BBCSSO 29 February

[jonfan]

A stunning Bruckner 9 live from City Halls conducted by Alpesh Chauhan. Ideal pacing and balance with a rich, big texture superbly caught by the engineering.
This partnership are producing Tchaikovsky CDs on Chandos that stand out from the crowd.

[DracoM]

[LMcD]

A stunning Bruckner 9 live from City Halls conducted by Alpesh Chauhan. Ideal pacing and balance with a rich, big texture superbly caught by the engineering.
This partnership are producing Tchaikovsky CDs on Chandos that stand out from the crowd.

I've long been an admirer of the BBCSSO - arguably the best of Auntie's orchestras.

[jonfan]

I knew from the first few bars that this was going to be a great performance. It had ‘portent’, a word Barbirolli used rehearsing Bruckner.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I knew from the first few bars that this was going to be a great performance. It had ‘portent’, a word Barbirolli used rehearsing Bruckner.

I liked the performance a great deal but I have to be honest and say that some of the orchestral playing wasn’t quite there in terms of intonation and ensemble. The opening sounded a bit tentative. I think it might have needed a bit more rehearsal but these days orchestras are practically sight reading these big scores.

[jonfan]

I thought the opening was tentative on purpose? Be interesting to know how much rehearsal was had. To be honest as well I was just lost in the whole experience of a live performance, where there can be warts, but hey, that’s life. As a horn player I get nervous when the end approaches and the top of the final arpeggio has to held for what seems like an eternity. (That problem is in my dreams as I’m a 2 & 4 player). Beautifully held last night.