KP/Berlin PO/Mahler 7

[richardfinegold]

On a chilly Chicago night This was the only work programmed. KP is a diminutive, almost troll like figure who is highly animated, smiles constantly, and seems to radiate charisma. He and the Orchestra had excellent rapport.
My favorite parts of M7 are the inner movements and the Berlin winds were the star here. The burbling clarinets interactions with the horns were stunning.
The first movement was on the fast side, which I like, but I have read others that were critical of KP here. The finale has always struck me as a wayward child but they charged right in, treated it as a rondo, and the audience was suitably impressed.
The Orchestra is quite youngish. They no longer have that satiny sheen of the Karajan era but I thought sounded more virtuoso than when I heard them 20 years ago under Abbado

[HighlandDougie]

On a chilly Chicago night This was the only work programmed. KP is a diminutive, almost troll like figure who is highly animated, smiles constantly, and seems to radiate charisma. He and the Orchestra had excellent rapport.
My favorite parts of M7 are the inner movements and the Berlin winds were the star here. The burbling clarinets interactions with the horns were stunning.
The first movement was on the fast side, which I like, but I have read others that were critical of KP here. The finale has always struck me as a wayward child but they charged right in, treated it as a rondo, and the audience was suitably impressed.
The Orchestra is quite youngish. They no longer have that satiny sheen of the Karajan era but I thought sounded more virtuoso than when I heard them 20 years ago under Abbado

Lucky you! The performance at this year's Proms was pretty special - and there is the CD with his Bavarian orchestra, which is also up there with the best available. I really like his BPO Mahler 6, too.

[RichardB]

Very interesting, thanks RF. I have still to see Petrenko, although I agree completely with HD about the recording. To be honest I haven't been that excited about the Berliners since the beginning of the Abbado years. I have the highest regard for Abbado as a conductor but I don't think he got the best out of them and since then what I've heard of their work has been a bit too luxurious and lacking in edge, in a way that Abbado's work with the LSO wasn't, for example. But it sounds like Petrenko has the character and commitment to change that.

[bluestateprommer]

To RF, great that you could attend this concert. Some musical friends are traveling to Ann Arbor, Michigan to hear KP and the BPO in both their tour concerts.

BTW, to the moderators: should this thread be moved to the "Performance" thread? Sorry to pick nits, but I'm just that kind of guy ;) .

PS to the moderators: alternatively, maybe merge this into the BPO / KP Mahler 7 thread? That might be easier.

http://www.for3.org/forums/showthread.php?24184-Prom-62-Berliner-Philharmoniker-and-Kirill-Petrenko-%E2%80%93-Mahler%E2%80%99s-Seventh-(3-09-22)

[richardfinegold]

Very interesting, thanks RF. I have still to see Petrenko, although I agree completely with HD about the recording. To be honest I haven't been that excited about the Berliners since the beginning of the Abbado years. I have the highest regard for Abbado as a conductor but I don't think he got the best out of them and since then what I've heard of their work has been a bit too luxurious and lacking in edge, in a way that Abbado's work with the LSO wasn't, for example. But it sounds like Petrenko has the character and commitment to change that.

I came of (Musical Appreciation) age in the seventies, mainly by listening to recordings, and while I appreciated that Karajan/Berlin was a great tandem, I didn't fully appreciate how spectacular they were until later. You could quibble with individual recordings, and certainly they weren't HIPP, but IMO this amounts to something akin to some dust settling on Michalangelo's David. I remember being very disappointed when I saw them under Abbado, not because they weren't a wonderful Orchestra, but because that Rolls Royce like chrome sheen had gone. I felt about the same way about the Philadelphia Orchestra after the Ormandy years. Both Philly and Berlin were still excellent but that individuality, that distinct sound that each possessed, had been submerged. However I didn't quite feel that during this concert. The Orchestra isn't Karajan 2.0, but it wasn't the Chicago Symphony either. The strings aren't as overwhelming as they had been but the winds and brass are more characterful. My wife immediately grasped the difference between them and our home team. And KP really is animated and charismatic (not that Ricardo Muti is inanimate poker face). I hope KP has a long tenure and I would love to be able to hear them again live in a few years.

[bluestateprommer]

While not the exact performance that RF heard in Chicago, WQXR has this radio broadcast of the Berlin Phil's Carnegie Hall performance 2 weeks ago:

https://www.wqxr.org/story/berliner-philharmoniker/?tab=summary

Probably best to listen to it ASAP, which I plan to do after traveling back home after Thanksgiving, as who knows how much longer the audio will remain available.

PS: Dithering back on my earlier comment/suggestion on moving this thread, I'm thinking that it's best to move this sub-thread into the "Perfomance" section.

[Moved to Performance from Proms Concerts - ff]

[richardfinegold]

That Carnegie Hall was a few days prior to Chicago concert. I’ve listened to the KP/Munich recording which is good but I miss the sheer virtuosity and playfulness of the Berlin winds

[Barbirollians]

I loved the BPO under Abbado - certainly in their early years how he peeled away a lot of that rather rich late Karajan sound . Their Brahms symphony cycle in particular is outstanding.

[RichardB]

I loved the BPO under Abbado - certainly in their early years how he peeled away a lot of that rather rich late Karajan sound . Their Brahms symphony cycle in particular is outstanding.

It's certainly beautifully played, but I find it a bit too much like being driven around in a big Mercedes.

[smittims]

It was an achievement for Abbado to have modified the Berliner sound after so many years under one conductor (though I speak as an admirer of Herbert). Abbado's last Beethoven set, mostly made in Rome, is very refreshing. It can't have been easy to record the Beethoven Symphonies yet again with the Berliners.

[richardfinegold]

We have a house full of guests for the Thanksgiving holiday, and several of the live in Ann Arbor and attended the concert two days after the Chicago concert. They report a very excited and engaged audience.