Sibelius/lutoslawski cbso/gardner/lucy crowe 19:30 20/06/13

[jayne lee wilson]

No excuses now! A programme full of glittering northern lights and landscapes, to warm the cool midsummer...
...direct from Symphony Hall, Birmingham.
Edward Gardner's recent series of Lutoslawski Orchestral albums for Chandos have revealed him as one of the composer's finest performers, and have attracted 5-star reviews everywhere. I can personally underwrite them as I've purchased most. Let's hope Gardner's Sibelius is livelier and more idiomatic than last week's BBCPO/Storgards account.

So - a perfectly planned contrast of delicate and atmospheric orchestral songs framed by two great Third Symphonies. If summer rains are getting you down, this should be music for a better mood...

SIBELIUS SYMPHONY NO.3
LUTOSLAWSKI CHANTEFLEURS ET CHANTEFABLES
***
SIBELIUS LUONNATAR
LUTOSLAWSKI SYMPHONY NO.3

[Tevot]

This is certainly a mouth watering prospect Jayne - and there's an interesting symmetry to the programme that appeals (or maybe it's just the way you typed it out ) I'll certainly be listening in. Gardner's recording of Lutoslawski 2 has I think been aired by Radio 3 twice in the last few months - and it really is a humdinger. Be interesting to hear what he makes of the 3rd. I've never heard Gardner do Sibelius either - so there is much to look forward to.

Best Wishes,

Tevot

[jayne lee wilson]

Yes, I think that Gardner 2nd is my favourite in the series - ruthless dynamics, clean precision. There's a darker, earthier view from Kaspzcyk/Wroclaw Phil (Opera Omnia), not as finely recorded as the Chandos but still very compelling.

[Zucchini]

I've seen Lucy Crowe with the CBSO in Symphony Hall and she had/has a fantastic voice. Tweets from the rehearsal said she was stunning.

[BBMmk2]

What a great programme! I am listening now.

[jayne lee wilson]

On the webcast, a rather distant balance granted to the Sibelius 3rd, allied to thin orchestral sonorities, lack of clarity in the lower strings and playing that rarely rose above the routine left an anonymous impression of a work that perhaps, is harder to bring off live than the many great recordings have led us to expect!

Inevitably all the performers were a lot more involved in the Lutoslawski Chantefleurs... Lucy Crowe features on Gardner's recording, evidently has the text in her heart, and sang with delicacy, wit and surprising power in the few climactic moments. Despite the spareness of the orchestration, the spacious balance added to the poetry and atmosphere of the work which is almost always given a close setting on disc. Lucy Crowe was also set in a large acoustic space, a relief from the close focus often given to singers on webcast/broadcast (less so on R3HD of course). Beautifully done.

[Barbirollians]

Lucy Crowe is a wonderful and versatile soprano IMO . FRom Lutoslawski to Gilda, from L'Allegro of handel to Sophie .

[jayne lee wilson]

Part two of this concert was - simply wonderful!

Does anyone take on the Lutoslawski 3rd without careful preparation? Possibly not, but this performance revelled in its own rich and brilliant sonority, knife-edged precision, and structural clarity. The wind soloists really shone in their moment in the sun - the controlled improvisation of the conductor-cued aleatorics; they had both colour and character here, actually seeming to enjoy their freedom as the strange new world evolved around them. So too with each massed orchestral section, the brasses and strings hugely impressive in their weight and transparency. The R3 HD relay was superb too - spacious, clear and with a terrific dynamic impact.

So Sibelius' extraordinary Luonnotar was somewhat overshadowed (have a look at the text itself!) But performed with far greater conviction than the 3rd Symphony had been at the start of the evening (planning that was, perhaps, just a little overambitious); and leaving me with a desire to hear it again soon.

But the Lutoslawski 3rd - at 30 years old, rather young as symphonies go - seems, so far, to be ageing rather well!

[jayne lee wilson]

No-one else bother with this? Shame, since part two on HD was a sonic and musical spectacular, as fine a relay as I've heard on any medium since the heyday of FM.
...if you're pressed for time, just take part two, Luonnotar is barely 10 minutes so you're soon into the highlight, that terrific Lutoslawski 3rd.

[teamsaint]

work (and other music) kinda gets in the way sometimes, Jayne. But your comments are seldom wasted.
If you say its worth listening to, I try to listen to it.

I thought that Black Uhuru would work better with the washing up tonight..and this Wagner is...well...time consuming !!

[teamsaint]

so now, Wagner, Reggae, interaction with other humans notwithstading, I have had a listen.

The sound on iplayer/laptop/reasonable headphones was quite exceptional. In fact worth listening to for that alone.

There is so much here to keep the listener involved. The four note motif/theme (?) provides a useful reference point for the first time listener. The interaction of the various sections seemed beautifully handled to me, though i have no other experience of the work to draw on.

Needs much further listening, but like so much great music, (I find) the first listen grabs you, makes you want to come back for more, even though you might not be sure why, or what it is you want to come back for.
Twists, turns, interplay, sonic beauty, and here a performance that did indeed sound very sure of itself.

Listening again. Again.

Must be magic to hear in the concert hall.

[jayne lee wilson]

In the concert hall? Some hope here in Liverpool, Classic FM Orchestra in the North-West...

The four-note motif sounds to mark the main structural divisions of the work. These are usually E Naturals, and towards the end you'll notice a deep groundswell on harp and lower strings, other instruments slowly joining in, building to a last climax and a final crescendo - this is all based on E naturals too. Finally the motif returns to finish it. I once said that this 4-note figure was a little too neat at the end as a structural full-stop - this Gardner performance, and Rattle's last year, has changed my view of it; it has to come back at the end to say, quite simply, that's it. In my end is my beginning, but in a more matter-of-fact way than Eliot had in mind!

[Tevot]

Hello there,

I really enjoyed the concert and Luto 3 most certainly didn't disappoint. Its been ages since I've heard Luonnotar. What a gripping work it is. To my layman's ears the performance of Sibelius 3 sounded fine but yet again I encountered the same problem whenever I listen to it. After a strong opening movement ( great tunes, a sense of drive and direction) the symphony for me just seems to meander and then tails off. Perhaps it's the byproduct of Sibelius retreating from the "overblown romanticism" mentioned by the announcer and opting for a pared down, slimmer and shorter work than the 3rd's two predecessors? Is it a case of Sibelius setting himself a technical and artistic challenge that ultimately doesn't quite pay off - or am I missing something?

A great concert though I think - and I'll be listening (yet) again

Best Wishes,

Tevot

[Colonel Danby]

I thought that the Luto 3 was wonderful: not so sure about the Sibelius 3 but I've never really got into the piece compared with his other works. Perhaps in time...

Obviously I've got on disc Luto doing the 3rd on Philips (I mean, who hasn't?) and Rattle in Birmingham was a great fan, but it was marvellous treat to hear him live conducting the BBCSO at the Proms a few years ago in the UK premiere of his 4th Symphony. A great man and a wonderful composer.

[salymap]

Sargent told us, after a rehearsal of Sibelius 2, that the first two symphonies were 'not true Sibelius'. ie they were constructed in the old style of first and second subject, etc.

Maybe after no 3 Sibelius found his style but it doesn't stop me loving all seven, if in different ways.