My wife and I had the delightful pleasure to meet with fellow Forumite Laurie Watt for a drink before the concert (thank you Caliban for your role in brokering the meeting) and then heard this sparsely attended but well played and exciting concert.
I hadn't heard the Prokofiev 2nd Concerto in a while, and this was my first time seeing a live performance of it (I must have seen the 3rd Concerto 4 times in the last 2+ years, most memorably with Yuja Wang). I hadn't realized what an extensive cadenza dominates the first movement. It is a great piece with highly memorable themes --albeit lacking in a true slow movement--and I couldn't imagine a better performance. Gerstein managed the multiple transitions from staccato passages to poetic repose, from forte to piano within a few measures, with aplomb. his tone was appropriately glittery without turning hard and steely. Bychkov seemed in complete command of the Orchestra, which played to it's usual high standard.
The Walton was very exciting. I had been listening to the Composer's EMI recording this week and Bychkov really seemed to know the piece inside out. This work depends so much on the shaping of the climaxes and the Conductor shifted the gears expertly, without ever sounding contrived, and again the Orchestra (particularly the principal Flute) was magnificent.
I very much hope that the Walton gets released on the CSO Resound Label, hopefully in SACD.
I hadn't heard the Prokofiev 2nd Concerto in a while, and this was my first time seeing a live performance of it (I must have seen the 3rd Concerto 4 times in the last 2+ years, most memorably with Yuja Wang). I hadn't realized what an extensive cadenza dominates the first movement. It is a great piece with highly memorable themes --albeit lacking in a true slow movement--and I couldn't imagine a better performance. Gerstein managed the multiple transitions from staccato passages to poetic repose, from forte to piano within a few measures, with aplomb. his tone was appropriately glittery without turning hard and steely. Bychkov seemed in complete command of the Orchestra, which played to it's usual high standard.
The Walton was very exciting. I had been listening to the Composer's EMI recording this week and Bychkov really seemed to know the piece inside out. This work depends so much on the shaping of the climaxes and the Conductor shifted the gears expertly, without ever sounding contrived, and again the Orchestra (particularly the principal Flute) was magnificent.
I very much hope that the Walton gets released on the CSO Resound Label, hopefully in SACD.
André Previn once said that there was a party game for Musicians in Los Angeles called "Programme Notes" - you read out a programme note (missing out obvious clies) and people have to guess the piece being described. Previn was totally flummoxed by one "round" - it turned out to be a description of one of his own concert works.
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