BaL 10.03.18 - Britten: Piano Concerto Op. 13

[Mary Chambers]

Much as I love most of Britten, I have never been very interested in this piece. I’m beginning to enjoy it more, but largely as a ‘portrait of the artist as a young man’. He must have been so different then. Can anyone imagine him playing a piece like this in public when he was older?

I think I’ve only got the Richter/Britten recording, and I can’t think when I last listened to it. I think I must have heard a live performance or two (not Richter/Britten, unfortunately), but am not sure where, when or who. Oh dear - getting old!

[cloughie]

I think it is time for me to have another listen to this work - I remember not liking it but that was probably about 40 years ago. I have the Richter in his Decca box so I'll give it a go!

[DracoM]

This is a piece that needs concentration. It is NOT as widely known as many other concertos, so that the format of this BAL actually undermined any chance Ms Jeal might have had in carefully introducing us to the shape and structure as she went along.

Yes, we DO need to hear it complete.

What really upset me was that Erica Jeal sounded nervous doing it live from the start, and he prompted and then virtually took over, she got less and less sure of what she wanted to say, he intervened in some panic more and more 'to help her' and by the end, it became HIS BAL and not hers, even if the final choice he knew before the start of course! A real mess, and the Britten piece got completely lost in a Slough of Despond.

A simply appalling editorial misread of what this concerto needed on air. Poor Miss Jeal is going to need some real incentive to ever want to repeat such misery.

As said above, and passim on other RR threads, many listeners comment on these two-fers, and almost everyone gives them thumbs downs. Why the heck they do it, I simply cannot understand.

[LMcD]

According to the Record Review playlist, the Steven Osborne recording is conducted by llan volkovn. Are there any more recommendable recordings by this new talent?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

According to the Record Review playlist, the Steven Osborne recording is conducted by llan volkovn. Are there any more recommendable recordings by this new talent?

Do you mean Osborne or Volkov, LMcD?

[LMcD]

Do you mean Osborne or Volkov, LMcD?

Mr (or is it Miss/Mrs/Ms?) volkovn. The 'Llan' part sounds kind of Welsh, don't you think? The estimable Mr O has been an established 'talent' for some time, and is to be applauded for agreeing to record the Britten with an unknown.....

[BBMmk2]

I'm glad she liked the Howard Shelley recording!

[PJPJ]

Mr (or is it Miss/Mrs/Ms?) volkovn. The 'Llan' part sounds kind of Welsh, don't you think? The estimable Mr O has been an established 'talent' for some time, and is to be applauded for agreeing to record the Britten with an unknown.....

It's Mr ILAN Volkov.

http://maestroarts.com/artists/ilan-volkov

[LMcD]

It's Mr ILAN Volkov.

http://maestroarts.com/artists/ilan-volkov

I am aware that it's Ilan Volkov. I was merely deriving - and sharing - a degree of harmless enjoyment from the version of his name on the 'Record Review' playlist. (I used to do quite a bit of proof-reading during my linguistic career - old habits die hard....)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The estimable Mr O has been an established 'talent' for some time, and is to be applauded for agreeing to record the Britten with an unknown.....

So has Mr Volkov, who was Principal conductor of the BBCScottish SO between 2003 - 2009 - and whose splendid work was known to New Music enthusiasts some years before that.

He's made quite a few recordings, but my especial favourites are his two discs of works by Stravinsky on HYPERION (including the Piano Concertante works with Osbourn). There are also some discs that were BBC Music Magazine cover discs - again, some superb Stravinsky (two Symphonies and Song of the Nightingale, the complete Firebird) but also Britten's War Requiem, Debussy, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Haydn, Brahms, Schubert, Haydn.

Checking Amazon, I see that there's also a Janacek CD that I had overlooked.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

This might be useful:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_pg_1?rh=n%3A229816%2Ck%3Ailan+volkov&keywords=ilan+volkov&ie=UTF8&qid=1520690864&ajr=0

[Bryn]

Worth keeping an eye on his website for his performances on violin too. His Summer Strings ensemble if worth checking out too. They have had gigs at Cafe OTO in recent summers.

[zola]

So has Mr Volkov, who was Principal conductor of the BBCScottish SO between 2003 - 2009 - and whose splendid work was known to New Music enthusiasts some years before that.

He's made quite a few recordings, but my especial favourites are his two discs of works by Stravinsky on HYPERION (including the Piano Concertante works with Osbourn). There are also some discs that were BBC Music Magazine cover discs - again, some superb Stravinsky (two Symphonies and Song of the Nightingale, the complete Firebird) but also Britten's War Requiem, Debussy, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Haydn, Brahms, Schubert, Haydn.

Checking Amazon, I see that there's also a Janacek CD that I had overlooked.

May I gently point out that you have completely misinterpreted LMcD's original post on this mini diversion from the topic of the thread ?

[Barbirollians]

A shocker of a BAL - I missed the very end but in one sense am surprised to hear she chose Osborne as EJ seemed keener on Richter and Shelley as they were going along - McGregor seemed keener on the Osborne throughout and it fits the apparent current editorial preference for a modern version.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

May I gently point out that you have completely misinterpreted LMcD's original post on this mini diversion from the topic of the thread ?

Ah! So I have <doh> (#69 appeared whilst I was typing #70.)