The teachers in my Catholic boarding school in England, believing that “the devil finds work for idle hands”, liked to fill the schoolboys’ every waking hour with useful activity.  Twice a week we had “reading periods”.  The entire grade would gather in a large room for an hour and we would be allowed to read whatever books we chose from the school library, as long as they were appropriately high-minded.  The sessions were held mostly in silence, but the French teacher always provided classical music in the background.   His tastes were narrow, conservative, but impeccable, and it was in these classes that I first listened to the work of composers such as Mozart, Schubert, and Mendelssohn.  Later, in university, I bought a turntable and started to collect vinyl records.

Deutsche Grammophon was perhaps the leading label of the day, and the Berlin Philharmonic, led by the imperious and impossibly glamorous Herbert von Karajan, was its star.  I tried to collect as much of the orchestra’s work as I could afford.  For a time, the sound of orchestral music was inseparable for me from the sound of the Berlin Philharmonic.  I longed to hear them perform live.  Going to Berlin wasn’t a realistic prospect in those days, so I was determined to get my hands on a ticket during one of the orchestra’s rare visits to London.  It must have been 1987 or 1988 at the Royal Festival Hall, an all-Brahms program, conducted by my hero, von Karajan.  I remember the orchestra playing in casual clothes that evening, their concert tails having been misplaced by the airline.  I was spellbound the whole concert, by the sight of von Karajan and the sound of his orchestra.

Fast forward 30 years and I find, to my amazement, that I haven’t been to a Berlin Phil concert since that unforgettable evening in London in the 1980s.   All the more amazing given that I’ve been a regular visitor to Berlin throughout those years. Time to correct that and time for a new milestone – a visit to the orchestra’s home, the Philharmonie.  I recently bought a ticket for a concert performance of Tosca under the baton of maestro Simon Rattle.  It was a wonderful evening of gorgeous music.  Was it as memorable as the London concert?  Ask me in 30 years.