NZ Symphony Orch

[DracoM]

This week's Afternoon Concert ensemble.
Good stuff. Fine Bruckner 4th especially.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000sjc2

[edashtav]

This week's Afternoon Concert ensemble.
Good stuff. Fine Bruckner 4th especially.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000sjc2

Yes, a perky Beethoven 1st Symphony was followed by a mellow and well-proportioned Romantic Symphony delivered with love by the talented Dutch-Maltese conductor, Lawrence Renes.

I feel that Renes has the toolkit to become a significant interpreter of Bruckner.
Do you agree Jayne Lee Wilson, or is he a bit creamy with a tendency to treat the orchestra as a Victorian organ without rasping ‘mixtures’?

[oddoneout]

Mention was also made that today was 10 years since the Christchurch earthquake.

[Richard Barrett]

I saw the NZSO in Auckland do an excellent Turangalîla with Matthias Bamert. It struck me as a pretty high quality ensemble.

[Bryn]

Since we have been discussing Bruckner's 6th, it's worth recalling that Tintner conducted the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in his Naxos recording of the work.

[Frances_iom]

Since we have been discussing Bruckner's 6th, it's worth recalling that Tintner conducted the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in his Naxos recording of the work.

Naxos have published quite a number of their recordings - possibly they came in at a lower cost than the more well known European orchestras

[edashtav]

Since we have been discussing Bruckner's 6th, it's worth recalling that Tintner conducted the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in his Naxos recording of the work.

Good point, Bryan: there’s nothing like ‘experience’ in getting an orchestra acquainted with a composer’s style and idiosyncracies.

[edashtav]

I believe the magical hornspieler at the start of AB’s Romantic Symphony can only be Sam Jacobs:

Samuel Jacobs is the Principal horn of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, having returned after spending three years as Principal horn of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. While in the UK, Samuel’s freelance work included performing as guest Principal horn with most of the leading symphony orchestras, whilst in this hemisphere Samuel frequently works as guest Principal horn with the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, and took part in the epic project of the 2016 Ring cycle in Melbourne on Principal horn.

Samuel has made numerous commercial recordings for the film and pop industries, including albums with Sting, Sam Smith and Florence & the Machine, and soundtracks for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Interstellar, The Martian and the Bond film Spectre, as well as scores for television and video games, including the Halo franchise. Samuel has also recorded on the LSO Live label and on numerous live BBC Radio 3 broadcasts, and as Principal horn on the Deutsche Grammophon, Dutton Epoch and RPO record labels. Personal career highlights include performing with Sting at the Hollywood Bowl, New York Met and MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and touring America, Canada and Europe playing Principal horn with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra on their Star Wars In Concert tour.

Samuel’s solo experience includes concertos by Haydn, Mozart, Hoffmann, Franz Strauss and Richard Strauss, as well as Schumann’s Konzertstuck on Principal horn. Samuel has recorded John Rimmer’s Horn Concerto with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and his performance of Mozart’s 4th Horn Concerto with Sinfonia Viva was broadcast on Classic FM. Samuel also toured this concerto around the country with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 2016.

Previous teachers include Richard Kennedy, Beccy Goldberg, Julian Plummer, Martin Owen, Michael Thompson and Richard Watkins; and Samuel himself has given masterclasses at the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, and is currently teaching horn at the New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University Wellington. Outside of music, Sam has been an extra in the hit Bollywood movie ‘Blue’ and appeared on four UK television quiz shows, including Countdown.

[Pulcinella]

Mentioned elsewhere, I'm sure (probably the British, commonwealth, etc thread): The NZSO recording of Douglas Lilburn's three symphonies (on Naxos), conducted by James Judd, is well worth exploring.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lilburn-New-Zealand-Symphony-Orchestra/dp/B000066JHR/ref=sr_1_1?crid=OZLDKTSO0XCE&dchild=1&keywords=lilburn&qid=1614070860&s=music&sprefix=lilburn%2Caps%2C138&sr=1-1

[cloughie]

Mentioned elsewhere, I'm sure (probably the British, commonwealth, etc thread): The NZSO recording of Douglas Lilburn's three symphonies (on Naxos), conducted by James Judd, is well worth exploring.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lilburn-New...s%2C138&sr=1-1

...and another Naxos disc of his orchestral pieces with the same forces.

[edashtav]

...and another Naxos disc of his orchestral pieces with the same forces.

This afternoon’s Concert should allow the orchestra to display its strengths.

At its heart is a Violin Concerto by a young NZ composer. Here’s a good introduction to it:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/concert/progra...certo-premiere from RNZ.

[edashtav]

Oh dear, all we got of Claire Cowan’s three movement Violin concerto was its opening movement. That was probably not the BBC’s fault but getting only the torso of Stark, the troubled but glittering body painted Dancer seemed short measure , especially as the movement seemed to take rather a long time to find its sense of direction and its dancing feet.

Stravinsky’s Symphony of Winds was carefully crafted but lacked the élan and crispness that the great ensembles bring to it.

Edo de Waart’s reading of Igor’s Symphony In Three Movements was mercurial, lively and full of sparkle. I enjoyed it without reservations.

My goto to performance of Rachmaninov’s E minor Symphony is Vladimir Askenasy’s fine recording. Waart’s interpretation with his NZ band was less impassioned but full of lovely moments where the conductor’s love and experience brought out some ‘hidden’ inner voices from the lush undergrowth. A successful performance.

[cloughie]

Oh dear, all we got of Claire Cowan’s three movement Violin concerto was its opening movement. That was probably not the BBC’s fault but getting only the torso of Stark, the troubled but glittering body painted Dancer seemed short measure , especially as the movement seemed to take rather a long time to find its sense of direction and its dancing feet.

Stravinsky’s Symphony of Winds was carefully crafted but lacked the élan and crispness that the great ensembles bring to it.

Edo de Waart’s reading of Igor’s Symphony In Three Movements was mercurial, lively and full of sparkle. I enjoyed it without reservations.

My goto to performance of Rachmaninov’s E minor Symphony is Vladimir Askenasy’s fine recording. Waart’s interpretation with his NZ band was less impassioned but full of lovely moments where the conductor’s love and experience brought out some ‘hidden’ inner voices from the lush undergrowth. A successful performance.

De Waart’s RotterdamPO recording of the Rachmaninov from many years ago - now on Eloquence is also very good - I’ll have a listen to the NZ on Sounds!

[edashtav]

De Waart’s RotterdamPO recording of the Rachmaninov from many years ago - now on Eloquence is also very good - I’ll have a listen to the NZ on Sounds!

Do listen on to Vogt as soloist and conductor in Mozart’s 21st piano concerto. I felt a separate conductor might have improved results as sometimes elongated his piano mannerisms into the ensuing orchestral tutti, resulting in a slight over-egging effect.

Golly what sounds in the Linz! Vogt must be an atonal and eternal grunter!

Strap the lad to his keyboard and tape his mouth.

(Incidentally, I think there has been an explosion of soloists thinking they are God’s gift to conducting. The worst live interpretation that I’ve heard of Mozart’s Requiem was conducted by a violinist called Yehudi. Conductors, I value you highly, please lock up your batons and glue your feet to the rostrum.)