Pappano and the LSO

[LMcD]

'What a terrific concert!' said Martin Handley at the end of Sir Antonio's first appearance at the Barbican as the LSO's new Principal Conductor in September, which has just been broadcast - how right he was!. I shall certainly listen again to James MacMillan's Concerto for Orchestra, which was co-commissioned by some half-a-dozen orchestras in different parts of the world. There was a marvellously thrilling urgency to the Sibelius 1st Symphony at times.

[DracoM]

Sorry, thought tonight's Sibelius was flaccid.

[Nick Armstrong]

marvellously thrilling urgency

flaccid

Going to have to listen to it now, aren’t I ?

[Ein Heldenleben]

Sorry, thought tonight's Sibelius was flaccid.

Had its moments but I was somewhat taken aback by the poor string sound which was a surprise since Pappano usually got a very refined one out of the ROH orchestra. Could be the sound balance but hmmm….

[jonfan]

Had its moments but I was somewhat taken aback by the poor string sound which was a surprise since Pappano usually got a very refined one out of the ROH orchestra. Could be the sound balance but hmmm….

The Barbican is notoriously difficult for sound balancers but this awful string sound wasn’t their fault. Hope this is just an off night!

[LMcD]

The Barbican is notoriously difficult for sound balancers but this awful string sound wasn’t their fault. Hope this is just an off night!

Fortunately my unsophisticated little radio isn't able to bring these shortcomings to my attention - I just sat there and enjoyed the whole thing!

[Ein Heldenleben]

The Barbican is notoriously difficult for sound balancers but this awful string sound wasn’t their fault. Hope this is just an off night!

Did you notice it ? It was really marked I thought . I gave up LSO concerts after two Gergiev concerts left me with terrible tinnitus . It’s all too loud and you can’t hear the woodwinds at all over the overloud brass who are bang up against a reflective surface.

[Petrushka]

Did you notice it ? It was really marked I thought . I gave up LSO concerts after two Gergiev concerts left me with terrible tinnitus . It’s all too loud and you can’t hear the woodwinds at all over the overloud brass who are bang up against a reflective surface.

Yes, I had a similar problem with overloud brass at a performance of Turangalila at an LSO concert with Simon Rattle last year. The subsequent broadcast, however, sounded fine.

I also heard the Royal Concertgebouw in the same piece, again in the Barbican though mercifully without the brass problem. The LSO brass do need to turn the volume down otherwise the audience will be sent home with hearing damage.

I'm being more careful which LSO concerts I attend in the Barbican now.