BBCNOW tonight 12th November at 7.30

[Hornspieler]

Elgar, Bruch
Radio 3 Live in Concert, Live from BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff First broadcast:Monday 12 November 2012Live from Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff


The BBC National Orchestra of Wales plays Elgar's Cockaigne Overture, Bruch's 1st Violin Concerto - with Tasmin Little as soloist - and Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances.

Elgar: Overture, Cockaigne
Bruch: Violin Concerto No 1
Tasmin Little: violin
INTERVAL
Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances


BBC National Orchestra of Wales
David Atherton, conductor
Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances and Elgar's Cockaigne overflow with scintillating energy and as well as warmth and good humour. And there's intense youthful passion to be found in Bruch's First Violin Concerto, a jewel of romantic violin music, played here by Tasmin Little.

A nice programme. Be sure not to miss it.

HS

[Bryn]

Elgar, Bruch
Radio 3 Live in Concert, Live from BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff First broadcast:Monday 12 November 2012Live from Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff


The BBC National Orchestra of Wales plays Elgar's Cockaigne Overture, Bruch's 1st Violin Concerto - with Tasmin Little as soloist - and Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances.

Elgar: Overture, Cockaigne
Bruch: Violin Concerto No 1
Tasmin Little: violin
INTERVAL
Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances


BBC National Orchestra of Wales
David Atherton, conductor
Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances and Elgar's Cockaigne overflow with scintillating energy and as well as warmth and good humour. And there's intense youthful passion to be found in Bruch's First Violin Concerto, a jewel of romantic violin music, played here by Tasmin Little.

A nice programme. Be sure not to miss it.

HS

The return to the BBC NOW of David Atherton was enough to promt me into listening.

[jayne lee wilson]

In Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, whilst I appreciated the analytical clarity of the orchestral balance tonight and the often beautiful, limpid sound Atherton drew from the NOW, the performance seemed to relax a little too much in the quieter passages; so whilst the 1st Symphony quote, towards the 1st movement's end, was warmly and affectionately sung out by the strings, the earlier saxophone solo was rather literal - could have done with more schwung and shapelier phrasing. So in the 2nd movement, strings played beautifully throughout but the winds were a shade under-characterised.

This approach gave us a finale which, whilst very clearly mapped out, again tended to let the tension drop in the more reflective episodes. Perhaps one shouldn't expect wild hysterics in the vivace (personally I wouldn't say no...), but a touch of headlong volatility (if you can have a "touch" of that...) might be more involving. It is a difficult movement to bring off, but those episodes can be more tightly woven into a more insistent symphonic momentum.
There didn't sound like there was much at stake in this battle.

It's sad if some listeners find it hard to get, or to hang onto, the HD Stream, since it sounds consistently fine these days. The sense of a live, dynamic orchestra in a distinctive acoustic space was beautifully caught again tonight. R3 at 320 kbps AAC now sounds consistently better than the Berlin DCH, and it's free. Repertoire tends to be more adventurous too...
Try to get it any way you can (and remember the iTunes link if you haven't already tried it).

[salymap]

Missed the Elgar, enjoyed the Bruch, shall try to find time to listen to the Rach later.

Jayne, I hope your wonderful reviews are printed somewhere and not just for these boards

[Hornspieler]

In Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, whilst I appreciated the analytical clarity of the orchestral balance tonight and the often beautiful, limpid sound Atherton drew from the NOW, the performance seemed to relax a little too much in the quieter passages; so whilst the 1st Symphony quote, towards the 1st movement's end, was warmly and affectionately sung out by the strings, the earlier saxophone solo was rather literal - could have done with more schwung and shapelier phrasing. So in the 2nd movement, strings played beautifully throughout but the winds were a shade under-characterised.

This approach gave us a finale which, whilst very clearly mapped out, again tended to let the tension drop in the more reflective episodes. Perhaps one shouldn't expect wild hysterics in the vivace (personally I wouldn't say no...), but a touch of headlong volatility (if you can have a "touch" of that...) might be more involving. It is a difficult movement to bring off, but those episodes can be more tightly woven into a more insistent symphonic momentum.
There didn't sound like there was much at stake in this battle.

Jayne: I am surprised that in your post (msg. 3) you make no mention of the first part of the concert, because I thought that "Cockaigne" was superbly played (especially by the brass and horns) and made a splendid welcome home to David Atherton.

Moving on the the Bruch concerto:

Well, its overfamiliarity notwithstanding, I found myself listening with rapt attention and I have to say that Tasmin Little played better than I have heard for a long time. The only slight criticism that I would offer is that I found her vibrato in the slow movement overdone - especially on the lower strings. It's very easy to cross the line between emotional interpretation and schmaltz but I could forgive all after a sparkling finale.
A very good encore - well merited on the night (and well prepared by conductor and orchestra)

Moving on to the Symphonic Dances:

This is an exacting work and I always wonder whether the result justifies the incredible technical difficulty of the peice but I did feel that, in the main, the orchestra aquitted themselves very well. It makes a good finale to a programme but something in it is lacking for me.

Not the fault of the orchestra (IMO) - for me, the work itself is lacking in musical inspiration - or do I mean substance?

A concert well worth a listen on iPlayer if you did not hear it last night.

HS

BTW I really am getting fed up with all this talk about HD streams and kbps. Can't people just listen to and enjoy the music itself,without all this technical jargon?

[Pabmusic]

...A concert well worth a listen on iPlayer if you did not hear it last night.
...

And so it is. Cockaigne was really good*. The Rachmaninov was equally so.


*[The similarity of this overture’s title to the name of a certain drug was not lost on Elgar’s audiences. One friend suggested that if the overture should turn out to have an anaesthetic effect on its listeners, Elgar should rename it Chloroform. Elgar replied: “Ether will do.” ]

[mercia]

I really am getting fed up with all this talk about HD streams and kbps.

I thought such things were integral to people's enjoyment of the music

[Richard Tarleton]

I thought such things were integral to people's enjoyment of the music

Like I suspect a few others I've no idea what these mean and would be glad of of a glossary. I simply listen to R3 via my Sky+HD satellite box which is plumbed into my hi fi system (amp, speakers...). What am I listening to?

I've banished ticking clocks from the house, but listening at home is never going to be perfect - gurglings from the fridge, the crackle from the fire, other ambient sounds....Rather than spend a fortune on more equipment I try to go to as much live muisic as possible.

I only caught the end of the Symphonic Dances on the car radio, on the way back from a meal at the pub.

[salymap]

Richard, I'm just glad to be able to make sense of whatis being played as partial deafness and tinnitus takes the 'middle' out of orchestral music and makes it sound very strange. If I shut off my left ear with my fingers it sounds better, however not possible for long. Thankfully, chamber music and piano solo aren't too bad atm. As soon as I can I shall try to getto the n earest Boots' for a hearing test.

[Richard Tarleton]

Richard, I'm just glad to be able to make sense of whatis being played as partial deafness and tinnitus takes the 'middle' out of orchestral music and makes it sound very strange. If I shut off my left ear with my fingers it sounds better, however not possible for long. Thankfully, chamber music and piano solo aren't too bad atm. As soon as I can I shall try to getto the n earest Boots' for a hearing test.

saly I can't imagine what that must be like, I know we have one or two tinnitus sufferers on the board.

The music which sounds closest to the real thing at home is guitar and lute music, of which I have a huge collection!

[Bryn]

... BTW I really am getting fed up with all this talk about HD streams and kbps. Can't people just listen to and enjoy the music itself,without all this technical jargon?

Well, if you are happy with a cheap Chinese horn with detachable bell, (as played by Michael Nyman in the Portsmouth Sinfonia), then fair enough.

Another simple analogy (though again not a precise one); think in terms of old analogue recording media, say 2" magnetic reel-to-reel tape at 15 inches per second versus 1/8" cassette tape at 1.875 inches per second. The greater width of tape and higher transport speed offered far higher fidelity. It's much the same with the sophistication of the data reduction method and quantity of data made available to carry the audio content of a musical performance over the air-waves. The mp2 method used by DAB, Freeview and satellite radio is a pretty basic and relatively unsophisticated mode from the early days of audio data compression. the later, much more efficient aac types of data compression, HE (High Efficiency) for low data rates, and LC (Low Complexity) where a high data rate is available, offer a considerable improvement in sound quality for a given data rate while maintaining compatibility with radio transmission which, by the way, the popular mp3 data compression method is not. As should be fairly easy to grasp, the more data available to represent the audio, and the greater the sophistication of the data compression method, the greater the fidelity to the original. Simples!

As to a glossary, Google is a pretty good substitute.

[Richard Tarleton]

The mp2 method used by DAB, Freeview and satellite radio is a pretty basic and relatively unsophisticated mode from the early days of audio data compression.

Thanks Bryn , I think I grasp all that. I'll have a look at Google

[salymap]

I've just listened to Elgar, overture Cockaigne on iPlayer and it seemed a lovely balanced performance.
However, I've no idea whether it was HD or not. I couldn't see any indication anywhere. I listen on little cheap stereo headphones and the sound was good enough for anyone, or should be.

[Hornspieler]

Well, if you are happy with a cheap Chinese horn with detachable bell, (as played by Michael Nyman in the Portsmouth Sinfonia), then fair enough.

Yes Bryn. (Msg 11) You've made this scathing comment before and I did reply on that occasion that if a cheap Chinese horn (what on earth has a detachable bell got to do with it?) gave me the facility and sound that I desired, I would have no hesitation in using it.
Presumably Mr Nyman is content with his instrument or he would change it.
I would also assume that Portsmouth Sinfonia are content with Mr Nyman or they would replace him.

I am content with what I hear and have no wish to judge a performance by what the meters and dials of this sophisticated(sic) equipment tell me I am supposedly missing. I suspect that the vast majority of Radio 3 listeners (particularly on their car radios) are also content with what they hear and have no wish to be told that they are missing something important

I have been listening to the radio on FM for more than 40 years and, now that cars are fitted with suppressors, I can find no reason to hear music transmitted any other way as long as FM remains available.

On those occasions when I have no choice but to listen via other media, (on iPlayer, for instance), I am appalled by the number of breaks in transmission which occur. It is almost as if the BBC are saying "... so you want to poach a recording of this? Well here's a few breaks in transmission to spoil your CD!"

I will, however, concede that there is some music being offered for our delectation and delight these days which would sound no worse if it were to be received on a crystal set.

HS

[Hornspieler]

I've just listened to Elgar, overture Cockaigne on iPlayer and it seemed a lovely balanced performance.
However, I've no idea whether it was HD or not. I couldn't see any indication anywhere. I listen on little cheap stereo headphones and the sound was good enough for anyone, or should be.

Well spoken, Sally!

HS