BaL 19.11.11. Walton: Belshazzar's Feast

[Barbirollians]

I cannot agree with that . I thought his last night "performances " were insufferably bumptious . I have never really forgiven him for rushing to step in when Sir Mark Elder was outrageously sacked in 1990 for suggesting that jingoistic music might be inappropriate if we went to war in Iraq .

If he has not had a BAL before I venture to think it is because his recordings were not good enough.

[Chris Newman]

I find a lot of AD's music-making too fast. His Prom performance of Belshazzar's Feast with Bryn Terfel was total panic. Talking of panicking, I am not sure whether he rushed in or was pushed with the 1990 Last Night, but agree that Sir Mark Elder was treated disgracefully.

[Biffo]

As I recall, possibly wrongly, Mark Elder stepped down (rather than being sacked) to avoid further embarassment to the BBC and the Proms in general. He was certainly treated disgracefully by the rubbish press, who manufactured the 'scandal' in the first place by misrepresenting his position totally.

[Alison]

I always liked Ron Dough's description of Sir Andrew's 'motorway' conducting.

Still say he's good at Messaien and Tippett.

[Barbirollians]

I find a lot of AD's music-making too fast. His Prom performance of Belshazzar's Feast with Bryn Terfel was total panic. Talking of panicking, I am not sure whether he rushed in or was pushed with the 1990 Last Night, but agree that Sir Mark Elder was treated disgracefully.

It may well be that he was pushed rather than rushed in voluntarily . That does not mean that he should have accepted ! I agree that much of what he does seems rushed .

I remenber reading somewhere that at some conducting competition that the late Hans Keller described him as much the worst conductor but a showman who would go far .

[Nick Armstrong]

I find a lot of AD's music-making too fast. His Prom performance of Belshazzar's Feast with Bryn Terfel was total panic.

Interesting, Chris... My impression was similar (see #59 above).

[David Underdown]

Though as I recall the reviewer made the point that he was the only one to actually hit Walton's metronome marks

[Barbirollians]

Which juging by his own performances perhaps walton reconsidered ?

[PaulT]

I always liked Ron Dough's description of Sir Andrew's 'motorway' conducting.

Still say he's good at Messaien and Tippett.

My late Father used to call Andrew Davis Sir Grecian Urn as when viewed from behind he will more often than not scribe exactly the same motion with both right and left arm.

[PaulT]

I always liked Ron Dough's description of Sir Andrew's 'motorway' conducting.

Still say he's good at Messaien and Tippett.

My late Father used to call Andrew Davis "Sir Grecian Urn" as when viewed from behind more often than not he would scribe identical arm movements with both right and left hand in the style of a Greek vase.

[Bryn]

I always liked Ron Dough's description of Sir Andrew's 'motorway' conducting.

Still say he's good at Messaien and Tippett.

And Ives, and ...

[EnemyoftheStoat]

And VW (appropriate for the motorway).

[amateur51]

The best performance I've ever heard of Berg's Lulu was given by Sir Andrew and BBC forces in a semi-staged performance with sur-titles at the Royal Festival Hall. It was one of those 'Pay £10 & Sit Where You Fancy' performances. I even grew to realise how funny it was!

[Biffo]

I have seen Lulu both as a play and an opera. The play was very funny and had the audience laughing right up to the point of Lulu's shriek as she was being murdered. The opera (at ENO) was dramatically gripping but distinctly lacking in humour.

[Peter Katin]

Agree with all that Caliban. How odd that the Previn is no longer available. The orchestral playing was, IMO, first rate on that version. I know what you mean about the Beeb Singers, but they did a very professional job. There just isn't a version with their 'professionalism' but without the wobble. Andrew Davis (Davies?) is a great conductor and, of course, at home with voices; but I don't think I could live with a vesrion that had such bad audience noise. I would just be anticipating the coughs, grunts and rustlings every time I played it. But what an assured live performance of a tricky work.

Well, I must play it again - I've already heard it twice and can't detect any audience noise (apart from at the end, where it ought to be). To me, this is the version.