Blomstedt Eroica in Chicago

[richardfinegold]

At the last minute one of my colleagues was unable to attend a concert last week of Blomstedt leading the Chicago SO in Mozart Symphony #39 and Beethoven’s Eroica and I was the lucky beneficiary.
He’s a spry 90, practically jogging to the podium. He conducted without a score. The Mozart was a sparkling delight that won’t satisfy HIPP requirements but was hugely enjoyable with fairly light textures.
The lightness informed the first movement of the Eroica, and while I prefer a bit more solidity here it had real shape and momentum. The Funeral March was a bit to low key for me but the last two movements were very good. I pulled out the 40 year old recording HB made with the Dresden Orchestra and it was more satisfying but of course it is unfair to him to throw that in his face.
Here’s hoping this wasn’t the last opportunity to see this fine Musician at work

[LMcD]

I'm a great admirer of his recordings of the Nielsen symphonies with the San Francisco Symphony.

[Bryn]

Blomstedt Eroicain Chicago

So a sort of numbing perfromance, eh?

[cloughie]

I assume it was a typo but the word eroicain has a certain ring to it - perhaps it can be applied to the big band performance of symphonies which nowadays usually receive hippain performances!
Was the Mozart 39 of eroicain proprtions, rfg?

[richardfinegold]

I assume it was a typo but the word eroicain has a certain ring to it - perhaps it can be applied to the big band performance of symphonies which nowadays usually receive hippain performances!
Was the Mozart 39 of eroicain proprtions, rfg?

Yeah, it does have a ring to it,. Remember the Eroica Piano Trio, whose members consisted of three attractive young woman whose cover albums featured them wearing dresses with scooping décolletage? I don’t know if it was me or the predictive typing but they kept coming out as the Erotica Trio.
Actually I was so concerned with misspelling Blomstedt that I neglected the rest of the proofread...

[BBMmk2]

At least I'm not the only one making typos!

[richardfinegold]

I'm a great admirer of his recordings of the Nielsen symphonies with the San Francisco Symphony.

Have you heard his earlier cycle with Danish Orchestra? It was my introduction to Nielsen and P layer the grooves of the budget lps

[LMcD]

Have you heard his earlier cycle with Danish Orchestra? It was my introduction to Nielsen and P layer the grooves of the budget lps

Not yet, but I have seen a performance of the 5th by these forces on YouTube.

[cloughie]

At least I'm not the only one making typos!

[jayne lee wilson]

Have you heard his earlier cycle with Danish Orchestra? It was my introduction to Nielsen and P layer the grooves of the budget lps

Oh yes - and having lived with both Blomstedts, and many another Nielsen Cycle over how-many-Nielsen-obsessive-years, I greatly prefer the Danish Radio SO Cycle to the San Francisco one.....it might have less polish and overt discipline in the ensemble, but (in classic EMI 70s sound, at least on the Japanese Doublefortes, including a third set with the three concertos, also excellent) is more idiomatic, warmer and richer-textured with a more flexible interpretative approach too. No such thing as a perfect Nielsen cycle I'm afraid, but this Danish RSO/Blomstedt one is in my top three or five...

***

"Oh Baby better come here quick,
This old eroicain she drives me sick,
Eroicain..all around my brain..."

[richardfinegold]

Damn! Who fixed the typo?

[cloughie]

Damn! Who fixed the typo?

We'll not let it die - you've invented a great descriptive adjective for good full power interpretations of late eighteen and nineteenth century works!

[richardfinegold]

Oh yes - and having lived with both Blomstedts, and many another Nielsen Cycle over how-many-Nielsen-obsessive-years, I greatly prefer the Danish Radio SO Cycle to the San Francisco one.....it might have less polish and overt discipline in the ensemble, but (in classic EMI 70s sound, at least on the Japanese Doublefortes, including a third set with the three concertos, also excellent) is more idiomatic, warmer and richer-textured with a more flexible interpretative approach too. No such thing as a perfect Nielsen cycle I'm afraid, but this Danish RSO/Blomstedt one is in my top three or five...

***

"Oh Baby better come here quick,
This old eroicain she drives me sick,
Eroicain..all around my brain..."

Slow day here. I must have stamped out all disease earlier in the week...I don't think I've ever done a close comparison of the two Blomstedt Nielsen cycles. after wearing out the earlier lps the SFSO cycle was the only one on silver disc for a while and I played those quite frequently as well. The SFSO cycle lacked the accompanying works that the earlier Danish cycle had and that was the main reason that I repurchased that when it was released on CD here. I don't recall that the earlier
cycle had superior sonics but I'll have to listen when I go home. I also have the Naxos cycle and the Gilbert/NYP cycle which regrettably was recorded in the Sonic Graveyard of Concerts at Lincoln Center, a venue that makes the Barbican in London sound like the Concertgebouw in comparison. At any rate I prefer the two Blomstedts.
OT- did Paavo Berglund record any Nielsen? That would have been interesting

[bluestateprommer]

Lucky you to have seen HB live with the CSO. HB recently guested with his old band in San Francisco, where he dared to program Stenhammar's Symphony No. 2, in its first-ever San Francisco Symphony performances. It would have been nice to attend that concert, but that would have been a hefty C-footprint to get there. The first half was Beethoven's 'Emperor' Concerto, to draw a crowd, needless to say. It's probably been discussed elsewhere, but it would be interesting if any Forumites have heard HB's newest Beethoven symphony cycle with the Gewandhaus.

OT- did Paavo Berglund record any Nielsen? That would have been interesting

Yes, Berglund recorded a complete Nielsen symphony cycle with the Royal Danish Orchestra.

[Dave2002]

Damn! Who fixed the typo?

I thought I'd responded to this thread - maybe I didn't hit the right button, or maybe someone deleted it. I conjured up images of novocain/e - some sort of drug - and as I said in the "missing" post, I rather liked the typo.