VPO New Year's Day Concert 2015

[kernelbogey]

[...] I like the bloody ballet tho' this year's offerings distinctly below par I thought, likewise the costumes...

I have never much liked the ballet that Austrian tv provides - it always seems slightly naff, and like a chocolate-box picture. Looking at the two sequences today, I thought them worse than usual. The combination of classical dance and contemporary costume is always a bit risky, unless in the hands of a master-choreographer. And if a story-line is presented and it looks a bit weak, as in the case of the first one supposedly portraying students, we're headed for trouble. (Not least because these students seemed to come from some pre-internet era. There's only so much disbelief I can willingly suspend.)

I always enjoy the concert itself, but - as I've said in previous years here - mourn the BBC's dropping of the Austrian Radio's multilingual presenter. Petroc continues to grow as a presenter but his mispronunciation of German grates horribly: o for, say, Martin Handley presenting, and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet! When I tried, as someone suggested here last year, to access ORF I couldn't get the sound but there was a message saying it was for copyright reasons only available on the radio.

I liked Mehta's low-key style. The 'explosion' with confetti was a nice coup de theatre, and I also liked his witty conducting of the audience in the tediously traditional clapping.

[LHC]

It manages this by handing down the tradition, often from father to son, and where members stay for very long periods.

One of the women players today is the daughter of a current member of the VPO. In fact father and daughter were both playing, so in this case the tradition has been handed down from father to daughter.

[HARRIET HAVARD]

Not so long ago, in a land far away, we would listen to the New Years Day Concert and think, if we are not careful this is what R3 will become.....Wall to wall Musak. How right we were.

Why doesn't the concert go the whole hog and include "turns" such as Andre Rieu, Alfie Boe, Russell Watson etc. and pass the whole thing off as irony....On second thoughts, if the listeners choices on the Best of British playlist are an indication of the core audiance of R3 now, I doubt if many would get the Joke.

[Ferretfancy]

I have never much liked the ballet that Austrian tv provides - it always seems slightly naff, and like a chocolate-box picture. Looking at the two sequences today, I thought them worse than usual. The combination of classical dance and contemporary costume is always a bit risky, unless in the hands of a master-choreographer. And if a story-line is presented and it looks a bit weak, as in the case of the first one supposedly portraying students, we're headed for trouble. (Not least because these students seemed to come from some pre-internet era. There's only so much disbelief I can willingly suspend.)

I always enjoy the concert itself, but - as I've said in previous years here - mourn the BBC's dropping of the Austrian Radio's multilingual presenter. Petroc continues to grow as a presenter but his mispronunciation of German grates horribly: o for, say, Martin Handley presenting, and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet! When I tried, as someone suggested here last year, to access ORF I couldn't get the sound but there was a message saying it was for copyright reasons only available on the radio.

I liked Mehta's low-key style. The 'explosion' with confetti was a nice coup de theatre, and I also liked his witty conducting of the audience in the tediously traditional clapping.

Nice young men leaping about, what's wrong with that? The interiors could do with a few sticks of furniture, but otherwise no complaints!

[Petrushka]

I have never much liked the ballet that Austrian tv provides - it always seems slightly naff, and like a chocolate-box picture. Looking at the two sequences today, I thought them worse than usual. The combination of classical dance and contemporary costume is always a bit risky, unless in the hands of a master-choreographer. And if a story-line is presented and it looks a bit weak, as in the case of the first one supposedly portraying students, we're headed for trouble. (Not least because these students seemed to come from some pre-internet era. There's only so much disbelief I can willingly suspend.)

I always enjoy the concert itself, but - as I've said in previous years here - mourn the BBC's dropping of the Austrian Radio's multilingual presenter. Petroc continues to grow as a presenter but his mispronunciation of German grates horribly: o for, say, Martin Handley presenting, and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet! When I tried, as someone suggested here last year, to access ORF I couldn't get the sound but there was a message saying it was for copyright reasons only available on the radio.

I liked Mehta's low-key style. The 'explosion' with confetti was a nice coup de theatre, and I also liked his witty conducting of the audience in the tediously traditional clapping.

You might like to try this recording of the 1954 New Year's Day concert conducted by Clemens Krauss:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Krauss-New-Y...w+year+concert

It's clearly been taken from radio tapes as it has the original announcements retained and the sound isn't too bad at all. I bought it three years ago and enjoy it.

[Flosshilde]

Nice young men leaping about, what's wrong with that? ... but otherwise no complaints!

I hope the two that lost the girls realised they were well out of it & went off together

[MickyD]

I recently acquired the DVDs of the 2001 and 2003 concerts with Harnoncourt - they are full of great things, though NH's manic basilisk stare can be startling at times.

[Richard Tarleton]

I Petroc continues to grow as a presenter but his mispronunciation of German grates horribly

Nobody's mentioned that he managed to talk over the start of one piece, and almost did so again for the Radetzky March.....

[Nick Armstrong]

Nobody's mentioned that he managed to talk over the start of one piece, and almost did so again for the Radetzky March.....

I agree he's improving (but is it like becoming accustomed to a bad smell? - he asked, full of seasonal bonhomie )... but it's pretty amateur not to time the prattle properly...

[Alison]

Poor old Brian Kay.

[Alison]

Mariss Jansons, Alison.

Slightly disappointing.

Doesn't look like Pretre - good to read another admirer above - will get another bash.

At least we have moved on from FWM.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I hope the two that lost the girls realised they were well out of it & went off together

Teaching "19th Century Dance Music" to a group of 14 year-olds a few years ago, I used a "NY Concert" at the end of a lesson. All was well until the ballet film arrived - two of the women chasing after one young man. Increasing hilarity, culminating in one of the lads commenting "Tree, Barking, Wrong, Up, dears!"

[Flosshilde]

[Richard Tarleton]

Just started watching the highlights - it's only just occurred to me he's not using a score. Don't tell me ZM has memorised all this stuff? Is it just a case of remembering whether to beat in 4/4 or 3/4?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Just started watching the highlights - it's only just occurred to me he's not using a score. Don't tell me ZM has memorised all this stuff? Is it just a case of remembering whether to beat in 4/4 or 3/4?

They all do, don't they? Karajan certainly did - resulting in his forgetting the traditional Blue Danube and starting to conduct the Radetsky March.