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

[Flay]

Mahler 9 this evening!

I haven't listened to that performance yet. Has anyone?

<edit> Ah I see it was discussed elsewhere, but the disgusting event in Manchester inevitably overshadowed it.

I've just started listening now; the dedication of the concert to those affected by the atrocity was touching.

[BBMmk2]

I haven't listened to that performance yet. Has anyone?

<edit> Ah I see it was discussed elsewhere, but the disgusting event in Manchester inevitably overshadowed it.

I've just started listening now; the dedication of the concert to those affected by the atrocity was touching.

Hope you enjoyed the performance Flay.

[Alison]

Must confess still not feeling in the mood for Mahler 9.

Sorting through a few CDs in the car I turned to some light orchestral works of Gordon Langford.

It was as if undemanding works were what I needed ....

[Petrushka]

I purchased my ticket for the LSO/Haitink Mahler 9 as long ago as February 2016 and had been looking forward to it for ages. In the event it was a well-nigh unbearable listen with the previous evening's happenings so very much in mind. Whether the performance itself from Haitink and the LSO gained anything more in intensity than it would have done anyway is difficult to gauge but it was a superb performance in every way. Do try to make room for it before it disappears off the I-player.

[Beef Oven!]

I purchased my ticket for the LSO/Haitink Mahler 9 as long ago as February 2016 and had been looking forward to it for ages. In the event it was a well-nigh unbearable listen with the previous evening's happenings so very much in mind. Whether the performance itself from Haitink and the LSO gained anything more in intensity than it would have done anyway is difficult to gauge but it was a superb performance in every way. Do try to make room for it before it disappears off the I-player.

Must have been quite an intense experience, given the circumstances.

I must remember to give it a listen before it disappears.

[Alison]

Thanks for the report Pet. One friend told me it was no carbon copy of the Proms 2009 account.

[Petrushka]

Thanks for the report Pet. One friend told me it was no carbon copy of the Proms 2009 account.

It's very interesting indeed to hear how, in his old age, Haitink is re-thinking his interpretations of works he has been conducting for decades. There is absolutely no sense whatever of any waning of his powers. Naturally, he is no longer the young firebrand of yore as his gestures now are minimalist in the extreme but, cliché as it is, his interpretations now have the profound wisdom of a long and fruitful life. Back in the Barbican on June 1 for Bruckner 9.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I would just add that the finale of the work was the best performance of Mahler's Music that I've ever heard from Haitink.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08r2zrr

[Petrushka]

I've just listened again to this extraordinary performance in my own recording from last Tuesday's broadcast and was overwhelmed once again as I was in the hall. Just superb. Perhaps most noteworthy of all were the many moments of Zen-like stasis, especially in the first movement with not a squeak from the capacity audience (save for one unfortunate who coughed twice in those final moments from right behind me. It momentarily wrecked the mood). That apart it was a privilege to have been there.

On no account should any Mahlerian miss this!

[Alison]

I'm nearly ready to catch up
Pet!

[Alison]

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

[Bryn]

Our backpacks were checked both before the concert and after the interval at the Messiaen the following night, but I think this is probably standard procedure. The check was not exactly thorough, just a quick look inside with the aid of a torch.

[Petrushka]

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

Not greatly, but I think that people are being 'discouraged' from bringing bags. I purposely left mine behind in the hotel room as it was a warm night so no brolly, jumper or jacket were required. I'd be more concerned from a security point of view with the more high profile Proms. I'd be looking for something more robust than we've had in the past. As time goes by people get slack again.

[BBMmk2]

Always at The Mountbatten Festival of Music, they always do the checks. Quite thoroughly, as well.

[Simon B]

Very evidently increased security in Liverpool on Friday (must be costing organisations which can ill afford it a bundle), less noticeably so at the Barbican Tue/Wed/Sun; this may be more to do with perception of the previous approach than anything else. Most venues of note have introduced visible security guards over the last few years.

IMO there is no excuse for anything short of adequate searches of everyone for every concert at the Proms now in what is an easily closed environment and one for which a lot more is being charged for entry over recent times.