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tonybob
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« on: 13:04:31, 06-08-2007 » |
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britten's 'sinfonia da requiem' and mahler/cooke symphony no. 10.
anyone going?
i'm not.
london is so far away...
is it being televised?
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sososo s & i.
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BobbyZ
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« Reply #1 on: 13:26:57, 06-08-2007 » |
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Yes, BBC 4 tomorrow at 1930.
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Dreams, schemes and themes
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David_Underdown
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« Reply #2 on: 13:52:52, 06-08-2007 » |
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Will be doing both tomorrow.
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David
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harrumph
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« Reply #3 on: 11:57:44, 08-08-2007 » |
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I went; I'd have to say that from the (possibly rather unforgiving) perspective of a Choir seat behind the brass, the trumpets and horns were disappointing. Too many split notes for comfort, until I found myself flinching every time they raised their instruments to their lips. On the other hand, the principal flute deserves special praise for his beautifully expressive playing in the last movement of the Mahler.
And some prat in the audience made a very audible clinking sound during the last bar of the Mahler. I only hope he or she had the decency to commit hara-kiri after the concert.* Noseda looked almost distraught.
That was a particular pity, because the performance had by then achieved some genuine gravitas after a so-so (and I thought too slow) start. The Britten I enjoyed - again, it was slower than I would like, but nevertheless very taut rhythmically, with fine playing from the strings and the impressive battery of percussion.
*It is for just these reasons that I don't go to many concerts - at least on CDs they (usually) fix the orchestral blips, and you seldom get hooligans banging their beer bottles together in the most sublime moment of the music...
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« Last Edit: 12:03:10, 08-08-2007 by harrumph »
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eruanto
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« Reply #4 on: 13:35:29, 08-08-2007 » |
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This was the closest to tears I think I've ever got at a concert. Hearing a piece fully through for the first time is of course always speshool, but at the Proms with the prevailing intense atmosphere it was almost intolerable. Of course there was the unmissable "clink" at the end (champagne glass rather than beer bottle, I think, harrumph) from somewhere in the boxes. What would Volkov have done if that had happened during the Ninth? The record for the dirtiest look I've ever seen from a conductor to the audience (on the interruption of a mobile) goes to him. I wish I could have seen Noseda's distraughtness. On arriving home I heard that some people in the stalls were nodding off  . I sure hope the bass drum strikes woke them up with a shock similar to powerful electricity.  Interesting to read your comments regarding the trumpets and horns, harrumph. I think that not many would agree with you, as the trumpeter got the biggest cheer of them all. |
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Tony Watson
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« Reply #5 on: 23:08:59, 08-08-2007 » |
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One thing I've sometimes wondered. Is splitting notes amongst brass players more common in orchestras than it is in brass bands? Is that a fair comparison, with trumpet v cornets and different repertoire etc?
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Alison
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« Reply #6 on: 23:55:55, 08-08-2007 » |
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Good question Toneee. Do brass bands play works of the length of Mahler 10 ?
And do they repeat a programme many times over at different venues ?
I fancy orchestras face a much larger range of repertoire in a concert season.
There are more questions than answers Toneee.
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autoharp
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« Reply #7 on: 08:36:08, 09-08-2007 » |
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In the top octave of the (french) horn's register, the number of notes attainable without depressing any valves are twice that of other brass instruments' (normal) top octave. Result - easier to split notes on the horn.
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trained-pianist
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« Reply #8 on: 09:02:15, 09-08-2007 » |
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BobbyZ, Thank you for the information. I have BBC 4 now and if they translate this concert I am planning to listen.
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harrumph
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« Reply #9 on: 09:09:38, 09-08-2007 » |
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...Interesting to read your comments regarding the trumpets and horns, harrumph. I think that not many would agree with you, as the trumpeter got the biggest cheer of them all. And the reviewer in the Torygruff drew attention to the excellence of the trumpet and horn playing. Which surprised me, because it seemed all too fallible from where I sat. Maybe the low numbers in the first 5 rows of the West Choir just aren't very good seats. I hope I'm in the East choir for my other three Proms... there will be lots of brass in them, too! Since the orchestras include the Concertgebouw and the VPO, I'm hoping for great things  |
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« Last Edit: 09:11:10, 09-08-2007 by harrumph »
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George Garnett
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« Reply #10 on: 12:17:08, 09-08-2007 » |
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..... there will be lots of brass in them, too! Since the orchestras include the Concertgebouw and the VPO, I'm hoping for great things This is slightly off topic, for which apologies, but my excuse is that there are people here who will know the answer immediately . I assume that the VPO still use the extra difficult but extra beautiful Vienna horns? Does anyone else use them? |
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« Last Edit: 12:57:19, 09-08-2007 by George Garnett »
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oliver sudden
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« Reply #11 on: 12:43:41, 09-08-2007 » |
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If they change their horns before they change their employment practices there's something even wronger than there used to be...  No, I believe they still use the Wiener Hörner although I have a feeling not always for pieces where it would be simply too risky. That answer might have to do until NB drops by. |
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Tony Watson
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« Reply #12 on: 13:05:01, 09-08-2007 » |
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Don't a lot of horn players have "double" horns so that they can switch from a horn in F to one in B flat to help with the high notes?
I just have a hunch that one is more like to hear split notes in the brass in an orchestral concert than in a brass band one and there could be perfectly good reasons for that. I once knew a trumpet player who used to complain about Peter and the Wolf because it was a long time before he came in and then it was on a high note. That wouldn't happen in the bandstand in the park.
But then again, do brass players sometimes make heavy weather of their solos? I heard a recording of Stravinsky's Pulcinella on the radio and the trumpeter was making hard work of the famous tune in that. The announcer explained that it was because it was not in the orchestra's normal repertoire (was it the VPO?). But I would have thought it was reasonable enough for a professional.
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oliver sudden
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« Reply #13 on: 13:19:58, 09-08-2007 » |
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Was that Pulcinella or Petrushka perhaps? It can sometimes happen that an orchestral solo even if it doesn't go very high can lie awkwardly on the instrument, especially if written to be quite idiomatic for one instrument (cornet in Bb) but is played on another (rotary-valve trumpet in C perhaps)... I've never heard the Petrushka solo sound really easy in the orchestra.
It's unlikely that a band trumpet player for example would be required to hang on to top A for what seems like half an hour while the orchestra tries to wipe him off the stage with a horrible dissonance (as happens in Mahler 10), so anyone playing that piece has my full sympathy.
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Tony Watson
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« Reply #14 on: 13:24:33, 09-08-2007 » |
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I think it's Pulcinella. If it's in C, it would start C/CGGA/AEEF, all equal notes (quavers?).
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