In the January of last year, my brother instructed me to ensure that whatever leave I planned to take for the following Christmas to make sure I was around for the second week of December. This was to be his Christmas present to me.
As a quick trawl of the internet subsequently revealed, this coincided with the planned farewell European tour of the legendary composer Ennio Morricone.
Now, needless to say, I did arrange to be around for the dates in question, only to be informed, as the actual dates approached last December, that Ennio Morricone had been taken ill, and that the concert had been postponed to a later date. Refunds would be offered to those who would not be able to be in a position to attend the rescheduled concert dates.
The rescheduled concert dates were planned for February, and thus, (again I was requested to try to ensure that I was in the country), I managed to avail of my (belated) Christmas gift, when I attended a two and a half hour concert given by Ennio Morricone (and his orchestra).
These are the sort of events that one gets to see possibly once a lifetime, and it was a privilege to be present at this occasion. The concert itself was flawless, utterly professional and meticulous in interpretation and execute. A wide range of his music was played, which included a lot of the justly famous pieces, along with some lesser known numbers (among which were a few that I personally love, such as Come Maddelena, The Sicilian, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, and The Ballad of Sacco and Vanzetti).
At the conclusion of the concert, he gifted the capacity audience with three encores.
