The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra

The interior of Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS (before the performance)

Exterior view of Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS before the performance

The picture above shows the Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS and some of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra members preparing for the performance last night at around 8.15 p.m. If you've read my previous entry, you would know that I went to KLCC to watch my first ever MPO performance.

It was a wonderful experience. I had not expected such a good performance on Mozart's compositions. The gracefulness and gentleness of the tone and touch of Mozart were well executed. Plus, I enjoyed the professionalism of the MPO very much!

Watching the MPO performance had required me and my friends to wear something formal. The ladies were a bit free on what to wear (a dress is acceptable, so is a blouse with long pants and an overall - with shoes of course), while the gentlemen had the option of either to wear batik or a Lounge Suit - that is long-sleeved shirt, trousers, leather shoes and a coat. The main point here is that everyone must look very smart and formal because an orchestral performance is a professional performance.

It was my mistake of not bringing my black trousers to UTP. I left it at home and I'd totally forgotten about it. Therefore, I had no choice but to wear my yellow long-sleeved shirt, beige trousers and yellow necktie with a bluish-black coat. Everything seemed to match, except the coat. Everybody said that I looked more like a pilot, especially because of the buttons on my coat. (Those who do not have a coat borrowed theirs from the UTP Performing Arts Wardrobe.)

During my stay in KLCC which lasted for a day, I bought Moussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition from Kinokuniya. This book is not available in the Ipoh market so I thought that I'd better grab it while I still can. At around 4.30 p.m., I went to Galeri PETRONAS with a friend to see a BMW car exhibition, which exhibited various old BMW cars which were given a new coat of colours by their proud owners (may I be forgiven for this indirect way of saying that they were painted manually by the owners?). During the 20-minute interval of the MPO performance, I purchased a Rimsky-Korsakov album, whereby one of his most famous pieces is The Flight of The Bumble Bee.

The MPO performance started from 8.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. We left Kuala Lumpur at around 11.00 p.m. and had a break in Rawang at about 11.30 p.m. where we had our supper. We left Rawang at around 12.00 midnight and arrived UTP safely at 2.00 a.m. Though it was a tiring journey, experiencing the MPO performance made me feel that it was all worthwhile.

I am going to watch the MPO again in December when I have my holidays! Some pictures here are included before and after the performance:

A senior friend who accompanied us to the performance

This was taken at the same place, but without the flash. See the difference in the colour of the lights? Oh, that's my senior also and a cell-group member.

Some of us who attended the performance. The person who held the camera sure didn't have his or her hands steady, which accounts for the blurness of the picture.