Sibelius, Turnage and Beethoven

[Hornspieler]

Harding's LSO sounded exceptional throughout, I thought, but one of my very worst killer headaches got in the way of much enjoyment or proper appraisal...stuck it out because what would I have done otherwise, sat there thinking, "OMG this head..."?

The Eroica was MOR, but perfectly-paced and immaculately delivered, every climax or climactic moment really hit home! Tapiola striking too, an x-ray of the score, articulated and clarified like a modernist sonic fresco. May have lacked a little tension, but no matter - a fresh, brilliantly played account.

Had to leave off the Turnage - coffee, painkillers - but I've admired the piece very much on earlier occasions, will try to catch up, but...

I have taken the liberty of transferring Jayne's appraisal of last night's LSO concert as a starter to an individual thread.

For myself, reception was bad, with much interference in the Sibelius and I was then called away to deal with other matters, but I will endeavour to find some listening time today.

So I hope that meanwhile, there will be some opinions from others who heard this concert, to populate this thread a bit more.

Hornspieler

[Bryn]

My immediate grouse re. this concert was that when I tried to access it in HD Sound via the iPlayer's 'listen again' facility at 04:00 hrs today, all that was available, whether 'HI' or 'LO' bandwidth was selected, was the mono 22kbps version. fortunately, that problem has now been resolved and I am about to 'have a listen'.

[Nick Armstrong]

I'm just downloading the concert as I could only hear the last two movements of the Beethoven properly - I thought it was very good indeed, something about the performance of this music transformed it from the familiar to the gripping. A pretty ideal balance of weight and energy with transparency, it sounded to my ears.

[Quarky]

Re: Turnage. A very short piece, I hope the concert goers thought they got their money's worth.

I always feel with Turnage there is a strong Jazz influence there, which offers an easy way into the music. An interesting piece, but not enough of it!

[Nick Armstrong]

Tim Ashley thought it was pretty good http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013...nberger-review especially the Beethoven:

"The Eroica, on the other hand, was terrific. Small forces and swift speeds resulted in textural clarity and whirling emotions. The first movement was exhilarating, the funeral march majestic yet urgent and there was a real tingle of excitement in the finale. You couldn't fault the playing, either, which was outstanding in its precision and control."

[Hornspieler]

Tim Ashley thought it was pretty good http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013...nberger-review especially the Beethoven:

"The Eroica, on the other hand, was terrific. Small forces and swift speeds resulted in textural clarity and whirling emotions. The first movement was exhilarating, the funeral march majestic yet urgent and there was a real tingle of excitement in the finale. You couldn't fault the playing, either, which was outstanding in its precision and control."

Yes. A terrific Eroica, displaying the LSO at its best.

I'm afraid that Tapiola did not really claim my full attention. Very run-of-the-mill, I thought and no indication of any interpretation from Mr Harding. A bit of a run-through really.

The trumpet concerto? Well, it was hardly that, was it? Mercifully short, in fact. To my jaundiced ears, it sounded like a candidate doing a sight reading test for his Grade V Associated Board Exam.

No doubt I am in a minority with these views and I promise to listen to Mr Turnages next "ouvre" tomorrow night.

HS

[Roehre]

No interest nor time for Tapiola or Eroica.
Only listened (twice) to Turnage's "From the Wreckage". Not his strongest work, but with around 18 minutes approximately the right length, though some of its material would win with a bit more elaboration IMO.

[Alison]

Really exceptional playing in the Eroica. I thought we were in for the coda to end all codas at the end before I was taken over by a slight feeling of anti-climax. Must listen again. In any event a most enjoyable concert.

[EdgeleyRob]

No interest nor time for Tapiola or Eroica.

Me neither,I wasn't brave enough to post that though Roehre.

[Quarky]

I see Hilary Finch gave it 4 stars in the Times, but unfortunately one has to login to the Times Website to see the review.

Will repair to my local coffee shop to see if a free copy of the Times available.

[Nick Armstrong]

No interest nor time for Tapiola or Eroica.

It made me rather sad to read that

[Nick Armstrong]

I see Hilary Finch gave it 4 stars in the Times, but unfortunately one has to login to the Times Website to see the review.

Will repair to my local coffee shop to see if a free copy of the Times available.

A précis would be welcome, if you manage to see it....

[Quarky]

A précis would be welcome, if you manage to see it....

Think it may be in the hard paper copy tomorrow - couldn't see it in today's edition. Still the coffee was good.

[Roehre]

It made me rather sad to read that

Why? I can listen to Tapiola or the Eroica whenever I like. I love those works and listened to both of them many times already. The Turnage is new and unknown territory. Consequently with limited spare time the choice for me is clear. A pity for Sibelius and Beethoven, but Turnage gets priority.

[amateur51]

I'm very glad that I listened to the Eroica on iplayer because it completely revised my previous opinion of Daniel Harding and made me thankful that such a superb orchestra can not only give a world premiere but also turn in a performance like that 'live' in 2013. MOR it may have been but it certainly wasn't boring.

As a result, Daniel Harding has moved up my list of runners & riders for the next Chief Conductor of LSO