BaL 25.01.20 - Chopin: Four Scherzi

[Alison]

I was enjoying Iain’s explanation of rubato but of course AMcG had to interrupt and spoil it.

[BBMmk2]

I was enjoying Iain’s explanation of rubato but of course AMcG had to interrupt and spoil it.

He has to go.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I was enjoying Iain’s explanation of rubato but of course AMcG had to interrupt and spoil it.

It would have benefited from more (uninterruptible ) examples . Rubinstein the master ( better than his car crash B flat minor excerpt) and , in my view, Pletnev and Pogolerich wilful pulse abusers ( very fine players though) ..

[ardcarp]

...and we may have had time to hear the Pleyel piano which was talked about only.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

He has to go.

I'd rather he's stayed, as he's one of the best at Radio 3. It's the twofers that have to go, not the man who's told to do them.

[HighlandDougie]

He has to go.

As EA implies above, be careful what you wish for. I'm sure that Tom Service, for one, would like the prestige gig that, for all that we moan about it, is still represented by 'Record Review'.

[Barbirollians]

I'd rather he's stayed, as he's one of the best at Radio 3. It's the twofers that have to go, not the man who's told to do them.

Although if HD's source is right it is Andrew McGregor who likes twofers as he likes talking.

I am sure John Lade, Richard Osborne, Paul Vaughan, Anthony Burton and Jonathan Swain could have done twofers with the reviewers - instead they often did insightful introductions about the pieces to be in BAL and commented afterwards rather than the twofer method of interruption with inanities and talking over the "expert" .

[BBMmk2]

I'd rather he's stayed, as he's one of the best at Radio 3. It's the twofers that have to go, not the man who's told to do them.

Yes, you’re right there.

[MickyD]

Just had a listen to this re-run.

I found it bizarre that the reviewer thought that the HIP Cyril Huvé version (Erard and Pleyel pianos) was well worth considering, but that there wasn't find time amongst all the other discs to let us hear an extract.

Huvé is certainly worth acquiring - and his admirable disc of the Schubert 'Trout' with Hausmusik got top prize some time ago, too, I think.

[DracoM]

<Although if HD's source is right it is Andrew McGregor who likes twofers as he likes talking>

He might, so it's a pity that as far as this Forum seems to go, many of us do not like his twofer format / talking.
But of course, we're only mere audience, anonymous listeners, so how they hell do we count?

[underthecountertenor]

I was enjoying Iain’s explanation of rubato but of course AMcG had to interrupt and spoil it.

On listening again this morning, this struck me as classic McGregor. He gave the literal meaning of rubato, then put Burnside on the spot by asking him, clearly without warning, how he would describe it. He’d already used the obvious lead-in, so Burnside was momentarily blind-sided, but soon found his feet, only to be interrupted by McGregor with a description and a Liszt quote he had clearly had up his sleeve all along. It felt as if he was deliberately trying to demonstrate his cleverness at his guest’s expense.
I was pleased that Burnside managed to get his own back with a slap-down re the Rubinstein.

[gurnemanz]

On listening again this morning, this struck me as classic McGregor. He gave the literal meaning of rubato, then put Burnside on the spot by asking him, clearly without warning, how he would describe it. He’d already used the obvious lead-in, so Burnside was momentarily blind-sided, but soon found his feet, only to be interrupted by McGregor with a description and a Liszt quote he had clearly had up his sleeve all along. It felt as if he was deliberately trying to demonstrate his cleverness at his guest’s expense.
I was pleased that Burnside managed to get his own back with a slap-down re the Rubinstein.

I noticed all that. I'm not usually inclined to listen to these repeats of very recent BaLs but left it on this time. The twofer format seems to require that Mr McGregor pretends not to know which way the review is going but he surely must.

[DracoM]

And given that the reviewer is a seasoned broadcaster, a very very fine pianist in his own right, such interruptions are insulting and inexcusable.
The R3 prod team simply do NOT get it. We are not listening for a late breakfast chat over a cup of coffee, but to a careful presentation of researched and meditated judgements.

AMcG's insistence on fiddling and nudging and butting in destroys the very most basic tenet of this format. He has in effect wrecked and undermined it.

[visualnickmos]

And given that the reviewer is a seasoned broadcaster, a very very fine pianist in his own right, such interruptions are insulting and inexcusable.
The R3 prod team simply do NOT get it. We are not listening for a late breakfast chat over a cup of coffee, but to a careful presentation of researched and meditated judgements.

AMcG's insistence on fiddling and nudging and butting in destroys the very most basic tenet of this format. He has in effect wrecked and undermined it.

Precisely. Well-said. The constant interruptions do indeed, wreck the presentation. It's exactly the same for the listener, as watching an engrossing film, and having someone continually butting in with inanities.

[Ein Heldenleben]

On listening again this morning, this struck me as classic McGregor. He gave the literal meaning of rubato, then put Burnside on the spot by asking him, clearly without warning, how he would describe it. He’d already used the obvious lead-in, so Burnside was momentarily blind-sided, but soon found his feet, only to be interrupted by McGregor with a description and a Liszt quote he had clearly had up his sleeve all along. It felt as if he was deliberately trying to demonstrate his cleverness at his guest’s expense.
I was pleased that Burnside managed to get his own back with a slap-down re the Rubinstein.

I often think that rubato means what a pianist wants it to mean. That theory that in Chopin rubato should mean keeping a strictish pulse in the left hand (in a pulse lead piece like a nocturne) with the right hand pulling time around never seems to stand up in performance with quite a few pianists who pull the tempo around all over the place in both hands.