Berliner Ph Orch London concerts. From23rd Feb

[Alison]

Yes, good old Tom.

Btw, did the poor old licence payer have to shell out for Tom's trip to Berlin ?

Sorry, I am being Miss Angry ce soir.

[Cellini]

Thanks for the welcome back!

Are you also an ex-Trinity-ite, Cellini?

I was there ( at Mandeville Place) from 1979-83, on the performer's course. I studied Clarinet under Keith Puddy. The College seems to be going from strength to strength at its new home in Greenwich. Mandeville Place had a lovely cosy sort of atmosphere, but the problem was that large ensembles had to trek across London for rehearsals. In my last few years, the Symphony Orchestra had to go to Lancaster Gate, which was a tube ride away!

The other problem was that between the main College building and the Annexe housing the practice rooms was "The Angel" pub. One often set off to the Annexe with the best of intentions, only to be diverted along the way!

Mind you, Greenwich isn't short of excellent hostelries, so I'd probably have the same dilemma if I was there now.....

( And I'd be interested to hear your views on Rattle's Brahms cycle, if you manage to have a listen sometime. I think it's one of the best things he's done since he moved to the BPO, although I'm sure some will disagree!)

No, sorry, ex-Academy, which was a right dump! It did have plenty of pubs nearby though. I do go back to the RAM occasionally if there is anything interesting on. I don't know if its better or worse than in my day, but it does have its own bar now, and a tarted up canteen. (My days being 1960-64 - but I was only three at the time ...)

I think I may have worked with Keith Puddy a long time ago.

Much as I would like to I doubt if I will get round to the Brahms in the near future as I have so much music to learn, such as Beethoven's Archduke Trio and about three or four string quartets, and other things to hear, as well as possible things thrown at me at the last minute. Trying to fit in concerts that we've booked as well, and getting time to even get my bow rehaired.

So life goes on, but sometimes I wonder what the hell I'm doing ...

[mercia]

Sara M-P has just told us that apparently there was a lot of audience coughing in last night's BPO concert, whereas in Berlin, "people would rather impale themselves on their Mahler boxsets" than spoil a concert with coughing (I think she was reading from a review)

[Flosshilde]

Sara M-P has just told us that apparently there was a lot of audience coughing in last night's BPO concert, whereas in Berlin, "people would rather impale themselves on their Mahler boxsets" than spoil a concert with coughing (I think she was reading from a review)

Yes - she was quoting from Charlotte Higgins in the Guardian. - " the cultural week in London is dominated by the visit of the Berlin Philharmonic. Having seen half the concerts in Berlin last week and catching up with the rest here, I have a home truth to impart: UK audiences are rubbish. In Berlin's Philharmonie, you get the feeling people would rather impale themselves on their Mahler box sets than clear their throat in a concert; I received an incredibly stern Teutonic telling-off for turning the page of my programme. At the Barbican on Monday, the hall was alive with the sound of a thousand coughs delivered over the delicate pianissimos of the Adagio of Mahler Four, and a special performance from the lady in stalls seat S62, whose gold bangles deafeningly clashed together to provide unscored percussion."


& speaking of the Guardian, did Cellini ghost write the review in today's edition? http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011...onic-southbank
Although it was not a very good review, it still had four stars, the same as the glowing review of SO's production of Handel's Orlando

[ostuni]

Two intriguingly contrasted reviews of last night's Mahler 3: Michael White in the Telegraph, and Mark Berry in Boulezian.

[HighlandDougie]

Slightly off-topic but prompted by Flosshilde's post and the quote from Charlotte Higgins, why is it that audiences in Britain cough, bark, snort etc throughout concerts -and then usually at the worst possible moments? At Pollini's Beethoven recital in the RFH last week, his magisterial performance of Op 111 was coming to its deeply moving (at least for me) ending when, two bars to go, someone coughed/sneezed very loudly just behind me, ruining the spell of the music. At least there was no clapping between movements. To revert to Rattle and the BPO, it was a small miracle that he got the audience to behave in the Schönberg/Webern/Berg second half at one of last year's Proms. Or am I just being daft expecting audiences to try to remain as quiet as church mice?

[Cellini]

Yes - she was quoting from Charlotte Higgins in the Guardian. - " the cultural week in London is dominated by the visit of the Berlin Philharmonic. Having seen half the concerts in Berlin last week and catching up with the rest here, I have a home truth to impart: UK audiences are rubbish. In Berlin's Philharmonie, you get the feeling people would rather impale themselves on their Mahler box sets than clear their throat in a concert; I received an incredibly stern Teutonic telling-off for turning the page of my programme. At the Barbican on Monday, the hall was alive with the sound of a thousand coughs delivered over the delicate pianissimos of the Adagio of Mahler Four, and a special performance from the lady in stalls seat S62, whose gold bangles deafeningly clashed together to provide unscored percussion."


& speaking of the Guardian, did Cellini ghost write the review in today's edition? http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011...onic-southbank
Although it was not a very good review, it still had four stars, the same as the glowing review of SO's production of Handel's Orlando

Yes, I have to admit I did him a favour and wrote the article for him ...

Flossie, I have to say I don't normally moan about audience noise, but at a fantastic concert on Monday I managed to control a desire to cough and only made a small noise in the loudest bit (of the Bartok) but someone coughed very loudly, just once, in the dying two seconds of the encore, Lotus Land by Cyril Scott and wonderfully played by James Ehene. I heard the iplayer today and the cough was loud and very discernable. On the other hand at the Takacs at the QEH recently the audience was wonderful.

That may say something about the Wigmore Hall audience ...

[Petrushka]

I was present at all three orchestral concerts (Mon, Tues and Weds) and thoroughly enjoyed them. I can sort of see where Alison is coming from re the Schubert 9 but even Karajan admitted to having problems with the piece and I think Rattle has his own problems with it. I also heard Mahler 3 during the CBSO days (twice I think) and he seems to have completely rethought the ending which he used to speed up. Last night's rendition did not erase memories of a life-changing performance from Bernard Haitink also with the BPO in a 2004 Barbican concert but it was pretty damn good all the same.

By the way, I saw no microphones in evidence and certainly no cameras so doubt if R3 were there.

[Prommer]

And fine though the playing was, and some of the solo work, it did not erase memories of the Lucerne Prom of 2007 under Abbado.

[Petrushka]

And fine though the playing was, and some of the solo work, it did not erase memories of the Lucerne Prom of 2007 under Abbado.

Yes, indeed, I was there at that one too and fully agree.

[Alison]

Any CD shopping in London Pet ??

[Petrushka]

Any CD shopping in London Pet ??

Er ahem!! Yes and rather more than I'd intended. Again. As well as new issues I went to Notting Hill Gate and filled my bag full of second handers. Got Mahler 2 from Rattle and Steinberg, Abbado's Brandenburgs, Gergiev's Mahler 5, Karajan and the VPO in Brahms 3 & Dvorak 8, yet another LvB 9 from Munch in Boston, a 1960 Das Lied with Walter and a Schoenberg disc from Craft incl the 2nd SQ. Notting Hill Gate yielded the 2000 New Year's Day Concert (which I unaccountably missed out on), two more LvB 9's both with Jochum (RCO & LSO), some Schoenberg from Boulez, Act 1 of Walkure 1935 recording from Walter and Brahms PC1 from Brendel and BPO/Abbado. Phew!

[Alison]

Wow Petrushka ! Enjoy that little lot !

Working backwards, the 2000 New Year concert is the first I dont have.
Should be excellent.

I've never felt the Brahms concertos were the right pieces for Brendel
- see (hear ?) what you think !

[Bryn]

Re. Brendel and Brahms, I took my mother to hear him do (and I do mean "do") the Brahms 1 at a Prom a few decades ago. It was appalling. Quite the worst performance of the work I have ever had the misfortune to hear. Quite put me off Brendel for a while, but how could I resist his Schubert?

[Flay]

I attended the Tuesday concert with Mrs Flay. I really enjoyed the tone and playing of the woodwind, especially in the slow movement of the Haydn. Rattle himself appeared entranced by them, at times lowering his baton and letting them get on with it. Obviously this was just showmanship: he already knows how good they sound.

I thought the audience was quite well-behaved with no more coughing than usual, and there was a very satisfying pause before the applause after the Schubert. I just wish the person sitting next to Mrs Flay didn't have such awful BO...

We had a lovely couple of days in London. Isn't the Barbican an odd place? The gents must have one of the longest urinals in the country!