Haitink/LSO; Mahler #9; 23/5/17

[Stanfordian]

A few years when attending a recital at the Rykestrasse synagogue in Berlin (Mr and Mrs Barenboim were there) the security to enter involved checks equivalent as that one would expect at international airports these days. There were also armed police outside and around the door, and I kid you not an armoured car was patrolling outside.

[Alison]

Wonderful stuff from Haitink and the LSO. A newly minted account of this multi faceted and much played Symphony.

I suspect the uniqueness of the occasion did make for a particularly moving experience, the fragility of life never far from my thoughts.

This felt quite different from any other performance yet utterly natural and selfless.

[pastoralguy]

As a matter of passing interest was there any evidence of increased security at this or any other concerts forumistas have attended??

I was at the Usher Hall for the RSNO's usual Friday night concert. After the event, which was Thomas Søndergård's first concert since he was named as the orchestra's Music Director the day before, I hung around to catch a couple of friends who play in the orchestra. I was aware of a LOT of police outside the Usher Hall as well as a helicopter. However, since President Obama was literally a quarter of a mile away giving a speech at a charity event, I presumed that the heightened security was because of him. The few people remaining outside the hall were surprised to see a man being marched from the box office which is located in the recent extension to the hall. He was in handcuffs and was accompanied by SIX police officers! He was then bundled into a waiting police van parked in Lothian Road in an extremely unceremonious fashion before being driven away.

Obviously, I have no idea what the circumstances were but the police were obviously taking NO chances. Scary stuff!

[Simon B]

Wonderful stuff from Haitink and the LSO...

Supremely secure nuanced playing by the LSO, palpably giving their all in much the same way as they did for André Previn in his last (regrettably perhaps in both senses) appearance with them about 2 years ago.

I was surprised by how un-objective the last movement was relative to my expectation of BH's approach at this stage. Yes it was uncompromising, but also impassioned.

[bluestateprommer]

Heard Uncle Bernie with the LSO and Mahler 9 just before the iPlayer deadline a few weeks back. I admit to being the dissenter among the crowd in my evaluation of this performance. Overall, it's not a patch on the LSO/Haitink Mahler 9 Prom from 2009. Parts were terrific, but the blemishes included a just barely too early cymbal clash in the first movement and a few brass flubs (sorry, folks, I can't help but hear these things when they happen), as well as a sense of heavy weather in a number of passages. In the finale, the pacing seemed a bit erratic and inconsistent from section to section. Still, had I been in London and been able to score a ticket, I would have been more than eager to attend.