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Tony Watson
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« on: 23:22:05, 16-08-2007 » |
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The funeral march was very interesting. I don't think the Grieg Piano Concerto deserves the sort of bashing it's been getting in some places recently. I'd read that bit that was mentioned this evening about how it was just a filler that never got played for the Schumann concerto on LPs. That's a new one on me. And I'm not saying that Joyce Grenfell was the ultimate authority on these things but I remember her saying how wonderful it must have been for those who heard it the first time. (On Face the Music, to which the panel replied that there's a first time for everyone.) At least the clap along in the second encore was nipped in the bud. This isn't an ice dancing competition.  |
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eruanto
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« Reply #1 on: 23:27:50, 16-08-2007 » |
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I'm afraid the leader of the orchestra enticed the clappers by beating her bow on the music stand...
defining feature of this concert: the yell of FOUNTAIN!!! just before the Walton. Apparently it had not at that point been switched off. Gave everyone a shock though.
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Bryn
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« Reply #2 on: 23:36:39, 16-08-2007 » |
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 Click on me. No, not the text, the emoticon.
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Tony Watson
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« Reply #3 on: 23:53:21, 16-08-2007 » |
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Warning - weak joke coming up:
The second half ended with the Hall of the Mountain King and started with a plea to call off the fountain thing.
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eruanto
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« Reply #4 on: 23:55:13, 16-08-2007 » |
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 I assume it was announced that the second encore was un-conducted?? Great fun.
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Alison
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« Reply #5 on: 23:57:38, 16-08-2007 » |
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Youre on form tonight Toneeee.
A mind refreshed by the summer holidays and the knowledge that LCFC
have a League Cup tie with Forest.
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Tony Watson
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« Reply #6 on: 00:05:01, 17-08-2007 » |
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Youre on form tonight Toneeee.
A mind refreshed by the summer holidays and the knowledge that LCFC
have a League Cup tie with Forest.
It's more likely to be the couple of glasses of wine I've had, Aleeee. As for Forest, I assume the rivalry between the fans is still intense. Damp squib against Blackpool. |
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Notoriously Bombastic
Posts: 181
Never smile at the brass
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« Reply #7 on: 00:05:21, 17-08-2007 » |
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It felt quite restrained all round? The concerto wasn't played extravagently, although the 3/4 at the end was quasi Porsche.
I'm used to the brass ensemble version of the march (PJBE) so the extra percussion shading was interesting. Trombones were rather direct in the bass solo, which hid the trumpets' efforts at a warmer sound on rotary instruments.
A shame it degenerated into Last Night territory at the end.
NB
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HtoHe
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« Reply #8 on: 00:30:18, 17-08-2007 » |
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I don't think the Grieg Piano Concerto deserves the sort of bashing it's been getting in some places recently. I'd read that bit that was mentioned this evening about how it was just a filler that never got played for the Schumann concerto on LPs. That's a new one on me. It's a bit rude, but a visit to the Virgin Megastore website reveals that, of the 58 recordings of the concerto they list, a massive 17 have it coupled with the Robert Schumann work. Only Tchaikovsky (presumably the first concerto) comes close, sharing with Grieg on 3 discs. In my own modest collection both recordings of the Grieg concerto are on discs I've bought for the Schumann. I don't dislike the work but I couldn't put my hand on my heart and say I'd have bought the Grieg (or the Clara Schumann) concerto for its own sake. I have at least eight recordings of the Robert S concerto. That said, though, Virgin still offers 41 recordings of the Grieg concerto without the RS so to say it's *just* a filler is clearly nonsense. I missed the first half of tonight's prom but I thought they gave a good account of the Walton Symphony. Even the smart-arse who couldn't wait to clap didn't spoil it. |
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Ruth Elleson
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« Reply #9 on: 09:34:04, 17-08-2007 » |
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Warning - weak joke coming up:
The second half ended with the Hall of the Mountain King and started with a plea to call off the fountain thing.
...or, alternatively, an appeal to the King of the Hall Fountain. |
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Oft hat ein Seufzer, deiner Harf' entflossen,
Ein süßer, heiliger Akkord von dir
Den Himmel beßrer Zeiten mir erschlossen,
Du holde Kunst, ich danke dir dafür!
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Tony Watson
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« Reply #10 on: 12:36:31, 17-08-2007 » |
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Talking of premature applause (someone was a little too quick to start clapping after the Walton) I was reading today about a new set of Haydn's symphonies 88 to 92 by Rattle and the Berlin PO. Apparently there are two versions of the last movement of the 90th with its false ending: one with the audience clapping too soon and then laughing, and another with all that edited out.
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Ruth Elleson
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« Reply #11 on: 12:47:34, 17-08-2007 » |
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Oh really? That's a shame. That's what false endings are for, surely  |
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Oft hat ein Seufzer, deiner Harf' entflossen,
Ein süßer, heiliger Akkord von dir
Den Himmel beßrer Zeiten mir erschlossen,
Du holde Kunst, ich danke dir dafür!
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Tony Watson
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« Reply #12 on: 14:28:13, 17-08-2007 » |
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But you can choose which ending you want to listen to and I would have thought the premature clapping and laughter would grow tiresome on repeated listening.
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #13 on: 15:00:19, 17-08-2007 » |
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Well, I've listened to the first movement of the Walton, and I'm far from convinced I want to go any further. To paraphrase Bryn from the other place, it wasn't just the continuing fountain that rendered the start of the symphony wet; the performance just skated over the surface. In the first three movements of the symphony (each inspired by relationships with a different woman) the composer demonstrates that his understanding of symphonic structure is that it is emotional as well as academic, and that its architectural drive comes from tension and release. If a conductor fails to establish the tension, there's no way that the release can be exploited, and the whole edifice becomes belittled.
Last night's performance started almost jauntily, with the nervous, scratchy violin figure that provides so much of the rhythmic impetus tamed and emasculated. There was some very detailed phrasing from the cellos in particular, but with the impetus already out the window, the whole logic of the movement became irrelevent; the tension couldn't build to anything like breaking point, so the release was meaningless. In this case, muse No.1 was evidently a pussy-cat rather than a tigress.
Not for the first time this season, I had the impression that music I have known and loved ever since my teens was being sold decidedly short by its Proms performance.
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #14 on: 18:07:45, 17-08-2007 » |
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It didn't get much better, did it? I see that someone over at ToP described the scherzo as electrifying. Yes, that is what it should be, but it wasn't, not for my money. The whole thing seemed undercharacterised: flashes of detail better than I'd heard before, but nothing like enough to redeem a pretty average performance.
There you go Ali: you asked for it, or I'd not have let fly like that.
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