What was your last concert?

[LHC]

Sir Simon's LSO French-fest at the Barbican last night. I was sitting away to one side but was agreeably surprised at how little detail I lost. I thought that it was a really excellent concert: an imaginative programme, excellent playing from the orchestra and from Leonidas Kavakos. The soprano in the exquisite Delage songs sounded like a young Leontyne Price (she would be perfectly suited for Barber's Knoxville). Metaboles was a stand-out performance. The Daphnis was, for me, a bit of a bonus as I went to the concert mainly for the Dutilleux and the Delage songs. Well worth catching up on I-Player (and it was being filmed although I don't think by the BBC. Sold out which was also really encouraging for what was slightly left-field, programme-wise.

I was there too and thoroughly enjoyed it. Following on from Rattle and the LSO's exquisite Pelleas and Melisande on Saturday (Finley the standout performer as Golaud, managing to eclipse Gerhaher and Kozena as P &M), it has been a fine week for French music at the Barbican.

Last night's concert was shown on TV live across Europe on the Mezzo channel. Bizarrely, the LSO has a TV deal with this cable channel, even though the UK is about the only country in Europe where it can't be seen (its not even available on line in the UK).

[richardfinegold]

Last Saturday, Jonathan Nott leading the Chicago SO, in Brahms academic Festival, Haydn Cello Concerto #1 Moser, soloist0 and Strauss Ein Heldenleben. The latter was the highlight for me, it's great to hear the CSO stretch out in full late Romantic Straussian opulance. No recording that I've ever heard can do that piece full justice.

[zola]

Finally made it to the RFH last night to see the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra play Petrushka and the Rite of Spring. They're a popular bunch aren't they ? More or less full house and wild prom style reaction to the performance with standing ovations and cheering.

Bottom line, I enjoyed the evening though would not put either down as my favourite performance of the pieces. The Rite more successful than Petrushka, perhaps partly because the 1947 version of that score was chosen. But as with another sold out RFH concert I attended last year of Barenboim playing Schubert, I felt out of step with the general euphoria. feeling that the applause was simply for the performer (s ) being there. I had the unworthy thought that the SBSO is the orchestral version of Lang Lang, reflection leading me to conclude that is an unworthy thought !

After the pre-concert to-ing and fro-ing about whether the first half would be Petrushka or Firebird, the encore was the finale of The Firebird which I thought they nailed. They then concluded with one of their South American dance numbers which are always fun if nowadays a little predictable.

[Flosshilde]

I went to last night's concert by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Antonio Mendez, as a substitution for one I'd booked but had to cancel as I had a persistent cough last year. I don't know why I hadn't booked it as the programme was appealing - Haydn Symphony 99, arias from Don Giovanni, Marriage of Figaro & Cosi fan Tutti, and Beethoven 7. Perhaps it was the latter that put me off, as it seems to have been a bit ubiquitous recently, & from having been my favoutite Beethoven symphony I am feeling a bit jaded by it.

Well, the Haydn was good, the Mozart arias very good (the singer, Laura Giordano, was a substitute for the originally scheduled singer), but the Beethoven - was exceptional, an electrifying performance. I can't go into the technical reasons why it was so good, but just say that with some performances one can wonder at Wagner's experience of dance, & think that it must have been heavy-footed, clumpy & leaden. This was the opposite, light, nimble, & at times like some particularly lively sets of 'Strip the Willow' that I've experienced. But all superbly controlled by the conductor. He's conducted the SCO before but I must have missed him. He wasn't particularly showy, but very effective. And only 32 (& rather good-looking too). This season he's scheduled to conduct the BBC Philharmonic, so those in their catchment area should look out for him.

[Barbirollians]

Halle/Mandeal at Sheffield City Hall last night

An interesting programme in the sense that it included three works that although often recorded seem seldom to make it into the concert hall .

The Halle website misled me into believing we were getting Tchaikovsky's Overture the Tempest - no like the rest of the Opus 1 concerts it was the Brahms St Anthony Variations - this is a piece I feel I have heard rather too much as it seems frequently to be coupled with just about every recording of a Brahms symphony . Lovely playing from the Halle but it was a bit slow in places for me .

It was followed by an excellent account of the Bruch Scottish Fantasy with Sophia Jaffe . I did not know this German violinist though I see she has recorded a concerto by John Casken with the Halle on NMC . A very robust account with terrific grasp of the rhythms and it did not overstay its welcome and she is not a syrupy player . Having recently been entranced by the Campoli/Boult recording this stood up well and the audience were very enthusiastic and she returned to give us an encore the Sunrise at sea movement from Ysaye's Fifth sonata for solo violin- and very atmospheric it was too .

The second half was Schumann's spring Symphony - again a piece I had never heard in the concert hall . It went with a swing and the Halle appeared to be having a great time albeit I imagine some rather exaggerated changes in tempo in the finale would annoy on repeated listening .

Worth catching in Manchester .

[Ferretfancy]

There was an excellent performance of Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet at the Barbican last night with the BBC SO and Sir Andrew Davis. This piece doesn't get aired very often, so it was well worth a trip on a chilly night. I do feel that Berlioz didn't always judge the lengths of movements very well, but Sir Andrew kept things moving, and there is some extraordinary writing, especially for the winds and brass. This piece was written only eleven years after the death of Beethoven.

The performance was recorded and will be broadcast this coming Tuesday at 7.30 Strongly recommended.

[AjAjAjH]

Halle/Mandeal at Sheffield City Hall last night

An interesting programme in the sense that it included three works that although often recorded seem seldom to make it into the concert hall .

The Halle website misled me into believing we were getting Tchaikovsky's Overture the Tempest - no like the rest of the Opus 1 concerts it was the Brahms St Anthony Variations - this is a piece I feel I have heard rather too much as it seems frequently to be coupled with just about every recording of a Brahms symphony . Lovely playing from the Halle but it was a bit slow in places for me .

It was followed by an excellent account of the Bruch Scottish Fantasy with Sophia Jaffe . I did not know this German violinist though I see she has recorded a concerto by John Casken with the Halle on NMC . A very robust account with terrific grasp of the rhythms and it did not overstay its welcome and she is not a syrupy player . Having recently been entranced by the Campoli/Boult recording this stood up well and the audience were very enthusiastic and she returned to give us an encore the Sunrise at sea movement from Ysaye's Fifth sonata for solo violin- and very atmospheric it was too .

The second half was Schumann's spring Symphony - again a piece I had never heard in the concert hall . It went with a swing and the Halle appeared to be having a great time albeit I imagine some rather exaggerated changes in tempo in the finale would annoy on repeated listening .

Worth catching in Manchester .

My wife and I were at the concert on Wednesday afternoon in Manchester. We are both very fond of the Brahms which was played beautifully. It was good to see the harpist, who plays a large part in the Bruch sitting just to the left of the soloist. The Schumann is a beautiful work well played. I have no recording, nor the acore so I can't comment on the tempo changes were exaggerated.

[teamsaint]

My wife and I were at the concert on Wednesday afternoon in Manchester. We are both very fond of the Brahms which was played beautifully. It was good to see the harpist, who plays a large part in the Bruch sitting just to the left of the soloist. The Schumann is a beautiful work well played. I have no recording, nor the acore so I can't comment on the tempo changes were exaggerated.

A more uplifting piece of music is hard to find, IMHO. Never heard it live.

Schumann doesn't seem to get programmed as often as one might like. The OAE are giving #3 a run out ( or two) next week, though.

[Nick Armstrong]

LPO / Jurowski in

Schnittke: Pianissimo
DSCH 'Cello Concerto No 2 - Natalia Gutman, cello
Bruckner 3 (original version)

Broadcast live on R3.....

A mixed evening.

The Schnittke was ear-catching (couple of pianos, harpsichord and electric guitar chucked into the big orchestra for good measure) but I couldn't help the thought that I could have penned something very similar given the time, inclination and patience to just write the notes down.

Alas to be honest the soloist in the cello concerto was by-and-large an embarrassment - she may well have known Shostakovich, and had a marvellous career, but in terms of intonation, projection and characterisation, it was (to my ears) a disaster. I spent my time either trying to ignore her when she was playing, in favour of the splendid orchestral part/playing (not difficult, actually, given the small-scale sound of the soloist); or dreading her next entry. Reminded me of a performance of Macbeth I went to when at school, with Albert Finney embarrassingly awful in the lead - the performance was great when he wasn't on stage; toe-curling when he was

I wonder if anyone listened on the radio?

Splendiferous sounds in the Bruckner 3, and fascinating to hear (for the first time) this original version. I've loved No 3 in its later versions for many many years - I'd have to say that I think Bruckner and the others who re-crafted the piece were probably right. One or two exquisite passages were lost, but overall, the later versions do the material better justice, imo, in a structure which works better. It reminded me of the earlier/original Sibelius 5 recorded by Vanska - great to hear, but the second thoughts were good ones!

But it was worth going, just to hear the LPO's four trumpets and four trombones delivering the peroration as well as it could conceivably be played!

[DublinJimbo]

Went over to Cologne specially for Gustavo Dudamel and his Simón Bolívar Orchestra in Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony (on Sunday, with Yuja Wang, piano, and Cynthia Millar, onde martenot).

1.
The orchestra was enormous (ten double basses and thirteen cellos, no less).

2.
Yuja Wang's outfit was ridiculous (bright green, halter top, one side of the 'dress' flowing behind her train-fashion; the other cut very short. Outfit finished off with very high heels.)

3.
The Kölner Philharmonie is a fantastic hall, blessed with superb acoustics. The orchestra made a fine noise when Messiaen uses the full forces at his disposal, but I found them more impressive in the quieter moments. This is the first performance which made me aware of the composer's frequent paring back of the sound to a really intimate scale (small divisi string groups, delicate percussion effects, solo double bass). The hall's acoustics did full justice to these delicate moments, during which there was a palpable hush in the audience.

4.
I hadn't been sufficiently aware before (either from recordings or at any of the previous performances I've been to) of the hugely important contribution of the celesta throughout the work. This was made visually clear by having the instrument front and centre along with the piano and the onde martenot – the three together became a highly effective concertante group.

5.
Orchestral ensemble was disappointing at times, with chordal entries from the winds lacking in unanimity of attack, but things improved as the performance proceeded, and the final three movements were superb, culminating in a finale which was a riot of joyful exuberance.

----------------

It was a good night, but not a great one. I joined in the rapturous applause at the end, but only joined the standing ovation so I could see the platform. As expected, the applause eventually turned into a rhythmic hand-clap which resulted in an encore from the orchestra. It was one of their showpiece South American pieces, done to perfection, but I felt any encore out of place after such an astonishing work as the Turangalîla.

[EnemyoftheStoat]

There was an excellent performance of Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet at the Barbican last night with the BBC SO and Sir Andrew Davis. This piece doesn't get aired very often, so it was well worth a trip on a chilly night. I do feel that Berlioz didn't always judge the lengths of movements very well, but Sir Andrew kept things moving, and there is some extraordinary writing, especially for the winds and brass. This piece was written only eleven years after the death of Beethoven.

The performance was recorded and will be broadcast this coming Tuesday at 7.30 Strongly recommended.

And it was also recorded (this time with soloists and chorus ) for Chandos at the Fairfield over the weekend.

[Cockney Sparrow]

There was an excellent performance of Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet at the Barbican last night with the BBC SO and Sir Andrew Davis. This piece doesn't get aired very often, so it was well worth a trip on a chilly night. I do feel that Berlioz didn't always judge the lengths of movements very well, but Sir Andrew kept things moving, and there is some extraordinary writing, especially for the winds and brass. This piece was written only eleven years after the death of Beethoven.

The performance was recorded and will be broadcast this coming Tuesday at 7.30 Strongly recommended.

Ferretfancy - do you know, from the programme I suppose, who was the chorus master (i.e filling in the vacancy, or even appointed, after the departure (note the careful wording there..) of Stephen Jackson).

Andrew Davis won an award with their recording of Gerontius, and had done much more with the chorus, one presumes he was happy with Stephen Jackson (although, of course, that probably wouldn't matter....)

[EnemyoftheStoat]

Ferretfancy - do you know, from the programme I suppose, who was the chorus master (i.e filling in the vacancy, or even appointed, after the departure (note the careful wording there..) of Stephen Jackson).

Andrew Davis won an award with their recording of Gerontius, and had done much more with the chorus, one presumes he was happy with Stephen Jackson (although, of course, that probably wouldn't matter....)

Hi Sparrow, the Chorus Director for this one was Tom Seligman. Stephen Jackson took some early rehearsals (before he was sacked/dumped/whatever you want to call it) but was not credited; he'd also taken some early rehearsals for the Tippett COOT in December, where he was credited. Tom was parachuted in for the Tippett when the BBC realised that in having their hissy fit they'd not actually planned who was prepping the chorus, and he ended up doing the Berlioz as well. He deserves a lot of credit for helping them out of a big hole.

And you're right, whether SAD was happy or not with his director (he was, as it happens) wouldn't matter to the BBC.

As to the (on-going) recruitment of a replacement, the photo on BBC Recruitment's Facebook page (I couldn't track it down on the the BBC's own careers page) seems to indicate that they're not really sure what post they're advertising here...

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Cosi fan Tutte, Opera North

A return of Tim Albery's near-perfect production from 2004 of Mozart's perfect score for Da Ponte's poisonously sadistic libretto. A very good cast - Helen Sherman as Dorabella the weakest link for me: a fluttery vibrato that made her sound as if she were trilling notes all the time, and which prevented her from performing Mozart's runs accurately - and superb orchestral playing, held together by insightful and incisive conducting from Jac van Steen.

And it is such a superb score: for me, the most harmonically fascinating of the Da Ponte operas - constantly shifting keys; nothing , not even Tonality, can be relied upon in this opera. And the instrumental sounds - the Harmonie often as prominent as the singers; and how frequently the melodic material is given to the Violas (beautiful playing, here), whilst the surrounding strings weave out the harmonic support - so the instrumental melodies don't get entangled in the same registers as the vocal lines.

And as good acting and direction as I've ever seen on an opera stage: the "business" perfectly matching what's happening in the Music (which tells us what's happening in the characters' minds, of course - no matter what the words they wish to be heard). Who'd've thought so much could be communicated by a pot of hot chocolate (licked from a spoon, from a finger; refused by the sisters at first, then tempting them, then they succumb)?!

Evenings at the Opera don't get much better than this - a perfect way to part with a year and welcome in the next Whole-heartedly recommended to anyone in the vicinities of Leeds, Nottingham, Newcastle, or The Lowry over the next couple of months.

[teamsaint]

sounds a great evening, Ferney. I guess down here we'll have make dowith the WNO.

anyhow, just back from the OAE/Pat Kop/Alsop playing Schumann VC /Symphony #3 at Basingstoke.
I may be in the mood to write a full review later this weekend, but work is mad at the moment, so for now, just wanted to say that this is being repeated, I think, at the RFH , possibly Saturday.
If you are in London, do yourself a favour and go.

Unless you don't like wacky violinists.

Or Schumann.

Or Marin Alsop.
but otherwise go.

I loved it.