Previn LSO Rachmaninov. 10 June 2015

[Barbirollians]

Perhaps we can all cross our fingers and hope it turns up on LSO Live .

[Hornspieler]

I shall make a point of listening to the symphony!

Really hope someone pops up having been there this evening

Worth trying the violin concerto too!

My first impression was that it was a bit like a copycat of the Alban Berg concerto but Anne Sophie's violin playing was stunning.

(To quote Sir John Barbirolli: "It's a very long piece, y'know")

HS

[Alison]

Tremendous grip and authority in the symphony. I was taken to new places with a master on the podium.

The LSO on this form could scarcely be bettered.

[Nick Armstrong]

Perhaps we can all cross our fingers and hope it turns up on LSO Live .

[Pabmusic]

I've just listened to it.

Surely that's one of the finest performances of the Second Symphony ever? I had tears in my eyes.

[gurnemanz]

London midweek concerts are tricky for us but we decided that an effort should be made and were surprised to find a few tickets left when we checked online at the weekend (last minute returns?). His conducting was as alert and committed as ever and any frailty was restricted to his walking and standing. Terrific to hear him taking us through the Rachmaninov and interacting with Anne-Sophie in his own concerto. A memorable evening.

[Barbirollians]

It is a tauter performance I think than the legendary 1973 recording and less indulgent in places but just as exciting !

[Nick Armstrong]

It is a tauter performance I think than the legendary 1973 recording and less indulgent in places but just as exciting !

Isn't it magnificent? Taut is a good word - the first trumpet deserves a medal, and what struck me was the really tight work from the darker end of the orchestra: rich impactful cellos, basses, bassoons (and picked up excellently by the engineers - I was listening to the iPlayer version through iTunes/Airport on the big HiFi). I did miss Jack Brymer though....

[edashtav]

I remember my extreme disappointment with Previn's Violin Concerto when he introduced it to the Proms with Anne Sophie & the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra back in 2004. It was, and is, self-indulgently long, lacking in stylistic coherence and packed full of partially digested snippets of Berg, Korngold, Bartok, and Walton. What's is so disturbingly absent is anything that shouts "Previn" at you. Some of the orchestral effects are good and the solo line's ample lyricism suits the work's dedicatee. But no amount of love & labour from all concerned could stop me from losing concentration. This piece really is a penny dreadful.

The Rachmaninov was very well played and interpreted. Maybe, some moments of rubato were over the top in a Bernsteinian manner , but mostly it was played with gusto, commitment and the performance kept me on the edge of my seat.

[Hornspieler]

I remember my extreme disappointment with Previn's Violin Concerto when he introduced it to the Proms with Anne Sophie & the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra back in 2004. It was, and is, self-indulgently long, lacking in stylistic coherence and packed full of partially digested snippets of Berg, Korngold, Bartok, and Walton. What's is so disturbingly absent is anything that shouts "Previn" at you. Some of the orchestral effects are good and the solo line's ample lyricism suits the work's dedicatee. But no amount of love & labour from all concerned could stop me from losing concentration. This piece really is a penny dreadful.

Yes, I agree. As I hinted earlier, Too long and too derivative.

The Rachmaninov was very well played and interpreted. Maybe, some moments of rubato were over the top in a Bernsteinian manner , but mostly it was played with gusto, commitment and the performance kept me on the edge of my seat.

As for the Rachmaninov, I played it several times under Silvestri. Don't expect me to be over the moon about what I would agree was a very dynamic and commited performance. Exciting and impressive, but where was the romance?

Rubato and Distortion are very close bedfellows in my book. Too much rubato leads to Schmultz

Nice to see you posting Ed.

[Alison]

No distortion to my ears; the sheer lack of self indulgence was just one of the many wonders of last nights performance.

Very distinguished percussion too, full toned, precise and awe inspiring!

[Petrushka]

There was a time in the late 1970s and early 1980s when I was obsessed with the Rachmaninov 2 and I played the LSO/Previn disc to death. It meant a lot to me then and, although I rarely hear it nowadays, last night's wonderful performance rolled back the years in a way that made me catch my breath. The whole performance was typical of Previn in the 1970s. The marvel is that he can still conjure up playing of such awe-inspiring commitment and love at the age of 86.

I have to largely agree with edashtav about the Violin Concerto. Lop 20 minutes off and it might be a decent piece. I was expecting something much jazzier to be honest.

[BBMmk2]

A truly memorable cxoncert, from start to finish. I am sure the LSO played even better, with Previn at the helm? They sounded better too(or even better than usual( I do find this with orchestras, like the BBC SO, when Sir Andrew Davis conducts them.

[muzzer]

Apols for OT and failure to search other threads and gen ignorance but is it poss to play iplayer radio thru itunes and thence to proper-sized speakers? My MF CLIC won't play radio anymore grrr.

[cloughie]

.
Several issues here - whether you want on demand programmes or live, and also which of the R3 streams you want to listen to - 320 kbps or others. I'm guessing that your failure with the MF CLIC is due to some fairly recent changes which have been documented elsewhere on these boards.

I may be able to check some of this for you in a while, though I think others may already have more definitive answers.

Currently I'm listening to Previn's recorded version of the Rachmaninov 2nd symphony. It's less "steady" than the latest Barbican performance. I think I've got the LP somewhere too. Despite admiration for AP I prefer Ashkenazy in this work recorded with the Concertgebouw, and in live performances Andris Nelsons takes some beating. Following HS's hints I'll check to see if there's an easily accessible version by Silvestri to hand. That's not looking too hopeful, though there is a Silvestri recording of the 3rd symphony.

I thought the latest LSO performance was good, but not the best I've ever heard, though it may simply be what I'm used to.

If there is I don't know of it or a 3rd for that matter though there may be a live recording somewhere. There are a few 2s I'd put ahead of Ashkenazy's - good though it is.
There's also a good RPO Previn on Telarc.