Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert 2018

[Once Was 4]

Are you sure that was the symphony they fell out over ? Barbirolli never recorded the Seventh as far as I am aware . There is a live recording or two knocking around .

I see that in an interview for the Halle shown on Slipped Disc site she says she told him his approach to classical repertoire was overly romantic . He seemed to take it well but the following day suggested they should go their separate ways.

Yes, she certainly told me Beethoven 7 (I will look out the interview which was for the British Horn Society). I have half an idea that the recording was never in fact made. What was understood was that Sir John wanted to import Dennis Brain to play 1st horn. People have taken that to mean that she took offence at that but she said privately that this was not the case - she would have loved to record it next to DB (then a member of the RAF but already a star) - it was certain other aspects of the Halle horn section at the time that were the problem.

Barbirolli, as was his wont, would have recorded it with the full section doubling the parts and this is what she objected to.

By the way, the 4th horn in this period was a man named Raymond Meert (whose son Charles Meert I knew in the early 70s when he was a 'cellist in the BBC Northern). He had been 1st horn and had come out of retirement in order to help with the war effort (as did Alphonso Trevisone in Bournemouth and Hornspieler can tell us a lot more about that). He apparently "resented playing down the line to two girls" (Ms Gollancx's words). Hmmm!

[Prommer]

Back to the NYD Concert.

Just take a look at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNxFm7_XTyA

I think Muti and others (including Thielemann) have a lot to learn!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Back to the NYD Concert.

Just take a look at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNxFm7_XTyA

I think Muti and others (including Thielemann) have a lot to learn!

Incredible!

There's nothing more to be said.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

And he isn't even my favourite Kleiber.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3Li5YkbHIA

[Alison]

Prommer

To what extent is Christian T likely to be able to ‘lighten up’ in the way Muti didn’t?

[Richard Barrett]

Incredible!

He was simply in a different class from Muti et al.

[Petrushka]

Prommer

To what extent is Christian T likely to be able to ‘lighten up’ in the way Muti didn’t?

It all seems dour and overly serious these days. Watch this to really show how to 'lighten up'. Boskovsky in 1974: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfgvqWEFa54

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

It all seems dour and overly serious these days. Watch this to really show how to 'lighten up'. Boskovsky in 1974: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfgvqWEFa54

Yes. I'd forgotten how good he was. Maazel also occasionally played the violin when he directed NYD concerts.

[kernelbogey]

It all seems dour and overly serious these days. Watch this to really show how to 'lighten up'. Boskovsky in 1974: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfgvqWEFa54

Also much silliness from the percussion section, and orchestra sing-alongs. That's gone out the window lately, I think?

[Stanfordian]

Yes. I'd forgotten how good he was. Maazel also occasionally played the violin when he directed NYD concerts.

I'd like to see Manfred Honeck conduct a New Year's Day concert at Musikverein. He might be able to inject some much needed life into the proceedings.

[Once Was 4]

Also much silliness from the percussion section, and orchestra sing-alongs. That's gone out the window lately, I think?

Hmmm! Reminds me of the time in the 70s when I was depping with the RLPO and their then MD the late Walter Weller junior, who had played in many of these concerts himself, for a Viennese night. The Principal percussionist asked "what about the jokes?" Herr Weller growled in response "yokes? - yokes? if zer is yokes I make der yokes!!"

In the 80s we did a similar concert with the ON orchestra in Bradford; one or two of the standard 'funnies' which other conductors expected of us went in without permission. The conductor that night (a Viennese and the genuine article) was NOT amused.

[Barbirollians]

Here is that video of Livia Gollancz recorded last August .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkIeUDW47u4

[hmvman]

To what extent is Christian T likely to be able to ‘lighten up’ in the way Muti didn’t?

I did think the opening march from The Gypsy Baron was rather heavy and plodding and a bit of a disappointing way to start. Otherwise I enjoyed the concert (I enjoy them pretty much every year from the viewpoint of it being a nice entertainment experienced whilst feeling jaded to varying degrees from the previous evening) but I didn't think it as good as Muti's 2004 concert.

[DracoM]

I'm only whispering - didn't think it was a terribly good concert all round. VPO soiunded terribly four square and going through the motions.
There, I've said it.

[kernelbogey]

I am wondering whether something that had been for years just echt Wien with a large helping of Schlagobers, deftly served up by Willy Boskovsky and his mates to their fellow citizens, has been turned into a huge international PR exercise for the Austrian state and its tourist board. Hence the dullness, or routineness, referred to by many posts above.