by Stephen Bishop

Experience Information

Date/Time 1956
Medium live
Listening Environment in the company of others, indoors, in public

Originally submitted by Liz Ford on Mon, 16 Nov 2015 13:51:46 +0000
Approved on Thu, 23 Feb 2017 10:31:02 +0000