Originally posted by JasonPalmer
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This is a bobby dazzler of a work which made such a good impression in the virtuoso first performance by the BBC SO under Marin Alsop at the Proms about a decade ago. It is exultant, exuberant, energetic and high octane. Its scoring is heavy and the volume level is often loud but the texture never sounds thick. Individual instruments often have their own material which returns frequently so once the basic units have been learned, putting the work together is akin to assembling a patterned brick wall. The conductor’s job is to co-ordinate, maintain momentum, balance and clean rhythms but avoid slackening of tension or allowing players to get over-excited and run away from the pack.
This evening on R.3, American James Feddeck conducted the BBC NOW in a performance recorded live in Cardiff last week. How did they fare?
Well, for this listener, the fireworks failed to glitter brightly. I felt the tempo was a tad slow and there was a gloss, perhaps an American smoothness, that emphasised thematic content over percussive drive. Lack of frisson dulled the impact of the whole.
I heard the laidback start of Tchaikovsky’s 1st Piano Concerto and decided it was time to cook dinner.
I shall try and return for the Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances.
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