The ABC here in Oz on New Year's Night played the wonderful doco, Scrapheap Orchestra. This was a wonderful program about the top instrument makers in Britain who were commissioned to make musical instruments from junkyard scrap with the aim of having the professional musicians of the BBC Concert Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture on the scrap instruments at the 2011 BBC Proms.
Needless to say there were dramas. There was professional pouting from some instrument makers and some musicians. As well, there was the high drama of whether the whole scenario would meet the exacting standards of the Prom management. At one stage, the whole project seemed to be at risk. There would be no appearance at the Proms. But, in the end, with tweaking here and re-arranging there, all was well and the project in all its glory and humour made it to the stage at the Proms to the great delight of all present.
Following on all this, to-day has arrived this delightful video on a similar theme. You can find it here.
