Live in Concert 14.02.14 - Viennese Classics BBC NOW

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Viennese Classics from Bangor with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Viennese Classics from Bangor with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales: music by Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert.

Live from Prichard-Jones Hall, Bangor

Beethoven: Leonore Overture No.1
Mozart: Violin Concerto No.5
Schubert: Symphony No.9

BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Callum Smart, violin
Nicholas Collon, conductor

"It's easy to hear why Schubert's Ninth Symphony is known as the "Great" with its noble themes, inexhaustible energy and romantic warmth. Tonight it will be heard alongside the drama of Beethoven's Leonore Overture No.1 and Mozart's Turkish-inspired Fifth Violin Concerto."

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Ah, a concert from my old university. So many memories of the Pritchard-Jones Hall, and the adjacent (smaller) Powys Hall where we had some fine chamber concerts - Peter Katin, Stephen Bishop, John Carol Case.

[Honoured Guest]

Subject to snow, flood, gale and sea surge as the BBC NOW ventures forth from Aberystwyth on its intrepid wintry tour.

[edashtav]

I found Collon's Schubert 9th to be over-driven & over-emphatic, with fast tempi maybe a touch too fast leading to moments of ragged ensemble. Disappointing, after I'd found him peerless in 20/21st century repertoire. What were the views of other listeners, I wonder?

[Alison]

The orchestra sounded very tired by the end. Not really a performance to lift the spirits.

[Barbirollians]

How was young Mr Smart in the Concerto ?

[subcontrabass]

I found Collon's Schubert 9th to be over-driven & over-emphatic, with fast tempi maybe a touch too fast leading to moments of ragged ensemble. Disappointing, after I'd found him peerless in 20/21st century repertoire. What were the views of other listeners, I wonder?

Yes - tempi rather too fast but also erratic. The tempo in the slow movement in particular is difficult to get right - it needs to be slow enough for the melody to "sing" without being so slow as to be turgid. In this performance it was pushed through rather mechanically.

We were short changed on repeats in the last two movements.

The engineers did not help by suppressing the dynamic range. This seemd to be restricted to a range from mp to mf

The balance was not good - too many strings in relation to the woodwind, but the trombones were too loud. Was this just microphone placing or was it a consequence of using modern wide-bore instruments? Does the conductor ever get involved during rehearsals with what the engineers are planning to do so that things like this could be sorted out?

[edashtav]

Very perceptive comments, subcontrabass.