BBC Proms

[michaelab]

Anyone going to any? I've already booked the ones I'm interested in which are:

21 - The Late Junction prom

52 - Music: Nielsen Pan and Syrinx; Brahms Violin Concerto in D major; Tchaikovsky Manfred - Artists: Vadim Repin violin; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Sakari Oramo conductor

55 - Music: Bartók Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta; György Ligeti Violin Concerto; Stravinsky The Rite of Spring - Artists: Tasmin Little violin; Berliner Philharmoniker; Sir Simon Rattle conductor

60 - Music: Michael Berkeley Secret Garden; Bridge Oration; Holst The Planets - Artists: Steven Isserlis cello; BBC Singers; BBC National Orchestra of Wales; Richard Hickox conductor

If anyone else is coming to any of these we should meet up!

Michael.

[badchamp]

Several years ago I went to nearly 30 proms but must have "prommed out" and my visits have declined so much that I went to 2 last year and haven't booked any for this year. Maybe I should check 'em out.

[cookiemonster]

I'm keen on the Late Junction one Michael.

10.00pm - 2.00am though, so will have to factor in transport.

I may go to some of the earlier ones, have not checked the full listings thouroughly yet. Though it's getting late, so i'll get on to that. The later ones you mention are out of the question :mad: because i will be on honeymoon :) making my own music:D



http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/ (http://)

[GrahamN]

It's only me!!!

Applied for an arena season ticket, and on a quick count-up reckoned on being at about 45 in total. So I'll be in the queue from about 5:45 fairly frequently.

Those nos 21, 52 and 55 were pretty near the top of my list too and 1 consider them absolutely mandatory!. Off the top of my head, I also reckoned the Fischer/Budapest (although not the most obvious programme for them), Elder/Halle and Alsop/Bournemouth are pretty much musts.

There's normally a fair bit of parking available in the roads around the RAH. For a normal day I normally find something at a meter if I get there before say 5:45, which then costs about 2quid (all gone by 6 though).

If anyone's intending to "promenade" for the LJ one (frankly the only way to go!), I'd guess it will be VERY popular. 2 (3?) years ago I joined the day queue for the Los Van Van concert, at about 20:10, and was probably one of the last 100 to get in. There must have been at least 2000 who didn't make it. Maybe this one's not quite such a draw (I guess the entire London hispanic population was out for that last one). If you are not allergic to Prokofiev/Tchaikovsky it's well worth going to the earlier prom, which gets you a numbered ticket reserving your place in the later queue in front of all those who only turn up to the 2nd. Well worth doing.

I'll post my recommendations/faves when I have a bit more time.

[michaelab]

Ahh...a true promenader (is that the word?). I'm afraid my tickets are in the, ahem..., posh seats :D

Michael.

[HenryT]

Originally posted by badchamp
Several years ago I went to nearly 30 proms but must have "prommed out" and my visits have declined so much that I went to 2 last year and haven't booked any for this year. Maybe I should check 'em out. Same here... :( I'll content myself with listening on the radio I guess, now anyone care to lend me a Magnum Dynalab tuner and Signal Sleuth until mid September?! ;)

Must check out this year's proms listing though, as haven't done so yet...

[lordsummit]

I love the proms, is the only thing I miss about living up north, would love to be able to buy a season ticket. Will have to do with the radio also.

[GrahamN]

Well, it's kick-off on Friday :banana: :banana: :banana:

Actually. I'm not too botheread about Friday's concert (Tchaik Pf 1 always seems a bit weak after the opening flourish, and some little heard - i.e. probably dreadful - Prokofiev for the 2nd half), but I may go along just to see what all the fuss about the soloist (Lang Lang) is about. I'll see how I feel at 5 on Friday

Saturday is full of good tunes and famous bits, but I'm probably missing that too, and I'm doing some electric jazz/klezmer stuff on Sunday (Zorn - electric Masada at the Barbican) on Sunday.

Monday should be really good - Ivan Fischer and Budapest are excellent. Brahms Pf 1 and Rachmaninov 2 are super big romantic pieces, so an absolute must for me (a bit scared the soloist - Hough - may pull it about too much, although this more his period than some bizarre Mozart last year). I'll also do the late night one - good Bach and Stravinsky but I've never heard of the other two composers.

Tuesday should be excellent for the baroque fiends amonst us - English Concert and AAM with Manze (old boss of AAM, new of EC)

Wednesday is a must - Haydn and RVW London symphonies - Slatkin is brilliant at RVW.

Thursday is also a must for me - Strauss "4 last snogs" and Beethoven 5. Never heard Frittoli sing, but she's got a good rep, and Noseda is supposed to be pretty darned good too.

Friday 25th looks good too. Alsop is supposed to be doing excellent things at Bournemouth, Currie is a great percussionist (although less showy than Evelyn Glennie), and the Bartok Conc for Orch is a great piece. Never been convinced by Tchaik's "Francesca", but we'll see.

Saturday 26th - Mark Elder and the Halle should be brilliant in Elgar's 1st. Probably not a general recommendation though as the Matthews will probably be fairly tuneless, and mezzo-sop solo may not be to everyone's taste (even if Alice Coote is brilliant). (There's also a kids prom around lunchtime).

Sunday 27th is an absolute must - Bartok Pf3 with Grimaud (who's an absolute babe, even if I'm not entirely convinced by her playing), and the UK premiere of John Adams' piece written in response to Sept 11th, conducted by the man himself. Haydn's Trauer symphony is also one of my favourite Haydn symphonies, and a reflective/atmospheric piece by Copland to fill things out. Whether Adams' conducting will be up to the pieces not by him remains to be seen. Only problem there is it's also my Mum's birthday - so some negotiation will be required.

Pretty good start then. The following week looks less interesting though (other than Gardiner/ORR doing Berlioz on Monday, Runnicles conducting Elektra on Tues. - neither really for the uncommitted)

No doubt more later.

[michaelab]

I'm not back in London until the 28th so I'll be missing all that lot. Couldn't agree more about Tchaik Pf1 - it's absolutely criminal IMO to open with such a great tune and then never repeat it :mad: Lang Lang though is very impressive IMO - got a recording of him doing Rach 3 and Scriabin Etudes. His Rachmaninov is probably my 2nd favourite (after Ashkenazy of course :) )

Michael.

[GrahamN]

Shame about that Michael - best ones (other than the Elektra and LJ) over the following two weeks are probably:

5th Aug (no 24) - Susan Gritton is an absolutely excellent Sophie, and Karneus has a wonderful reputation. Need to like operatic singing though.
7th Aug (no 26) - Volkov is getting a really good reputation BBCSSO really did well under Vanska, Shosta 10 is great, and Schiff is probably the best cellist out there now.


His Rachmaninov is probably my 2nd favourite (after Ashkenazy of course )

Surely Argerich is way out in front here! IIRC that Lang Lang Rach was actually recorded at his last proms appearance - I didn't hear it myself, but the reports I got were: technically superb but rather superficial; will probably be excellent after maturing for a few years - or was that just ageist snobbery?

[michaelab]

I don't have a recording of Argerich doing any of the concertos, only the Suite No.2 for two pianos together with Nelson Freire and that is stunning.

The Lang Lang / Rach 3 recording I have was the one recorded at the proms. I like it and I don't find it superficial. I think there's quite tendency for 'Western' classicos to collectively dismiss Asian classical musicians as all technique and no feeling.

Mind you, I like Evgeny Kissin so maybe you don't want to trust my judgement :D

Michael.

[HenryT]

Originally posted by GrahamN
Friday 25th looks good too. Alsop is supposed to be doing excellent things at Bournemouth, Currie is a great percussionist (although less showy than Evelyn Glennie), and the Bartok Conc for Orch is a great piece. Been to all the Exeter based Bournemouth concerts this year. Alsop performed performed at 3 of those concerts. IMO, I'd say her afinity seems to be more with 20th centuary, especially 20th centuary American, Mahler and late romantic. Found the Beethoven 5 performance they gave earlier this year to be less inspired, but otherwise I'd say quite pursasive performances in the other concerts. Bartok would seem to be a good choice then, although I've still yet to into get into this piece, in fact, I still find it hard to get into any Bartok. :confused: :)

[GrahamN]

Originally posted by michaelab
I don't have a recording of Argerich doing any of the concertos, only the Suite No.2 for two pianos together with Nelson Freire and that is stunning.

The Lang Lang / Rach 3 recording I have was the one recorded at the proms. I like it and I don't find it superficial. I think there's quite tendency for 'Western' classicos to collectively dismiss Asian classical musicians as all technique and no feeling.

Mind you, I like Evgeny Kissin so maybe you don't want to trust my judgement :D

Michael.
Michael - you really must hear that Argerich Rach 3. I have it coupled with that very recording of Suite 2, and I'd be hard pressed to choose between them for my Desert Island.

I decided I had nothing better to do this evening and went along to hear Lang Lang. If I were being charitable I'd say he clearly lived every minute of a very idiosyncratic performance. If being less charitable, it was utterly bizarre, and more Lang Lang than Tchaik - I did have to try hard not to laugh out loud on occasions. I doubt I'll be making any more efforts to see him for a while!

I don't think your contention of anti-Asian bias is really fair. Easily one of the best soloists last year was Kyoko Takezawa (doing Szymanowski Vln 1), as soulful and intense a performance as you could ask for. And I don't think anyone has ever accused Kyung Wha Chung of lacking feeling, and Yo-Yo Ma certainly used to have an excellent reputation (although he seems to want to be more pop now :rolleyes: ).

Henry - if you don't like the Concerto of Orchestra, I doubt there's much hope for you really, but try the 3rd Piano Concerto, or Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta for a rather more cool and cerebral piece. If these all draw blanks - give up! (Although you may try his 'Romanian Dances' as a last resort). How about Kodaly?

[edit]
Oh, I forgot to say there were a couple of amusing visuals. One of the regulars (who, as do many of them, knows about these things) commented to me as Lang Lang walked on that he looked like he'd just escaped from a gay porn mag :eek: . And the mezzo-sop soloist in the Prokofiev was easily the closest I've seen in real life to Miss Piggy, complete with masses of wavy blonde hair, a very ample and scarcely contained embonpoint, and (as the Times said) "a vibrato as wide as the Volga, and a vast, glittering ballgown to match. No sequin shortage in the new Russia, clearly."

[Herman]

Originally posted by GrahamN
Thursday is also a must for me - Strauss "4 last snogs" and Beethoven 5. Never heard Frittoli sing, but she's got a good rep, and Noseda is supposed to be pretty darned good too.


Hi,

this is my first post here. How can I resist a place that has a seperate Classical Room?

However I'm curious how the Thursday night prom turned out, in case anyone on this board actually went. On the radio the MacMillan piece sounded pretty dire, but I could imagine it was much better in the hall. These drumrolls usually work very well if you can see them.

I was completely prepared to switch off the Beethoven 5; but actually it was a quite engaging performance, wasn't it?

Herman

[michaelab]

Welcome to the forum Herman! Unfortunately I was unable to hear tonight's prom - small snag of being in Portugal (where the only Radio 3 access is over the net at low bandwidth :( )

Anyway, will be going to a few next week when I'm in London.

Michael.

[GrahamN]

Welcome Herman - I saw you join a week or so ago and wondered when you would post.

Yep - was in the hall for this (down the front as usual) - and actually ended up rather disappointed.

The Macmillan? Not really sure aboiut his music, normally see the point (unlike say George Benjamin or Julian Anderson - where there's nothing memorable at all), but never really get involved by it. Liked the japanese flavoured start and end, and the bit of echt-Sibelius in the middle, and some of the sonic effects. The percussion section was of course visually fun (although far from extravagant in todays terms) - IIRC there were about 4 different 'phones and 'spiels, sets of tuned temple gongs, gourdy things (to use the technical term ;) ) and roto-toms, a couple of hammers from the local hardware store for hitting some metal bars, a metal thunder-sheet and tam-tam, and a couple of steel drums. But I doubt whether I'd remember any of the rest of it if I heard it again (can't remember it even now). Aparrently the piece of his to heard is the 'Cello Concerto - I must check it out some time.

The Beethoven? I generally felt it was too fast for the orchestra, who played as if posessed and seemed to be really enjoying themselves, but there was no space for e.g. crispness or bite to the accents - everything was just steamrollered through (particularly the outer movements). The other thing that was really noticeable in the hall was the very bad brass (and particularly trumpet) balance - far too much when just accompanying and frequently too little when they did have the tune. (There seemed to be a complete woodwind collapse at the end of the scherzo too). Much preferred Gatti with the RPO a month or two ago.

And the piece I really went for - the Strauss. Again, seemed perfectly adequate, but not really moving (except for the last line of Im Abendrot which really sent a shiver down the spine - but if that fails then there really is something wrong). Orchestra seemed fine, but I wasn't really convinced by Frittoli. Again, I hope the radio balance was better than in the hall, but here she was frequently drowned by the orchestra. She also had too wide a vibrato and insufficiently rich/silky tone for this piece. According to the programme notes she's mostly sung Mozart, for which I think she'd probably be better suited. Still I suppose it's tough competing with the home collection of Janowitz, Norman, Fleming in their prime (and I give Isokoski as spin too from time to time for a rather lighter view).

Overall - a bit of a shame, as I've heard some pretty good concerts by the BBC Phil, and Noseda has an excellent reputation. Maybe I'm just getting spoilt by the LSO and some of the top-class orchestras visiting London this past year. (I had a very similar reaction to yesterday's main concert - the BBCSO were much better than on Friday, but e.g. the Vaughan Williams still didn't really have much life or depth - I expected much better)

The really enjoyable concerts this last week have actually been the ones I went to more through duty/off-chance than intent. In Monday's late-nighter the Northern Sinfonia were excellent - I guess the Toon boys won't be reading this old-fogey music thread, but they have an super band in Gateshead. Marvellous Bach Vln/Oboe (BWV 1060) and Stravinsky Apollon Musagete (although maybe more neo-romantic than neo-classical), very interesting new piece by Philip Cashian - and a stunning display by Heinz Holliger of some Berio (hated the music, but bowled over by the performance).

The AAM/EC concert was also absolutely wonderful. An orchestra of 50+ period instruments (combined forces of both groups, + a students orchestra from the Royal Academy) make a fantastic noise, and the Corelli was knock-out. Even that though was well eclipsed by the Handel Dixit Dominus - and that choir was superb. (Still can't see the point of those florid baroque arias as in Handel's Silete Venti Handel though - couple of minutes a line, and then the whole thing again in case you missed it first time :rolleyes: )

And last night's late nighter - Mendelssohn's Antigone, incidental music + semi-staged snippets of the play - was really fun. OK, not the most profound music, but it really fitted the occasion, and the small orchestra and male-voice choir made a far bigger sound than they had any right to. There were some top notch Shakespearian actors for the play too. Well worth the backache!

[Herman]

Thanks for the welcome. I have a terrible confession to make about last night, and the Strauss songs. At the start of 'Beim Schlafgengehen' I got up and switched to the Norman / Masur recording. I deserve to be shot for this (out on my second post), but there was something missing (of course I'm talking about a heavily compressed readio broadcast). The singer wasn't totally right (the BBC obviously corrected the balance), but the orchestra didn’t quite make it in this luxuriant score.

It's ironic that Noseda says in advance he wants to perform a Fifth like you’re hearing it for the first time, and then it turns out you heard it only last month, performed by a better band. Beethoven conductors these days are always talking about letting us hear the urgency of the music. But perhaps what they're really talking about is the urgency they feel to perform a more exciting Beethoven than the boys next door. So the Noseda was a kind of March-o-Mania, which is an entirely valid take. I don't even like the Fifth and I kept listening. But it's just a take.

The Holliger Prom, Monday night, was great. A wonderful mix of works that are all entirely doable for any decent orchestra, and surely it must have been a thrill to work with Holliger who is one of the greatest musicians of the past decades (while piano and violin stars come and go). I love the Stravinsky Apollo: if you add the Balanchine choreography you're looking at one of those mysterious completely self-evident alltime masterpieces.

Herman

[GrahamN]

Yep - the dangers of the superlative being the enemy of the merely good. While the live event has a character you can never get from CD/LP, almost anyone is going to fail when compared to C.Kleiber (for LvB5) or Norman/Masur. You also don't get from recordings of such great performances the added extras, like Frittoli's stunnning dress, which she filled most agreeably ;) .

[Herman]

Oh, I certainly wasn't saying I prefer sitting at home playing CDs over the concert hall. On the contrary. A middling to good performance in the concert hall beats an excellent recording anytime, because not only is the music live; you, as a listener are more alive too than you would be at home (if only for the looks of Frittoli). Classical music is meant to be experienced live first; hifi reproduction comes in the second place at best.

However I, in this case, had to choose between radio and cd - even then live is very alluring, because it's different. But the Strauss is a very demanding piece, that's all.

Herman

[HenryT]

Originally posted by GrahamN
Henry - if you don't like the Concerto of Orchestra, I doubt there's much hope for you really, but try the 3rd Piano Concerto, or Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta for a rather more cool and cerebral piece. If these all draw blanks - give up! (Although you may try his 'Romanian Dances' as a last resort). How about Kodaly? Looks like tonight is my chance to give Bartok another go by tuning in then. To be honest, my experiences were based on one or two not so concentrated listenings a couple of years back. I saw a performance of his 2nd violin concerto on a programme on Channel 4. The programme was called "Concerto" and was broadcast on a Sunday evening. It was co-presented by Micheal Tilson-Thomas and Dudley Moore (with the LSO). Each week they would disect and explore a particular concerto piece.

I think the smaller chamber and solo piano pieces by Bartok I can largely get along with as they are probably about as close to the original Hungarian folk influences as you can get I suppose, whereas in the orchestral stuff the origins are much more burried, and sound more like a conventional 20th centuary classical piece?

Haven't heard much Kodaly, but the stuff I have heard of his I do like. There's that famous piece that everybody knows whose name has escaped my mind, a concerto like piece with something that sounds like a dulcimer or something like that as the featured instrument? Oh, and also had to play one his pieces for a piano exam once, from a suite of tunes he wrote for children to listen/play - again forgotten the exact name.

[Herman]

Originally posted by HenryT
Oh, and also had to play one his pieces for a piano exam once, from a suite of tunes he wrote for children to listen/play - again forgotten the exact name.

Bartok or Kodaly? If it was Bartok the suite would be Mikrokosmos, wouldn't it?

Kodaly wrote a great big sonata for Cello solo.

Herman

[HenryT]

Hi Herman - Just dug out the book of sheet music that I had to learn from for my Grade 3 exam. The piece was by Kodaly "Children's Dance No. 3 (From Children's Dances)". No opus or catalogue numbers quoted, so hope that means something. I've not heard of any more pieces from that set so Kodaly is still very much a novelty as far as his music is concerned for me.


Listened to last night's Prom on the radio. The Bartok showed a bit more appeal to me and I was able to get lost in the emotional sweeps of the music (in a postive way). Still left me a bit :rolleyes: though, found myself enjoying it in bits and losing interest in others.

Did enjoy the Tchaikovsky though. Played with real wearing heart on sleeve feel as the orchestra launched straight in with a stern and tragic feel to the intro.

The newly commissioned percussion concerto I thoroughly enjoyed too. Lots of nice ethereal textures with laid back chiming percussion sounds, constrasted with furious polyrhythmic drumming and jazz reminicent textures evoked by mute trumpet towards the end. Now if only more 20th centuary classical could be like this, or is there more, just that I haven't heard any of it?

[Herman]

Originally posted by HenryT
Listened to last night's Prom on the radio. The Bartok showed a bit more appeal to me and I was able to get lost in the emotional sweeps of the music (in a postive way). Still left me a bit :rolleyes: though, found myself enjoying it in bits and losing interest in others.

Did enjoy the Tchaikovsky though. Played with real wearing heart on sleeve feel as the orchestra launched straight in with a stern and tragic feel to the intro.

Unfortunately all I got to hear was the Tchaikovsky. Too bad about the Bartok. However the first thing that struck me about this concert was how good the Bournemouth is, these days. This was easily the best orchestral playing I'd heard yet in the Proms.

The Francesca d R is a weird piece. The middle piece is great Tchaikovsky, the best he can do (there's a couple of tricks there he used in later, bigger works), the outer parts are rather iffy at times. I have heard some pretty chaotic performances of FdR, but Allsop did a great job holding the piece together, and coaxing beautiful playing from the band.

I was rather disturbed by the BBC presenter's attempt to "sex up" the pre-talk by saying Tchakovsky commited suicide because of his passionate homosexual feelings or something. This is a myth. Tchaikovsky drank contiminated water and that was it. This has been conclusively researched, and I don't understand why there's people who think Tchaikovsky's music will get even better if you talk about his tragic suicide.

Herman

[GrahamN]

Originally posted by Herman
Unfortunately all I got to hear was the Tchaikovsky. Too bad about the Bartok. However the first thing that struck me about this concert was how good the Bournemouth is, these days. This was easily the best orchestral playing I'd heard yet in the Proms.

Sorry for a bit of disagreement here, but this orchestra was quite a disappointment. Last year they did one of the best concerts of the year (according to one of my friends - I missed it) under Paul Daniel, doing RVW 4, but yesterday they really didn't convince. The most committed playing overall was in the Tchaik, but I felt the wind section in particular really didn't know the Bartok (e.g. most entries took a few very tentative notes before settling to the articulation and dynamic of the rest of the contribution). The brass was mostly right, but didn't really inspire confidence they weren't going to collapse. I wondered how much of this was due to Alsop; she's clearly more a broad-brush emotive conductor rather than a precision/detailed one like e.g. Previn or Boulez. It was impressive that she conducted both the Tchaik and Bartok from memory, but I did get the suspicion that at times she was following the orchestra rather than the other way around (i.e. there were rather too many gestures for instrumental entries after the entry rather than just before it). I have a recording of the National Youth Orchestra under Chailly at the Proms in about 1980, and they were far more convincing (and that's necessary as I agree this is pretty ropey Tchaik - about 5 minutes of music stretched to fill over 20). I was impressed by the strings though - there were loads of lovely subtle stresses and swells, and the last movement scurrying was beautifully precise. I also think their leader/concert-master is excellent - I've seen him guest-leading the LSO a couple of times, and he does seem to project an immense level of authority (I much prefer him to Nikolitch).

As for orchestral playing so far, I would place Budapest out in front (even though the interpretation was quite different from my preference) along with the AAM/ECO/RAM forces on Tuesday, and the Hickox's City of London next.

Henry - give the Bartok another try sometime. The best recordings are Solti/LSO and Fischer/Budapest (and I also like Karajan/BPO, although most critics think that too German) - they really believe in it and bring it alive in a way I'm afraid Bournemouth didn't. There's also the 3rd Pf conc on Sunday - one of my favourite 20th cent pf concerti (after Rach 3, 2 and Ravel Left Hand). Grimaud should be pretty good (she's certainly got enough body of tone), and the BBCSO always play really well for Adams in his own music, although it remains to be seen whether his conducting is up to it. If you have cable it should also be on BBC4 (as have all of this last week's and next week's concerts) - Grimaud's also quite gorgeous.

I really enjoyed the Duddell (apparently he's composition lecturer at Exeter Uni, and has been a drummer in a few bands) - seemed a typical last-half-hour-Late-Junction piece. If you liked this you should try some John Adams (the first half of the last movement was pure Adams), Steve Martland (Duddell's mentor) or Graham Fitkin.

[Herman]

Originally posted by GrahamN
Sorry for a bit of disagreement here, but this orchestra was quite a disappointment. Last year they did one of the best concerts of the year (according to one of my friends - I missed it) under Paul Daniel, doing RVW 4, but yesterday they really didn't convince. The most committed playing overall was in the Tchaik, but I felt the wind section in particular really didn't know the Bartok (e.g. most entries took a few very tentative notes before settling to the articulation and dynamic of the rest of the contribution). The brass was mostly right, but didn't really inspire confidence they weren't going to collapse. I wondered how much of this was due to Alsop; she's clearly more a broad-brush emotive conductor rather than a precision/detailed one like e.g. Previn or Boulez. [...] I agree this is pretty ropey Tchaik - about 5 minutes of music stretched to fill over 20). I was impressed by the strings though - there were loads of lovely subtle stresses and swells, and the last movement scurrying was beautifully precise. I also think their leader/concert-master is excellent - I've seen him guest-leading the LSO a couple of times, and he does seem to project an immense level of authority (I much prefer him to Nikolitch).

As for orchestral playing so far, I would place Budapest out in front (even though the interpretation was quite different from my preference) along with the AAM/ECO/RAM forces on Tuesday, and the Hickox's City of London next.

Well, I don't mind a little disagreement, but my guess is we agree largely, since all I heard last night was the Francesca da Rimini, so I missed the progressive collapse of orchestral discipline later on. Unfortunately we don't receive BBC 4 out here in the lowly lands so I couldn't tell about Alsop's directing - and I won't be able to see Grimaud up close come Sunday (though I did see her in Concertgebouw concerts a couple times).

So who is the current Bournemouth leader? My remark about the Bournemouth being being the best orchestra so far, is on second thought fairly meaningless (hey, this is the internet!), since I missed out on the Budapest and the other one's you mention. I guess I meant to say I really liked what I heard, compared to the BBC orchestras I'd been hearing, and compared to the recordings I have of FdR. I'm ready to be banned for my sins though.

Herman

[GrahamN]

...would seem as clear as that for 45-minute deployment of WMD in Iraq ;)

The leader last night was Duncan Riddell - looks American, but with a name like that I would guess is Scottish. Henry may know more about him, as they're his local band. If the critics have not been entirely on the whacky-baccy, tonight should also be really good; Elder has really pulled the Halle out of their doldrums (he was in charge of ENOpera in their glory days in the early '80s), and his Elgar is supposed to be superb.

Off topic - how do you rate the Concertgebouw ATM. I've seen them in a few concerts over the last year or two (although none with Chailly - he was ill last year) and they've generally disappointed too, sounding like a once great orchestra with a bit of an identity-crisis. OK, Inbal had only flown in that afternoon (as a replacement for Chailly to do Mahler 3), but they really didn't gel with Rostropovich (in Shosta 5) - I missed their Haitink concert here in May. The view from London ( ;) ) is that with Rattle/BPO still finding their feet (and we'll see how well they're doing next month) the current world order is 1) VPO 2) LSO 3) BPO 4) the rest!!

[GrahamN]

Originally posted by GrahamN
If the critics have not been entirely on the whacky-baccy, tonight should also be really good; Elder has really pulled the Halle out of their doldrums (he was in charge of ENOpera in their glory days in the early '80s), and his Elgar is supposed to be superb.

Well if they were on the whacky-baccy, so am I - at last a world-class full-orchestra concert :banana: . I'd forgotten that Alice Coote was singing in the first half. Her Berlioz had everything that Frittoli's Strauss was missing - beautiful tone, and a deeply felt interpretation wonderfully communicated :respect: . Now someone really ought to sort out her wardrobe - she appeared to be wearing a bright orange beach-towel and had clearly lost her hairbrush :confused: . And the Elgar was played with gravitas, passion, and consummate skill - I'm sure Lordsummit would absolutely hate it (such a shame they're his local band :p ). For one glorious example, just listen to the last two clarinet notes of the slow movement - there's a beautiful legato transition between the two, elevated by an aching hesitation, followed by a passionate bloom to the second note :notworthy . (Such a shame the Classic FM audience was in the seats clapping at every possible occasion - although even they couldn't ruin that moment.) It's repeated on BBC4 even later tonight at 01:30 BST, and on Radio 3 at 14:05 on Thursday - ignore the commission the concert starts with - it's only 4 1/2 minutes long (and completely pointless, as far as I could see).

[themadhippy]

oo you snob:D watched a bit of it on bbc4 (whoever was doing the front of house calls needs some lessons on politness:mad: )anyway they were interviewing the conductor , i belive ,and they asked him about the claping and hes all for it,recons its olny a british thing, that started after the second world war.

[Herman]

Yeah, the way Elder and Ms Coote did Nuits d'Eté was very very enjoyable (and isn't a beach towel just fine for that kind of music?); and I have to snobbily agree that the applause was a bit intrusive. Obviously it's a mark of appreciation, but also of nervousness.

I didn't mind the opening piece either. Elgar, again, was performed wonderfully. Personally I find the 1st a bit of a snooze, but, hey, I'm not a red-blooded Briton.

I'll try to respond to the (guest) conductor / orchestra question later in the day. Just let me say your World Order of Orchestras is a little Londini- and Eurocentric. You'd need at least the Cleveland there, and the Concertgebouw - but that goes without saying.

Herman

[cookiemonster]

Thicko question alert:rolleyes:

I watched it on BBC4 last night, and for the life of me can't remember the name of the encore piece that Elder/Halle performed. I'm familiar with it, but not sure what it is called?

thank you

[GrahamN]

Originally posted by cookiemonster
Thicko question alert:rolleyes:
Not at all - there were many experienced concert-goers in the Arena who couldn't name it. At least I guessed the composer correctly (Eric Coates - of Dambusters' March fame) - unlike one 'authority' who thought it was a "Pomp and Circumstance" March :newbie: . The closest on-the-night identification I know of was "Knightsbridge March", the theme to "In Town Tonight".

It was actually a march called "Calling All Workers", written in 1940, and frequently used for newsreel films showing the doughty resilience and industry of yer' averidge Brit in the face of adversity.

[cookiemonster]

Thanks Graham. I didn't have a clue what the piece was. I remember now though that it was Coates, from the commentary that evening, now that you have mentioned the name. Will have to hunt for that somewhere, very enjoyable

BTW - did you saunter on down last night. I thought Grimaud (sp?) was excellent - probably some may disagree - really fiesty on the ivory - loved watching her play the energetic concerto - nice piece. (Pretty too :) but Janine Jansen is still my fave:MILD: )

I'm curious to find out about the 'Transmigration of Souls' piece by JA if anybody went down last night - Graham? - in particular what the 'surround sound' was like and whether it 'worked' or not? Regarding the music - my mother rang after the first 2 mins, so i ended up missing the bloody thing - after i'd sat there all night watching the others, in anticipation of that one. I suspected before and was inclined to think after those 2 mins that i would not like it - but i just wanted to check it out anyway, being a fairly 'important' recent commision. What was the general audience reaction?

cheers

[tones]

Originally posted by GrahamN
Not at all - there were many experienced concert-goers in the Arena who couldn't name it. At least I guessed the composer correctly (Eric Coates - of Dambusters' March fame) - unlike one 'authority' who thought it was a "Pomp and Circumstance" March :newbie: . The closest on-the-night identification I know of was "Knightsbridge March", the theme to "In Town Tonight".

It was actually a march called "Calling All Workers", written in 1940, and frequently used for newsreel films showing the doughty resilience and industry of yer' averidge Brit in the face of adversity.

Naxos do quite a nice CD with Coates's stuff. Speaking of that era, I once employed a South African girl in Oz as a trainee patent attorney. She was married but on her application form, her maiden name was given as "Ketelby". "Aha," said I, "like the composer." "Aha, " she said, "great uncle Alfred [or was it Albert?]" She regretted that none of great uncle's mullah had come the way of the South African branch of the family.

[GrahamN]

There's quite a revival in respect for British light (and film) music going on now - maybe now that there's so little of it on R2, snobs like me ( ;) ) are allowed to enjoy it a bit more. Seem to be a number of recordings of Coates around (Hyperion are keen on this as well as the Naxos Tones mentions) - googling brings up a fair bit of info. It also appears that "Calling All Workers" was played at least twice a day during WW2 in motivational music progammes.

I've now seen Grimaud three times, and each time it's been the same. A rather lacklustre first movement has woken up during a deep/emotional 2nd to lead into a pretty good 3rd. Maybe the audible heavy breathing, grunting and general groaning in which she indulges in the slow movements does something to her (or would that be to me :) ). I have to say though that overall this was probably the least lively performance of this concerto of the 3 or 4 I've heard. While I'm a great Adams fan, I have to admit that while he's great at conducting his own music, he really has little to nothing to say in that of other composers (the Haydn was mind-numbingly tedious) - although he may be tolerable in Ives and his successors.

The Adams? - probably one of the least successful pieces of his I've heard, considered purely as music. Was pretty good as an experience though. The surround stuff works very well in the RAH, with speakers up around the gallery. With the victims' roll-call, I was reminded very much of the Children's Memorial at Yad Vashem, the quotations from Ives' "Unanswered Question" were quite evocative, and the ranks of the choir stacked up way above the orchestra is always effective. So - fair effort, but not expected to have a long shelf-life - certainly not Pullitzer Prize material. General reaction from the regulars? - mawkish, sentimental trash. Germaine Greer was very noticably not applauding - but she'd made up her mind it was rubbish even before hearing it.

[HenryT]

Originally posted by Herman
I was rather disturbed by the BBC presenter's attempt to "sex up" the pre-talk by saying Tchakovsky commited suicide because of his passionate homosexual feelings or something. This is a myth. Tchaikovsky drank contiminated water and that was it. This has been conclusively researched, and I don't understand why there's people who think Tchaikovsky's music will get even better if you talk about his tragic suicide.I didn't realise that there is now a universally accepted version of events behind the cause of Tchaikovsky's death. I was surprised, as you were, to hear the presenter talk with such non-doubting authority as the cause of the maestro's demise. There are various sources I've heard which claim that Tchaikovsky drank the water "knowing" that it was contaminated - hence why suicide is cited as the cause of death by some?



Missed most of Saturday's Prom, but managed to make it home in time to catch the whole of Elgar's 1st. I've not heard many performances of this piece to date, but it was a work that instantly appealed to me when I first heard it a few years back performed by William Boughton and the English Symphony Orchestra. Seems like quite a difficult piece to bring off effectively, as in some performance I've heard it seems a bit too drawn out and protracted, something to do with keep the tension at just the right level before the release at the last moment in the finally, but not going too over in the middle?

I couldn't name the Encore that Elder and the Halle played either until I heard the radio commentator say what it was. Strangely enough I thought of the Knightsbridge March too. The encore should be familiar to all avid attendee's of the Halle's concerts under Elder this year, according to our friendly Radio 3 announcer, because they have played the Coates as an encore at the end of most of their recent concerts. Which rather might explain the excess of cheering and applause in between the movements of the Elgar, an expectancy and appreciation by over-committed Halle-ans?!

The Bartok Piano concerto in Sunday's Prom was much more to my taste, so first point to Bartok at last. Interesting that I found the first movement less interesting (I found it a bit too chordal in texture), and Graham commenting that it wasn't such a good performance. The piece did seem to improve as it went along, again I thought it was just my appreciation rather the quality of the performance. Despite listening to the concert on Radio 3 for the majority of the time, I did just switch on BBC4 out of curiosity to check-out Ms Grimaud so that I see what the fuss was all about! ;) By the way, was it me, or was there a somewhat obvious clanger in the form of a somewhat unintentionally discordant wrong note during the 2nd movement?

As for Adams's "On the Transmigration of Souls", I really enjoyed wallowing in this one. It was certainly more of an "experience" than an appreciation of a piece of music in the conventional sense. "Mawkish" and "sentimental" would seem to be apt words, but used in a totally non-derogatory context as far as I'm concerned. I don't know what the Promers in the hall or television viewers saw visually, if anything, but listening on the radio was certainly an almost un-nerving experience in the sense that as I listened, I was imagining the piece as being the soundtrack backdrop to a factitious documentary film showing mainly still images recounting the events of 9-11. In December of last year I spent a few days in New York, and visited Ground Zero out of a fascinated morbid curiosity. So for me I guess, the piece evoked a lot of just plain obvious connections and associations to the news coverage from September 2001 and the first hand experiences of the still evident signs of destruction at Ground Zero a year and a half on. The dissenters then were I'm guessing mainly complaining of the lack of deeper intellectual structure to untangle or some other aesthetic originality to tickle their grey cells with. I'm sure the idea was more to be able to convey a simply set of messages which could be understood by the many, this simple minded peasant enjoyed the ride anyway. :)

[Herman]

Did anybody attend last week's Prom with the Youth Rochestra / Tortelier performing the Prokofiev Fifth? I happened to see it on TV, and thought it was ably played, however a little undercharacterized. They played the notes but not (always) the music. This is something to be hashed out in rehearsals. Aren't the youth orchestra and the conductor supposed to get together for an unusually long time to work on this Prom performance?

Or am I just too harsh?

Herman

[GrahamN]

Possibly a touch harsh. Remember that they do have a maximum age of 19 (so are a step below e.g. the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester). Because they are so good though, we do tend to treat them on a par with a reasonable professional orchestra.

I believe they rehearsed for about 2 weeks before this concert (and one at Snape a day or two previously).

I only caught the last part of the last movement, and from what little I heard, I would actually agree with you about some bits being a bit flat. The comment I've seen so far has been fairly evenly split between your view and the "weren't they fantastic" comments they normally get - although the adverse comments were probably more directed at Tortelier.

Was at last year's Mahler 8 and the previous year's Turangalila and they were superb on both those occasions. Maybe they just needed a bigger symphony to really shine!

[Herman]

Oh yes, but I would blame the conductor for this lack of "Slavic sentiment" in the big string bits, comic notes in the wood winds and brutal accents in the brass. Not the orchestra. It's his job to ask for characterization, especially when the orchestra hasn't been exposed to this kind of material before. So I wonder what Mr T has been doing those two weeks. Practice his glare in the mirror? (Harsh again?) Incidentally I thought the flute girl was one of the best.

Herman

[tones]

Originally posted by HenryT
I didn't realise that there is now a universally accepted version of events behind the cause of Tchaikovsky's death. I was surprised, as you were, to hear the presenter talk with such non-doubting authority as the cause of the maestro's demise. There are various sources I've heard which claim that Tchaikovsky drank the water "knowing" that it was contaminated - hence why suicide is cited as the cause of death by some?




Henry, I think the main problem with Pete was not his homosexuality, but the fact that he was a manic-depressive. Basically, part of him enjoyed being miserable. I'm no psychiatrist, but I've heard that this made suicide very unlikely in his case, as that would end the misery/enjoyment. Drinking the water was unwise, but I'm led to believe that it wasn't a deliberate attempt at suicide (there are, after all, many much more immediate ways to do that).

It's intriguing that such a tortured soul could produce such wonderful music. I regard Tchaikovsky as the greatest writer of melodies that has ever existed.

[Herman]

Originally posted by tones
It's intriguing that such a tortured soul could produce such wonderful music. I regard Tchaikovsky as the greatest writer of melodies that has ever existed.

Yes! He's certainly in the top five. (How about Dvorak, Schubert and Mozart?)

Belle au Bois Dormant, aka The Sleeping Beauty is one of the greatest long pieces of music around. Lots of gorgeous tunes, fabulous instrumentation and great structure.

People were going crazy when BBD premiered. They went every single night, and wept in the streets because of this astounding Russian Gesamtkunstwerk (admittedly Russians love weeping in the streets, same thing with the Shostakovich symphonies).

Herman

[Rodrigo de Sá]

About Tchaikovsky’s (or Çiaikowski, or whatever way his name is really spelt) I once watched a TV program that suggested the following.

Apparently Tchaikovsky wasn’t ashamed of his homosexuality as such; but he felt disgusted because of his uncontrollable urge to seek young male prostitutes in the slums of Moscow, almost every night. Now it seems that you can catch cholera by kissing an infected person (or was it oral sex? I don’t quite remember).

Be that what it may, it seems there were a lot of inconsistencies about his brother’s story – the polluted water one, and there were reasons to hide the real cause of his death.

I’m probably mixing stories now (Wilde and Çiaik), but I think Çiaik. was threatened because of a relation with a very highly placed aristocrat.

This is a muddled post, I know. Anyway, it seems the glass of water story is rather flawed.

More, anyone?

P.S.: The gay lobby is now trying to identify Händel as a homo, too. Gay musicians (there are a lot of them – and lesbians, too – in early music, I can’t imagine why) are very fond of this interpretation. But the gay lobby would like every influent person to be homosexual, so I don’t really believe this. The article was published in Journal I don’t read (Gay and Lesbian Musicians Quarterly, or something like that), so I cannot comment any further.

P.P.S.: This is a completely futile post. I just ramble and make no contribution whatever. Must be the heat!

[Rodrigo de Sá]

Originally posted by Herman
Yes! He's certainly in the top five. (How about Dvorak, Schubert and Mozart?)

Belle au Bois Dormant, aka The Sleeping Beauty is one of the greatest long pieces of music around. Lots of gorgeous tunes, fabulous instrumentation and great structure.

People were going crazy when BBD premiered. They went every single night, and wept in the streets because of this astounding Russian Gesamtkunstwerk (admittedly Russians love weeping in the streets, same thing with the Shostakovich symphonies).

Herman

When I was about 8 my parents took me to see Swan Lake; I was stunned. I couldn't take it out of my head for weeks and was immensely impressed by the end - the drowning prince and such incredible music.

Also, I can still - not having listened it for at least 20 years - the haunting beggining of the 2nd piano concerto (and the first, of course, but so can everybody).

Combining the musical and personal treads on Çiaikovski, I learned, rather early (in Hugo Riemann's dictionary, if I'm not mistaken), of his homossexuality. That actually prevented me from being a homophobe later during adolescence: a man who could write such beauties must have had a beautiful soul.

Regarding melody, yes, I agree: Ciaik, Schubert, Mozart, but let's not forget Bach (even if his melody is rather 'counterpointy' - but see the middle mov. of the Italian Concerto, for instance) and also Schumann: his Lieder are among the most beautiful melodies I ever heard.

[Herman]

Why don't we just drop the issue whether and how Tchaikovksy was gay / depressive / or something else? Half of what he wrote is absolutely gorgeous, and the same, incidentally, goes for Schubert, Mozart and Dvorak - i.e. they just had to create music, even if they weren't totally ready for it.

All these guys had weird stuff going on. Perhaps the mistake we make is we are so citified and monitored we don't realize how weird people are.

Apart from the beautiful music I just can't forget the picture of Tchaikovsky at his favorite sister's place, while he was composing the Belle Au Bois D material and he was showing his little cousins what it was going to look like. I.e. he was singing his stuff and doing weird amateur pirouettes. Isn't that just wonderful?

Herman

[Rodrigo de Sá]

Herm:

I understand what you say and, in fact, agree with you. But the homossexuality bit is rather important as it lead many critics to consider his music 'minor', which just happens not to be true.

The same, by the way, happened (to a far lesser extent) with the last Schumann. He was loosing his mind, and some pianists - Kempff, for one - didn't play his last pieces just because they 'stemmed from a deranged mind'.

Now homossexuality was thought to be a perversion, a serious trouble of the mind - much as paedophilia is considered today. His music was therefore considered under a bad light.

It is, therefore, important to say that his music should be considered by itself.

And, anyway, we are all gossipers: why do we pry into someone's biography? Therefore, although I think the matter may be dropped, it is entirely natural that it came up.

[Herman]

Originally posted by RdS
I understand what you say and, in fact, agree with you. But the homossexuality bit is rather important as it lead many critics to consider his music 'minor', which just happens not to be true.

Before that time German-music professors and critics used the 'fact' that Tch. was so 'Russian' as a handle to put Tch.'s music down - his counterpoint was not too great, he worked better outside the sonata form and hey, didya ever notice J.S. Bach fathered sixteen children (or whatever) and Tchaikovsky none? So that's why his music was 'hysterical' (i.e. effeminate) and he committed suicide in the end. German music wins! That basically is the subtext of the kind of criticism you're referring to, and I don't see why any of it is 'important' in any way. It's just nationalism in musicological guise. It tells us nothing about the music, and shows that, at the time, music criticism wasn't too much about the muisc either.

Herman

[Rodrigo de Sá]

Originally posted by Herman
Before that time German-music professors and critics used the 'fact' that Tch. was so 'Russian' as a handle to put Tch.'s music down - his counterpoint was not too great, he worked better outside the sonata form and hey, didya ever notice J.S. Bach fathered sixteen children (or whatever) and Tchaikovsky none? So that's why his music was 'hysterical' (i.e. effeminate) and he committed suicide in the end. German music wins! That basically is the subtext of the kind of criticism you're referring to, and I don't see why any of it is 'important' in any way. It's just nationalism in musicological guise. It tells us nothing about the music, and shows that, at the time, music criticism wasn't too much about the muisc either.

Herman

You are certainly right concerning xenophobia in German musicologists. The best example I can think of is Vivaldi’s ‘L’Estro Armonico’. As you know for sure, Bach transcribed a lot of the pieces for organ solo and even for 4 harpsichords and orchestra.

Now, more than once, I’ve read that Bach has made serious music out of very simple one. The Vivaldi concertos were supposed to be crap, but when Bach transcribed them he modified to such an extent as to render them sublime music.

Only thing is: listen to the Vivaldi originals and to Bach’s transcriptions. They are just that: transcriptions. One might say perhaps that the handwriting of Bach enriches the work – that is about all there is in terms of difference. Of course there are differences, orchestral writing and organ writing are different, and Bach abhorred vacuum. But the aural effect is quite similar, and I think (with a single exception) that Bach remained quite close to Vivaldi’s originals.

So, to that extent, it is true that many German musicologists seem extremely stupid, conceited and plainly arrogant.

But Ciaick is another matter. Compare his academic prestige with Mussorgski’s. Mussorgski was an alcoholic, but everybody recognizes the value of his music. Ciaik is considered decadent and frivolous. As you say, effeminate, unGerman, but I still think the tonic (or the dominant? – bad pun) is on effeminate and superficial. (the claims on lack of structure are, perhaps, true, and I personally do miss it, but then, structure was dissolving more and more in the 19th Century).

That’s why I think it is important to reveal the real reason for abusing Ciaik’s music.

If we were talking about Rachmaninov, I would hold the same kind of argument. People decried him because he was a romantic throwback, but his music is still phenomenally interesting and beautiful. These are extra-musical considerations which should be ignored and denounced. Same thing with Ciaik.

P.S.: I'm going to be without the internet for about a fortnight. So if you answer this and I don't reply immediately, that only means I am away.

[Herman]

I guess Tchaikovsky's huge popular success may have been another reason why he is derided for being hysterical and superficial at the same time. However his influence on major 20th C composers has been tremendous - close to the way Beethoven influenced all German composers in the previous century, either in what they did, or what they stayed clear of.

Stravinsky had a picture of Tchaikovksy on his desk. Shostakovich tried to emulate his big tunes all the time (just as Rachmaninov did). The choreographer Balanchine: his entire life and work was an attempt to recreate the magic of the time when he was a boy in the original pre-Rev Sleeping Beauty.

Of course the funny thing is so much of Tchaikovsky's lyricism is linked to Robert Schumann's*. Just like Shostakovich tries to write one more Tchaikovsky melody in homage to the true master, there's stuff in Tchaikovsky that's almost quotes of Schumann melodies Schumann never got to write - the ultimate tribute. Perhaps the best example is the wonderful slow passage in c minor just before the development section, starting with a solo in the clarinet, taken over by the piano solo. After some hushed strings the whole kaboodle rushes up, and the theme turns into a soprano melody in B flat minor (in the piano and the woodwinds) and you're smack in the middle of a posthumous Schumann piano cto. Love it.

Herman

*OK he went crazy, but at least he was straight and German.

[GrahamN]

End-of-term party (AKA "The Last Night") tonight. To summarise, it's been an interesting season; not a lot of out-and-out stunners, but several pretty good ones, and just a few howlers.

One of the high points was actually on Thursday: Tones/Titian's local band, the Zurich Tonhalle. They actually tried the "Coals to Newcastle" bit, bringing Elgar to the Proms with Yo-Yo Ma - and I guess his fan-club were part of the reason for the huge turn-out with several hundreds not getting in. The Elgar was not at all bad, maybe a bit slushy but certainly deep-felt. I've actually never seen an orchestra quite so involved in the music themselves as this lot. In particular, the strings front desks were playing together as if in chamber music (and I concentrated particularly on the 2nds co-leader - very easy on the eye) - to watch the 2nds and violas playing catch with the figurations in "Ballet of the Chickens in their Shells"(?) from "Pictures at an Exhibition" was quite wonderful. They also seemed to really enjoy being here - I heard a back-stage report that they felt even more appreciated here than on their home ground; they clearly enjoyed the sort of "hi y'all" in Swizzerdeutch they got from the Arena :D. And to cap it all, they were cheeky enough to give us a very good "Pomp and Circumstance" march (No 4) as an encore.

The Swiss having fun? Shurely shome mishtake! (I can hear passports being rescinded as I type!)

Anyway, must run shortly to avoid losing my place in the queue :rolleyes: , I'll post up some more bouquets and brickbats later.

[HenryT]

Hi Graham,

Looks like you managed to get yourself a very good spot then. 3rd row of promenaders, just slightly off centre towards the cello side of stage! :D Or at least someone who looked very much like you that I kept on spotting on the numerous camera pans around the arena last night. Swaying to the beat along with a wink at the camera during the Sailor's Hornpipe!! :ffrc:

[GrahamN]

Yep, that's where I was. Not sure about the "wink at the camera" though - I do remember peering around to look at the orchestra leader to get an idea of where the beat was though as it was impossible to hear anything above the rather poorly synchronised clapping that was the audience participation at that time.

Overall quite a good evening - not deep and meaningful, but that's not what it's about. Gheorghiu was great in the "Jewel Song" and the "Habanera" (and I got a nice eyeful of quite a lot of leg as she bent down to pick something up) - although I was less impressed by her other songs (given that she's supposed to be the best soprano in the world at the moment). Really liked the commission in the first half - although lots of it was quite a rehash of Bernstein's 1st symphony and "On the Town" - and the "Polovtsian Dances" is always good and rousing when the full choral version is used - even if the performance wasn't quite as dynamic and incisive as it could have been.

My favourites of the season:
- Strauss Rosenkavalier excerpts, made espercially poignant as it was Anne Evans' final "gig".
- Halle/Elder Elgar 1st symphony
- Andrew Manze AAM/EC Handel Dixit Dominus
- ENO/Daniel Prokofiev War and Peace. Seemed only about half the 4 hours I was standing for, so that says volumes on its own.
- Musiciens du Louvre/Minkowski playing dances from obscure 18th cent operas by Rameau, and with Anne Sofie von Otter singing arias from Handel's Ariodante.
- Vanska/Lahti playing Sibelius' 3rd Symphony. Absolutely revelatory. Colin Davis gets deserved plaudits for his Sibelius (particularly in this one), but this was in a different league - with shades of light and shade Davis' more muscular approach flattens out.

Others that I really enjoyed
- The "Late Junction" prom
- BBCSO/Runnicles doing Strauss' "Elektra"
- the "British Film Music" prom, with some wonderful film scores mostly from the '30s and '40s, and particularly the superbly dark music written by Sir Arthus Bliss for Korda's 1935 film on HGWells' "The Shape of Things to Come"
- Barenboim's "West-Eastern Divan Orchestra" playing Beethoven's "Eroica". This mixed Youth Orchestra of Israeli-Jewish and Arabs from all over the Middle East played with genuine skill and musicianship, and Barenboim does a very good Eroica. Maybe missing the last in depth and energy, but one of the most committed performances this year.
- Rattle/BPO "Rite of Spring" - magical/mysterious rather than visceral, but very involving
- Rattle/BPO "Heldenleben" - again a love or hate reaction from most, but he took away some of the overweening bombast and showed be subtleties I'd not heard before (despite some rather dodgy playing in places)
- Beethoven 7 from Harding/Bremen
- Britten Sinfonia doing Thea Musgrave's "Helios"
- Tonhalle concert - for their infectious enthusiasm
- most of the Tchaikovsky :eek: as in:
- 4th symph from Pittsburg/Jansons, as their rather dry approach toned down the overwrought hysteria that so puts me off this piece
- 5th symphony from BBCPhil/Sinaisky: genial and entrancing rather than soupy and sentimental
- Manfred from CBSO: wonderfully committed performance of one of his more uneven pieces, gorgeous in the first 3 movements, but nothing can redeem the banality of the first few minutes of the last - rivalling Shostakovich

Big disappointments
- having to work on bank holiday Monday rather than seeing Colin Davis and the LSO do Berlioz' Trojans :mad:
- Adams "On the Transmigration of Souls"
- Frittoli singing Strauss' "4 last songs"
- Slatkin/BBCSO Vaughan Williams "London" Symphony. Slatkin is one of the best RVW conductors in the world, but this was all a bit ordinary and really didn't stir the cockles. He and the BBCSO really don't lilke each other.
- Gergiev/Rotterdam Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique. This was quite the worst performance of SF I've heard. The orchestra was really lacklustre, it sounded like only the front desks of the string section were playing, and the interpretation was the most mundane I've come across. For the first time ever it sounded like a disjointed and banal piece to me.
- Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: clearly very competent and make a lovely noise, but so unengaged with what they were doing.
- "The Clerks' Group". Some lovely music by Josquin des Prez, Busnois, Tye and Byrd, and some excellent new motets by Robert Saxton ruined by some dreadfully ordinary/appalling voices.

and easily the worst....
"The Bach Choir of Bethlehem" (that's Pennsylvania not Palestine). I'd be surprised if they were any better than our local choral society. Truly appalling in the first Bach cantata they tried (and the soloists were little better), and I have no ideas what they were like in the second as I'd walked out by then.