Prom 17

Thursday 25 July

Phoarrrr!

This review says it all, and rightly gives a 5 star review. What an evening!

The shot below is just one of the encores...



 

Mezzo-soprano Clara Mouriz was making her Proms debut; tucked away in the midst of the orchestra, it can't have been too nerve-racking: all eyes were on the Antonio Marquez Company of dancers! No Shades of Grey here, but swirling colours, which dazzled the eye as the temperature rose, peaking in a sinuous, sexy Bolero. 

The first half was normal enough: a John McCabe BBC Commission world première, which was relatively innocuous. It would be interesting to see some statistics of how many times such commissions are ever played again - and how must it costs the BBC.

To a fellow Prommer who commented after that the brass sounded 'off' in LvB's 7th, this might explain it... though it sounded OK to me & others around me. This is my favourite LvB symphony, with wonderful images of a religious procession as it nears, then passes from view. Meanwhile, a query - was the music ever used for a television show on show-jumping? Or anything similar?

But the second half was the truly riveting experience! It's being shown on August 2nd, and DO watch it. Wonderful company, all with legs of steel. Phoarr!

Wagner....

Proms 14 & 15

Some people can't get enough - and others don't want to go there..

I admit it straight away: I am not a Barenboim fan. The adulation given him just because he was once married to a most excellent cellist is insufficient  for me. He's not my favourite conductor, nor my favourite pianist. There's too much 'Barenboim' between the man and the music. So - just when I finished taking on board a superb Die Walkure on Tuesday evening - I was disappointed to read this 
...especially after reading this:
Clemency Burton-Hill ‏@clemencybh 23 Jul

Ten minutes before @bbcproms curtain up, only @DBarenboim wd be hanging out outside smoking a cigar! #legend pic.twitter.com/cPb6AHTD4q

I'd gone to Das Rheingold the previous evening, but lasted only 45 minutes, thanks to the heat and crowds about the rail..there are LOT of people who bought weekly season tickets ONLY for the Wagner. They are mostly men.

The singing is excellent; the orchestra is utterly superlative.

Semyon Bychkov - one of my favourite conductors - is probably having to work harder because of the loss of his Tristan

I will listen in the comfort of my own home to some of the others - apart from Siegried, who is a boring numpty...

It's a great pity that we didn't have more Verdi....
 

Prom 16

Elgar, Bantock, Walton.... and Tchaikovsky...

BBC NOW, with Jac van Steen

Who would you rather have a drink with? Falstaff? Or Hamlet? Am I being picky when I think "Neither, thanks"? Falstaff, a drunken, sly, cozening liar... or the depressive Hamlet... Nope, sorry: I'll drink alone.  The Elgar was - well - very Elgar. A vivid image of the old buffoon was fondly created.

Bantock...every year, the cry goes up from a certain hard-core group: "Give us Bantock!" And, in dribs & drabs, they do. What to say? Well, there's a reason he's not played regularly. He's of his time; and Elgar & RVW did it much better. Sapphic Poems brought on Raphael Wallfisch, who duly obliged with the romantic swoops of scale - but it didn't do justice to this man's ability to play! The encore he played made poor Bantock shrink into insignificance...

http://www.raphaelwallfisch.com/ gives more detail on his wonderful cello

The Tchaikovsky was marred only by a bad dose of The Clap (see earlier entry); I do feel that it's up to the conductor, to a large extent, to control the audience enthusiasm. van Steen is young yet (for a conductor!), so I must hope that he learns this priceless ability in the next decade... He got a grip by the 3rd movement, though, and the pizzicato segued seamlessly to the finale.

Prom 13

The US National Youth Orchestra 

The reviews are glowing: all  three of them. And there's no doubt that this is a fresh band, full of enthusiasm. Their ages are from 16 to 19, and it's a representation of all the States. You can already hear the 'but', can't you? What was astonishing was that they've only been together for a mere 3 weeks, and have toured the States, and visited St Petersburg, playing in the 'White Nights' festival! So perhaps they just need time...

Briefly: Magiya (Sean Shepperd, BBC/Carnegie Hall co-commission, UK premiere) was interesting; I'd like to hear it again. A nod to Russian rhythms & magic..and at only 10 mins, left this listener content. And there aren't many BBC commission pieces of which one can say that..

The Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto - Joshua Bell (who's been accompanying the USNYO on tour) was excellent, & his 1713 'Huberman' Strad has a glorious tone, beautifully sweet. The story of this violin is the stuff of novels!




El Systema made their debut at the Hall with Shostakovitch's 10th (damm! I missed it...). The temperature in the Hall is supposed to fall by at least 10C with the playing of this symphony; but it didn't. DSCH is not a 'warm' symphonist: who better to convey this than a Russian (OK, Georgian) conductor? I missed much of a sense of fear & fright & I wondered, apart from playing in time, what Gergiev had been teaching them. Then I pondered on how on earth 16-19 year-old American kids, who aren't legally allowed in bars in most of the States, would know about political repression, and the fear of a dictator. Further thought brought the realisation that Gergiev was highly unlikely to have spoken about anything like that to them...

What saved the evening was their encore, a medley from Gershwin's Porgy & Bess This was truly exciting, with swing, pizzazz, and real feel for the music they were playing. Next concert should be American composers, then: Copeland - and why do we never hear Hovhaness live??

Intermission notes

Not yet ready for Stockhausen...

...which was the Late Night offering on Friday 19 July!

But we do enjoy Sophie Bevan's wonderful voice at the first Saturday Matinee Cadogan Hall Prom! Together with the talents of the Academy of Ancient Music, this was a delight throughout. And the Cadogan Hall enjoys air-conditioning - a boon on a sweltering Saturday afternoon in Chelsea!

A review - not altogether glowing...http://www.bachtrack.com/review-bbc-proms-saturday-matinee-1-aam-handel-corelli-valentini

The second evening of Santa Cecilia & Sir Tony Pappano didn't have the joyous quality of the previous night. This was, in great part, thanks to a very rude man, well past his first flush of youth (& getting past the second fast too..) who imagined he saw a space on the rail in Bay 18, and barged to it, mooring himself fast. This despite evidence there was no room, & others were there. His party appeared to be esconced in an entirely different bay. This is 'not done', & bad manners. He was obviously a 'day ticket' man, & 'there for the experience'. Gallery behaviour varies from the superb to the asinine - but a basic requirement, if you're in the day queue, is to ASK if there's a space on the rail.

The BBC seem unable or unwilling to define what behaviour is acceptable in Gallery or Arena (though inexperienced Redcoats will try to give the Season Ticket holders an ear-bashing, and then ignore the picnics all about them): I think I may Tweet this page! It applies especially to all those with severe doses of The Clap, afflicted during the Tchaikovsky Symphony No.4 (Prom 16)... Even Radio3 has a section on when to clap: perhaps the Proms team could make use of it in their £4 programmes...

It's a shame that this evening of Verdi music was 'bitty'. I'd have much preferred a full-on performance of the wonderful Requiem - yes, I know we had it last year, but - Lord! - don't we have to endure Beethoven's bloody Ninth every year? And didn't Pappano & the Santa Cecilia release a much-lauded recording not that long ago?

The cider in the Uni bar was good, though; and it's a pleasure that the price for joining is still a most reasonable £1.00. And we met some of the band who were to play tomorrow...

Prom 10

Friday 19 July

The first of the two concerts to be given by the glorious Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia Rome, with the ebullient Sir Antonio Pappano conducting.

'Ebullient' was once used on a school report for my son. I suspect it had a nicer ring than 'boisterous'..

There are certain bands where you just know the evening's going to be a good one; and this is one such.
http://www.seenandheard-international.com/2013/07/20/prom-10-jan-lisiecki-and-antonio-pappano-impress-at-the-proms/ gives one review; and here's another, slightly less flattering, from the Grauniad: I thoroughly enjoyed the Mozart (stony of heart he who could not!) to me it was crisp and well-articulated; but the Schumann was marred by A Distressingly Loud Whine in the Gallery - no, not a small child up too late, but something electronic. Plus, for me it's the 'wrong Schu'. However, the Chopin encore was magical. Jan Lisiecki is a young pianist to watch: a very talented young man.

A Brief Digression On Conductors

There are some conductors, too, who lend an air of effortless ease to the evening; and Sir Tony is one of them. He's an intelligent broadcaster, and doesn't allow his ego to precede him into the room. Neither does this ego affect the interpretation of the music before him. He also looks as though it's his heart's joy to lift the orchestra all for our delight; and this enjoyment must surely come through hard work and diligence. A person to drink with, as a friend puts it!
There are the truly greats: the late Sir Colin Davis was one such. And, of course, Bernard Haitink, who conducted the best performance of Mahler 6 I've ever heard, at a Royal College of Music concert around 10 years ago.

But to return to Prom 10!



  !

I have been heard to say - and it's not really a jest - that all my favourite men are dead: Rachmaninov is in this select group. We heard his No 2 Symphony make a determined start in sunny Italian uplands: but it wasn't long before the lush Italianate quality gave way to more Slavic overtones.

Rachmaninov had a difficult life - but worked so hard. One of the last of the great Romantic composers; I was interested to read that he'd been asked to compose a short concerto for the wartime film 'Dangerous Moonlight', but turned the job down.

And the lollipop - Ponchielli's Dance of the Hours - sent us all home very happy indeed!

Prom 6

Tuesday 16 July

David Matthews' short piece, A Vision of the Sea, left us wanting more. More was definitely provided with the next item. This was the ever-popular Rach PC 2 - but played by a blind pianist.

Here's a taster about this brilliant man 



He is just amazing. And so is his playing. Some of the comments in the Wikipedia entry speak for themselves. And he got a standing ovation from the Hall - a rare event at the Proms. The Nielson 4th 'Inextinguishable' was almost an anti-climax

Prom 5

Monday 15 July

The Bamburg SO, under Jonathan Nott, are highly regarded. With the addition of the Arditti Quartet (also highly regarded), the first half was the Uk premiere of a Helmut Lachenmann piece.
Here's one review: http://www.allmusic.com/composition/tanzsuite-mit-deutschlandlied-for-string-quartet-orchestra-mc0002469116 - and another: http://www.bachtrack.com/review-bbc-prom-5-2013-bamberg-symphony-lachenmann-mahler

I didn't get it. It just seemed a very long 36 minutes... Judging from various comments during the interval, I wasn't alone! I heard a comment from a R3 programme from a listener "That's not music, that's just noise". Perhaps if I hard it another 3 times, I might begin to understand it. On the other hand, life is short, and there are so many lovelier melodies to hear!


What we'd all come for, of course, was the Mahler 5! Which was conducted without a score, and a seamless segue from movement to movement; beautiful playing - and no applause, even after the famous Adagietto (Hurrah!). Gustav, Alma wasn't worth it...

Prom 4

French dance music to 1913

Les Siècles, with François-Xavier Roth The first half was sooo enjoyable! Time was beaten using a stout pole, & I thought of poor Lully's unfortunate death. Luckily, Roth didn't make a similar move - and medicine has vastly improved since Lully's day! Two composers to investigate, then: Lully and Rameau. Marvellous percussion!!

Here's a link to the Grauniad review: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/jul/15/prom-4-les-siecles-review

I think they were a little too sniffy about the evening. Although it wasn't, on paper, an especially balanced programme, it worked very well aurally. The Massenet was interesting, if only for revealing the attachment that so many French composers have for Spain & its rhythms. As for the original Stravinsky, I thought it shocking in its savagery - no wonder there was a riot!

Now that I have time...

The Proms, 2013

...being an account of some concerts attended, & my responses. These are not 'crit' pieces, but responses to the music: they are decidedly NOT technical!

Friday, 12 July

The First Night is eagerly awaited by all. Time before the doors open is spent greeting old friends, and getting to know new individuals in the queue by Door 2. We've waited 10 months for this, and - as ever - there are some pointed questions over the organisation. I am most pleased with the duplicate Gallery Season Ticket (why?) ... Bob is not pleased when a bottle of water is taken from him during the bag search. Water, in plastic bottles, IS allowed; an over-zealous red-coat is reprimanded. Sandwiches, eaten discreetly, are allowed: picnics - involving blankets, crisps, bottles of wine, and glasses - are not. Strange how these are ignored at popular concerts, though.. One of our number is later scolded for eating her own sandwich - "your crumbs will bring mice". However, this is undercut by "You must only eat sandwiches purchased here". Presumably, this means they are so dire, the mice will find any crumbs unappetising, and leave them on the floor. It takes time to train the new redcoats; and conversations are had with the purple-jacketed ones. We wonder how this is going to pan out: this is the first year we have had weekly season

tickets, instead of the more usual season/half-season options. We suspect, since the cost of 4 weeklies equals nearly the cost of an entire season, a touch of the 'RyanAir add-ons'. All those expensive investigations into dead DJs have to be paid for somehow...

And the music? Was delicious, especially Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony!