New Year's Day Concert, Vienna Jan 1 2016

[Petrushka]

Do you have to be on Freeview for this to work, Pet? I tried every possible combination of pressing the red button, 601, etc., while receiving the broadcast at 10.15 on Radio 4 via my Sky satellite box - nothing happened. I tried doing it while tuned to BBC1, BBC2, BBC4 (which doesn't start until 7.00 pm)..... Still we got the first half in the evening.

You should be able to access 601 from any television from which you can get the red button which I think is pretty well any TV nowadays. Quite why the BBC keep very quiet about this facility is a real puzzle. I use it for commentary-free coverage of Trooping the Colour and the Cenotaph but understand that The BBC are closing it anyway as part of the cuts.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

You should be able to access 601 from any television from which you can get the red button which I think is pretty well any TV nowadays. Quite why the BBC keep very quiet about this facility is a real puzzle. I use it for commentary-free coverage of Trooping the Colour and the Cenotaph but understand that The BBC are closing it anyway as part of the cuts.

Now there's a fascinating statement. If only the cuts were of the commentaries, rather than the service.

[BBMmk2]

I always avoid this, like the plague!!

[underthecountertenor]

I always avoid this, like the plague!!

Thanks for letting us know this vital information. I'm sure we'll all try to remember when next we do our Christmas shopping.

[ucanseetheend]

notice that even in the wealthy, connected audience of Viennese the Smart phones and tablets were out in force

[Petrushka]

notice that even in the wealthy, connected audience of Viennese the Smart phones and tablets were out in force

Yes this was much in evidence last year as well but this time the TV cameras seemed to have far fewer shots from the back, probably realising how distracting it looked. I really can't understand why anyone needs to have their smartphone or tablet turned on during a concert anyway. Considering that this might be the only time many of them get to this prestigious event you'd think audience members would be a bit more attentive.

[pastoralguy]

Yes this was much in evidence last year as well but this time the TV cameras seemed to have far fewer shots from the back, probably realising how distracting it looked. I really can't understand why anyone needs to have their smartphone or tablet turned on during a concert anyway. Considering that this might be the only time many of them get to this prestigious event you'd think audience members would be a bit more attentive.

I said as much to Mrs. PG. 'Why not just wait until the Blu-ray Disc comes out instead of spoiling it for everyone else?!'

I did wonder what the net worth of that audience is...

[Nick Armstrong]

Georges P will be 92 this year. Is he still conducting?

They should book him anyway, with Stan Skrowaczewski (93 this coming October ) as first reserve! He was looking pretty racy a couple of months ago!

First bit of peace this New Year, watching the first part of the concert with the remains of a bottle of Veuve Cliquot (happily still ) - great feel to the music (daft horseracing dance sequence a good chance to catch up on the Forum... )

[bluestateprommer]

Come in bluestateprommer (Note: in answer to Petrushka's "Georges P will be 92 this year. Is he still conducting?"

For Alison and friends, on GP, yep, he's still at it, as this article from Le Parisien notes:

http://www.leparisien.fr/flash-actualite-culture/a-91-ans-le-chef-d-orchestre-georges-pretre-reste-au-pupitre-18-12-2015-5384193.php

GP is set to conduct the Filarmonica della Scala on February 22, for one:

http://www.teatroallascala.org/en/season/2015-2016/exceptional-concerts/tribute-to-georges-pretre.html

But getting back to the topic at hand: I didn't hear the BBC iPlayer version of the relay, but went to ORF's site directly to catch the 1-week archived audio. Thus I could only understand every 10th word from Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz, since the only German that I command is very bad tourist German. Interestingly, in trying to catch a bit of the intermission "Intermezzo" interview with Mariss Jansons, he also sounded somewhat tired there, in the same way that he sounded tired at the March 2015 farewell concert intermission interview on R4 from Radio Netherlands.

On the whole, an enjoyable listen, although there were some odd quirks of tempo shift in the choral version of "Auf Ferienreisen", for one, not to mention the extremely brash sound effects in "Vergnügungszug" (contrast that with Karajan from 1987, with no train horns or anything besides instruments themselves; or even Kleiber from 1992, with just CK himself tooting the train horn). Still, all in all, good clean fun to start 2016 musically, of course.

El Dude makes an interesting choice for 2017, the VPO going for youth there. I think he'll do a fine job, as The Dude is smart enough to know not to stay in the VPO's way. Plus, who knows, maybe more young-uns will try to enter the ticket lottery.

[Prommer]

Take a look at what Kleiber did with the 'Dragonfly', below, compared with the rather uninteresting interpretation the other day, and tell me that conductors make no difference!

http://youtu.be/dunn_2wAs0o

Sheer genius.

[DublinJimbo]

Take a look at what Kleiber did with the 'Dragonfly', below, compared with the rather uninteresting interpretation the other day, and tell me that conductors make no difference!

http://youtu.be/dunn_2wAs0o

Sheer genius.

Point well proved.

[Roger Judd]

No-one has commented yet on this, so perhaps it was just my imagination, but there seemed to be less evidence of the traditional VPO 'lilt' in the waltzs this year. Did it strike anyone else, I wonder?
RJ

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

No-one has commented yet on this, so perhaps it was just my imagination, but there seemed to be less evidence of the traditional VPO 'lilt' in the waltzs this year. Did it strike anyone else, I wonder?
RJ

I did wonder myself. It really needs Willi Boskovsky or Herbert von Karajan to do the lilt justice.

Karajan even gave Tchaikovsky's waltzes a Viennese lilt.

[gradus]

Thanks for posting the Kleiber concert excerpt, as beautiful as ever. Mind you I rather liked Janssons way with it too.