A belated cheer or three for the terrific concert by the above which I attended on Friday 9th by the grown-up Venezuelans. No multi-coloured jackets these days, although unlike the previous evening we had a Latin American vibe in the first-half and the encore. (The previous evening had been Beethoven 5 and 'Ring' orchestral music - receiving some varying reviews).
On Friday, the first piece was a Cuban triptych by one Julian Orbón, his Tres versiones sinfónicas: a 50s piece which sounded like the product of a meeting between Copland and Bartok in a Mexican restaurant. Some good sounds, and a percussion-led rhythmic finale. The latter was picked up in the encore, don't know what it was, but extra bods and percussion came on for the purpose.
But the unforgettable part was Mahler's 5th - one of the best performances I've heard.
Perhaps the main thing that struck me was how much expression (thanks to dynamics, phrasing and sheer great playing) was achieved with very little messing around with the pulse - it was very sound structurally, but delivered sonically in a big way…
And the other specific thing to strike me was the absolutely superlative horn solo in the third movement. I've heard a few live and on record (Nick Busch for Barbirolli and Tennstedt; the prinicpals of the Concertgebouw and VPO under Haitink and Bernstein respectively). But - and I don't think it was the emotion of the moment - Daniel Graterol of this orchestra blew them away. Faultless, bravura, tender.... A name to watch. Brilliant
It must be said that I was perched in a box just above the back desks of first violins, which was THE ideal place to get the full sound from all the horns, and the soloist in particular (who stood throughout the movement).
(The concerts are broadcast on Classic FM
later this week: the Beethoven/Wagner on Wednesday at 8pm, the Mahler concert on Thursday evening. Definitely going to record. It will be interesting to see if the horn solo comes across as blazingly successfully)
EDIT: there's an official pic on the orchestra's website of Daniel at work, from the concert itself:
On Friday, the first piece was a Cuban triptych by one Julian Orbón, his Tres versiones sinfónicas: a 50s piece which sounded like the product of a meeting between Copland and Bartok in a Mexican restaurant. Some good sounds, and a percussion-led rhythmic finale. The latter was picked up in the encore, don't know what it was, but extra bods and percussion came on for the purpose.
But the unforgettable part was Mahler's 5th - one of the best performances I've heard.
Perhaps the main thing that struck me was how much expression (thanks to dynamics, phrasing and sheer great playing) was achieved with very little messing around with the pulse - it was very sound structurally, but delivered sonically in a big way…
And the other specific thing to strike me was the absolutely superlative horn solo in the third movement. I've heard a few live and on record (Nick Busch for Barbirolli and Tennstedt; the prinicpals of the Concertgebouw and VPO under Haitink and Bernstein respectively). But - and I don't think it was the emotion of the moment - Daniel Graterol of this orchestra blew them away. Faultless, bravura, tender.... A name to watch. Brilliant
It must be said that I was perched in a box just above the back desks of first violins, which was THE ideal place to get the full sound from all the horns, and the soloist in particular (who stood throughout the movement).(The concerts are broadcast on Classic FM
later this week: the Beethoven/Wagner on Wednesday at 8pm, the Mahler concert on Thursday evening. Definitely going to record. It will be interesting to see if the horn solo comes across as blazingly successfully)EDIT: there's an official pic on the orchestra's website of Daniel at work, from the concert itself:
)
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