BBC Phil Shostakovich 4 11 October

[Vile Consort]

I had a ticket for this but failed to get to the hall because of the total gridlock in Manchester city centre. Can't believe I spent over an hour within 1 mile of the hall.

But what on earth happened at the end with the applause? Did the conductor turn to the audience and shut it down? Quite right if he did.

However, what on earth is the point of an announcer in the hall if he doesn't tell us what is happening?

[Alison]

Most odd. A captivating performance which it must be devastating to have missed.

[Vile Consort]

Most odd. A captivating performance which it must be devastating to have missed.

Ironically, I got home in time for the second half. I am afraid my neighbours have had the benefit of it.

[Alison]

Ironically, I got home in time for the second half. I am afraid my neighbours have had the benefit of it.

was the first applause actually so premature in relation to the music ending ?

A quite wonderful performance I thought. Unusual to hear a BBC orchestra so thoroughly prepared.

[Vile Consort]

Yes. Egregiously so. This is a piece that ends in the dark places of the soul and to applaud as soon as the sound ceases is criminal. Every piece of music ends with the silence after its last note (as any organist knows!). This piece has a particularly long silence after its last note - as, for example, does the War Requiem, which got a magnificent silence at Coventry a couple of years back that was of an intensity to break one's heart.

To burst into applause as the last note stops is grossly insensitive. It's like applauding when you hear that your mother has died (I appreciate there are circumstances where this might be appropriate).

I assume the conductor kept his baton raised in an attempt to maintain a period of silence and was so irritated that the audience did not respond that he took action. Perhaps we sill hear from someone who was there before long.

But how curious that we weren't told. The art of radio description is not what it was. John Arlott must be turning in his grave.

[Simon B]

Storgards simply stood still and kept standing still for as long as he thought appropriate, despite sealions...

[Stanfordian]

Yes. Egregiously so. This is a piece that ends in the dark places of the soul and to applaud as soon as the sound ceases is criminal. Every piece of music ends with the silence after its last note (as any organist knows!). This piece has a particularly long silence after its last note - as, for example, does the War Requiem, which got a magnificent silence at Coventry a couple of years back that was of an intensity to break one's heart.

To burst into applause as the last note stops is grossly insensitive. It's like applauding when you hear that your mother has died (I appreciate there are circumstances where this might be appropriate).

I assume the conductor kept his baton raised in an attempt to maintain a period of silence and was so irritated that the audience did not respond that he took action. Perhaps we sill hear from someone who was there before long.

But how curious that we weren't told. The art of radio description is not what it was. John Arlott must be turning in his grave.

Hiya Vile Consort, Yes Storgards stood still with his baton up to delay the appaluse. But once someone had clapped with other joining him there was little point him trying to maintain the silence.

[Stanfordian]

Yes. Egregiously so. This is a piece that ends in the dark places of the soul and to applaud as soon as the sound ceases is criminal. Every piece of music ends with the silence after its last note (as any organist knows!). This piece has a particularly long silence after its last note - as, for example, does the War Requiem, which got a magnificent silence at Coventry a couple of years back that was of an intensity to break one's heart.

To burst into applause as the last note stops is grossly insensitive. It's like applauding when you hear that your mother has died (I appreciate there are circumstances where this might be appropriate).

I assume the conductor kept his baton raised in an attempt to maintain a period of silence and was so irritated that the audience did not respond that he took action. Perhaps we sill hear from someone who was there before long.

But how curious that we weren't told. The art of radio description is not what it was. John Arlott must be turning in his grave.

HiyaVile Consort, I was there at the Bridgewater last night and you are right in your premise. It was a super concert with the best performance of the Shostakovich 4 I have heard.

[Stanfordian]

I had a ticket for this but failed to get to the hall because of the total gridlock in Manchester city centre. Can't believe I spent over an hour within 1 mile of the hall.

But what on earth happened at the end with the applause? Did the conductor turn to the audience and shut it down? Quite right if he did.

However, what on earth is the point of an announcer in the hall if he doesn't tell us what is happening?

Hiya Vile Consort, I was driving down the motorway south from Lancaster to the Bridgewater Hall. Because of the Rugby 'Grand Final' at Old Trafford between Wigan and St. Helens I made sure that arrived in the city centre early at 4.30. In addition the area around Albert Square was cordoned off owing to some sort of noisy event in front of the Town Hall. It was quite a long time to kill so we ended up going to a Vigil Mass at the Hidden Gem Church (St. Mary's) off Deansgate.

[Bryn]

A fine performance of the Shostakovish indeed, but sadly the same cannot be said re. the engineering. On the HD Sound offering there were at least three nasty, though brief, bursts of unwanted audio between 13'35" and 14'22" into the first movement of the Fourth. Were they also to be heard via FM and DAB, I wonder?

I can upload the relevant clip to WeTransfer.com if it would help. Such a clip would stay there for 1 week.

A 9 MB WAV file of the section from 13'30" to around 14'25" can be downloaded from here.

[BBMmk2]

I do so hate when audiences havn't the manners to wait for a performance of a work like this to finish and then at least. to have a few seconds space?

[HighlandDougie]

A fine performance of the Shostakovish indeed, but sadly the same cannot be said re. the engineering. On the HD Sound offering there were at least three nasty, though brief, bursts of unwanted audio between 13'35" and 14'22" into the first movement of the Fourth. Were they also to be heard via FM and DAB, I wonder?

I can upload the relevant clip to WeTransfer.com if it would help. Such a clip would stay there for 1 week.

A 9 MB WAV file of the section from 13'30" to around 14'25" can be downloaded from here.

Alas, very audible on i-player. A bit of a blemish on what I thought was one of the best performances of DSCH 4 I've heard in some time. Tauter than the Petrenko/Netherlands RPO version which I listened to recently (and rather better played). Apart from the blips - there is another one shortly after a very audible door opening just after the start of the third movement, really good sound quality. Clarity is not always practicable with such a large orchestra but I thought that the engineers achieved an excellent instrumental balance. Had we still been in 1930's Soviet Russia, I would have had some sympathy with the regime had they taken away Mr Gung-Ho and friends at the end and had them summarily shot on the spot. At least I suppose that they didn't shout out, "Bravo". Still, I suppose that 3 seconds of silence before the clappers started is better than 0 seconds.

The orchestra sounded wonderful in the Sibelius - and having Sabine Meyer play the Nielsen Clarinet Concerto was a real treat as I've never really associated her with this particular work. Everything I hear from John Storgårds - from Panufnik through his Sibelius cycle to his recent accompaniment of Christian Tetzlaff in the DSCH Violin Concertos - convinces me that he is a very fine conductor indeed. Anyway, a great concert - I wish that I had been there.

[Alison]

Any views on the Petrenko CD while we're on the subject ? I still can't get wholly involved with it, impressive though it is in many respects. The Storgards seemed positively teeming with life and interest with a consistently ear tickling orchestral palette.

[HighlandDougie]

Any views on the Petrenko CD while we're on the subject ? I still can't get wholly involved with it, impressive though it is in many respects. The Storgards seemed positively teeming with life and interest with a consistently ear tickling orchestral palette.

Yup, wholeheartedly agree about the Petrenko. Just not quite there. For me, sometimes a bit too much of a focus on the trees while slightly losing sight of the wood. It's still a good performance which I suppose may in time evolve into something rather more like Storgårds's gripping account.

[Quarky]

I do so hate when audiences havn't the manners to wait for a performance of a work like this to finish and then at least. to have a few seconds space?

I surprised myself by listening to this concert in its entirety - first DSCH symphony I have listened to for a long time.

On the subject of Audience applause, I have never understood why it is necessary to listen to this over the radio, particularly for recorded performances. It would be an extremely easy measure for the sound engineers to cut this out entirely. And then I, at least, would be happy.