New Year's Day Concert 2017 VPO/Dudamel

[Barbirollians]

Lovely to hear a fresh programme that hardly relied at all on the 'same old' pieces.

True though I did find myself thinking I would love to have heard Dudamel and the VPO play Gold and Silver.

[Hornspieler]

In one of his vapid commentaries Petroc Trelawney said "Vienna is full of old masters" but, listening from the next room, I could have sworn he said "Vienna is full of old bastards."

Surely it doesn't matter much who conducts this concert? You could put anyone on the rostrum and it would sound good.

So this might be called a musical New Year's honours list? (For Services Rendered to the enjoyment of music which all audiences may enjoy)

HS

... and by the way.

This reminds me of when the BSO were playing for the Welsh National Opera in Cardiff:

Frank, our 2nd oboe was always uttering Malapropisms - like, for instance "What do you think we should do about these Nuclear Detergents?

On this occasion we were sitting in the orchestra pit about to start a performance of "The Italian Girl in Algiers"

Frank turned to Clare,(1st Oboe) who was preparing to play that lovely opening solo in the overture.

"I went to St Fagans Museum, this afternoon" he told her. "Fascinating! One room was full of ancient Welsh [B]Vaginals[/B

Clare dissolved into laughter. The Overture started and the poor lady simply could not play . And then Ray (clarinet) sitting behind her whispered "Okay, I'll play it for you". - but then added, "I think we have a few of those Ancient Welsh Vaginals in the chorus"

Now the entire woodwind section were helpless with laughter.

We did manage to start eventually.

Back to Vienna. Sorry, but I couldn't resist telling you all.

[Alison]

True though I did find myself thinking I would love to have heard Dudamel and the VPO play Gold and Silver.

But we've got all that to look forward to in the future now Barbs.

[Tetrachord]

Perhaps I should have been clearer. I've been lucky enough to go to concerts in New York, London, Paris and Berlin and it always strikes me that the New Year's Day Concert is the most glamorous audience I've ever seen. Most audiences are a mixture of those who have chosen to dress up and others for whom it's a much more relaxed affair but, obviously, this is a world class event so going in jeans would be frowned upon.

I've been to the Musikverein dozens of times and also a few times to the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Theater an der Wien and Staatsoper. I can assure you that you get the death stare if you turn up at any of these venues without a suitable livery and looking well dressed. I've seen the death stare in action and it isn't pretty, though it did make me quietly laugh. I wore jeans to one, but had expensive boots and a good top and jacket and nobody took any notice of me. They take their music seriously and they expect others to dress as they do. I was always happy with that, especially since the people themselves are polite, helpful and friendly once you get to know them. Right now I've got the names of three people I met in one or more of these venues (and one in Mass, would you believe) who've asked me to contact them when I return to Vienna. That's what they're like!!

In Leipzig Gewandhaus I got a death stare from the woman in the next seat because I tapped my foot lightly during a rousing piece of Tchaikovsky. Germans! Sheesh.

[Richard Barrett]

it's important to realize that when the conductor steps onto the podium most of his work is already done.

Well yes I know that of course. I was just musing on the waltz tradition, its relation to the VPO, and the VPO's relation to conductors flying in to do the new year's concert - surely it's very unlikely that any conductor is going to reassess from the bottom up the way of playing that music, and even if he/she did this would involve putting the orchestra in an unwelcome and uncomfortable position, so in other words what I'm trying to say rather laboriously is that in this case the interpretative balance between orchestra and conductor is more weighted towards the orchestra than would normally be the case.

[Tetrachord]

So this might be called a musical New Year's honours list? (For Services Rendered to the enjoyment of music which all audiences may enjoy)

HS

... and by the way.

This reminds me of when the BSO were playing for the Welsh National Opera in Cardiff:

Frank, our 2nd oboe was always uttering Malapropisms - like, for instance "What do you think we should do about these Nuclear Detergents?

On this occasion we were sitting in the orchestra pit about to start a performance of "The Italian Girl in Algiers"

Frank turned to Clare,(1st Oboe) who was preparing to play that lovely opening solo in the overture.

"I went to St Fagans Museum, this afternoon" he told her. "Fascinating! One room was full of ancient Welsh [B]Vaginals[/B

Clare dissolved into laughter. The Overture started and the poor lady simply could not play . And then Ray (clarinet) sitting behind her whispered "Okay, I'll play it for you". - but then added, "I think we have a few of those Ancient Welsh Vaginals in the chorus"

Now the entire woodwind section were helpless with laughter.

We did manage to start eventually.

Back to Vienna. Sorry, but I couldn't resist telling you all.

What a wonderful anecdote!! Malapropisms! Yeah, what's that all about? My late mother had a nursing friend who said she had to go to 'choir practice'. My mother was herself a pianist and she said, "I didn't know you were musical; which choir is it"? to which the woman replied, "Oh, the one who does the massaging of the back and shoulders to put everything back in alignment".

She, of course, meant CHIROPRACTOR'S.

[Richard Barrett]

I wasn't suggesting that the audience members be stripped of their assets in order that they be distributed amongst the proletariat.

Sounds like a good idea to me.

[Tetrachord]

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Yeah, but you were only referring to the stripping.

[gradus]

I can imagine the 'death stares' but surely that would just make the whole thing more fun - épater les bourgeois and all that.

[mikealdren]

Marvellous and some interesting works too. Sadly it's back to Muti again next year.

[Alison]

Marvellous and some interesting works too. Sadly it's back to Muti again next year.

I didn't think his 2004 effort was too shabby but agree yesterday's exquisite standard will be difficult to match.

[hafod]

CD should be available from 9 January.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Sony/88985376152

DVD / Blu Ray slated for release later in the month

Pick the bones out of this one!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Years-Concert-Complete-Works/dp/B00UOFCIKQ

[Alison]

Pick the bones out of this one!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Years-C.../dp/B00UOFCIKQ

Yes, I should get this before it's deleted.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I can imagine the 'death stares' but surely that would just make the whole thing more fun - épater les bourgeois and all that.

- and with the moral highground that Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner, and Brahms' wearing apparel would attract equal opprobium from these serious Music lovers.

[Barbirollians]

Depressing though - those sorts of dress codes whether formal or informal put people off and are inherently discriminatory .