Live from St David's Hall, Cardiff Friday 15th June at 1930

[Guest]

Elin Manahan Thomas presents Thierry Fischer's final concert as principal conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Part 1 Mozart Piano concerto Nº 22 in E flat (Angela Hewitt)

INTERVAL

Part 2 Thierry Fischer leads the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie.

At last! Something to listen to in the evening! Talk about "Baroque Around the Clock"!

Roll on the Proms!

HS

[Tony Halstead]

Thierry Fischer leads the BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Excellent!
It's about time that a fine orchestra was led by a woodwind player rather than the principal violinist!

I'm old enough to remember Maestro Fischer as a superb flute player.

[Richard Tarleton]

Elin Manahan Thomas presents Thierry Fischer's final concert as principal conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Part 1 Mozart Piano concerto Nº 22 in E flat (Angela Hewitt)

INTERVAL

Part 2 Thierry Fischer leads the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in Strauss: Ein Alpensinfonie.

HS

I've got tickets! Really looking forward to this one!

[french frank]

It's about time that a fine orchestra was led by a woodwind player rather than the principal violinist!

It may be 'about time', but it's his last appearance as Principal Conductor. Thomas Søndergård an interesting appointment to take over (especially if he 'leads' them as a percussion player!)

[Btw the interval talk is Stephen Johnson on Eine Alpendinfonie].

[Tony Halstead]

Thomas Søndergård

Hmmm... when was the last time that the BBCNOW had - er, um, - a WELSH principal conductor?

[french frank]

Hmmm... when was the last time that the BBCNOW had - er, um, - a WELSH principal conductor?

Rae Jenkins (1950-1965)? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Nat...pal_Conductors

[Tony Halstead]

FORTY SEVEN years ago.
I suspected as such... 'a prophet in his own land'.etc.etc...

[cloughie]

FORTY SEVEN years ago.
I suspected as such... 'a prophet in his own land'.etc.etc...

When was the last Britsh Principal conductor of any of the BBC Orchestras?

[Alison]

Thierry Fischer has been a marvellous conductor of the Welsh Orchestra.

Why do the good ones never hang around ??

[Tony Halstead]

When was the last Britsh Principal conductor of any of the BBC Orchestras?

BBCSSO:
Ian Whyte (1940s-1960)
Norman Del Mar (1960-1965)
James Loughran (1965-1971)
Christopher Seaman (1971-1977)
Donald Runnicles (2009- )

BBC Northern SO:
Charles Groves (1944-1951)
George Hurst (1958-1968)
Bryden Thomson (1968-1973)
Raymond Leppard (1973-1980)
Edward Downes (1980-1991)

BBC NOW:
Mansel Thomas (1946–1950)
Rae Jenkins (1950–1965)
John Carewe (1966–1971)
Bryden Thomson (1979–1982)
Mark Wigglesworth (1996–2000)
Richard Hickox (2000-2006)

BBCSO:
Sir Adrian Boult (1930-1950)
Sir Malcolm Sargent (1950-1957)
Sir Colin Davis ( 1967-1971)
Sir John Pritchard ( 1982-1989)
Sir Andrew Davis (1989-2000)

[Richard Tarleton]

When was the last Britsh Principal conductor of any of the BBC Orchestras?

Could it have been Mark Wigglesworth at BBC NOW (1996-2000) ? See "neglected conductors" thread...Only caught him a couple of times but thought he was excellent, I remember a blistering Beethoven 7.

[Hornspieler]

When was the last Britsh Principal conductor of any of the BBC Orchestras?

Andrew Davis?

Returning to Waldhorn's post (msg #7):

I played under Rae Jenkins in 1951. I was in the Camden Theatre playing 4th horn with the BBC Opera Orchestra under Stanford Robinson when a message was conveyed to me asking that I go to Cardiff to deputise for the 1st horn (Emlyn Francis, father of Alun) who had been taken ill. I rang home and my mother met me at Charing Cross Station with funds for the journey and I caught an overnight train from Paddington. Filled with joyful anticipation, I arrived at Charles Street studios at 10 o'clock.

The programme was:
Ov. Abu Hassan (Weber)
A cello concerto (S Saens, IIRC) with Eleanor Warren
A Schubert Symphony

Rae Jenkins took one look at my youthful countenance and instructed me to play the high horn parts in the overture an octave lower.
I took one look at Rae Jenkins' conducting and vowed never to play for him again, if I could help it.
He was formerly conductor of the BBC Variety Orchestra and symphonic music was obviously not his metier.

So be grateful, Waldie that you never had the horror of finding yourself down there playing under Wyn Morris or Owain Arwel Hughes in later years.

HS

[Ariosto]

I'm going to bring you all down to earth and inject some realism into this discussion.

The BBC Welsh, or whatever its called now has always been, and still is, a 3rd rate provincial orchestra. I've worked with them hundreds of time over the years.

They never have had good conductors and whilst I can't claim to know the most recent one or two, they have always had in the (not too distant) past, conductors who I can only describe are pretty dire. Of course they get the occasional good guest conductor as most bands do, but these are usually from outside the UK.

I remember one princ. conductor who could not even conduct a straight three beats in the bar (and he was in fact from somewhere else, Romania I think) - and in a Prom the best way was to ignore him. This was in a simple Beethoven symphony. But what can on say, the general public will accept any old rubbish.

[Tony Halstead]

one princ. conductor who could not even conduct a straight three beats in the bar (and he was in fact from somewhere else, Romania I think 

Erik Bergel?

[Hornspieler]

I'm going to bring you all down to earth and inject some realism into this discussion.

The BBC Welsh, or whatever its called now has always been, and still is, a 3rd rate provincial orchestra. I've worked with them hundreds of time over the years.

A very sweeping statement Ari, and I suggest that you listen on Friday night to see whether you can justify such arbitary condemnation.

True, at one time it did seem that the BBC seemed to be using the Welsh Orchestra as "an old player's safe haven" for contracted members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, where they could see out their time until they could collect their pensions, but this did have the effect of improving the standard of performance over the years. The current BBCNOW is an entirely different generation of players - no longer enduring the nepotistic array of conductors who were thrust upon them and capable, as I hope you will agree, if you listen on Friday, of holding their own in even the major works with the BBC Scottish, BBC Philharmonic or that sacred cow, the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

HS