Critics at variance over OAE

[Lento]

Interesting to note the 3 star difference in these two reviews of the recent OAE concert with Semyon Bychkov (yes, a conductor) at RFH.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/m...ll-review.html (Telegraph, Ivan Hewett)

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/m...cle4058886.ece (Times, Neil Fisher, paywall for full review).

Did anyone on these boards attend the concert (I did not)?

[Richard Tarleton]

Did anyone on these boards attend the concert (I did not)?

No, but Ivan Hewitt is a bit out of date isn't he? I heard the OAE under Rattle play Beethoven 7 to a packed RFH about 18 years ago...Beethoven 9 under Rattle to a packed St David's Hall....

[Alison]

No, but Ivan Hewitt is a bit out of date isn't he? I heard the OAE under Rattle play Beethoven 7 to a packed RFH about 18 years ago...Beethoven 9 under Rattle to a packed St David's Hall....

[David-G]

I attended the concert twice - in the Anvil last Saturday and then in the Festival Hall. I enjoyed it enormously, and rehearing it confirmed my opinion. As I heard it I had in mind a performance of Beethoven's 7th that I had heard in Hong Kong a few weeks ago. This was in the Hong Kong Arts Festival - the Budapest Festival Orchestra, conducted by Ivan Fischer. There, while the playing was excellent, I continually had the feeling during the first three moments that it was all just a bit too sedate, that it needed a bit more energy, a slightly faster tempo. With Bychkov I had no such feeling. Everything seemed exactly "right"; in fact, is was this overwhelming feeling of "rightness" that characterised the concert for me. The curious thing is that Bychkov did not adopt particularly fast tempi; I do not suppose he was any faster than Fischer in the 7th. But he sounded "right", whereas Fischer did not - quite.

The orchestra clearly loved playing for Bychkov; this was very evident, and contributed greatly to my enjoyment of the concerts.

If The Times insists on having a paywall, they cannot expect people to read their articles; and I can only read the first paragraph of Neil Fisher's review. But this is such a stupid paragraph that I have no inclination to read further; I cannot imagine that the rest of the review is worth reading. If you have read it, Lento, can you perhaps give us a summary of the reasons for his displeasure?

Ivan Hewitt has written a good review. I would fully agree that Bychkov is a wonderful musician, and that naturalness and ease were the hallmark of the evening.

But what is it about period instrument performances that cause critics to write so stupidly about them? The idea that "purists might have worried that the OAE is compromising on the very things that have made it special" is absurd. This concert is in the fine tradition of magnificent performances by the OAE with great conductors, going right back to the sensational "Idomeneo" with Simon Rattle in 1987. And this same example shows that the sentence "And they didn’t have star conductors either, so the OAE’s founding idea of a self-directing band, made of a partnership of equals, was set aside" is patently nonsense. Hewitt seems to be interpreting the idea of a self-directing orchestra, in terms of management, as meaning that the orchestra does not welcome "star conductors". The idea of the OAE was that they do not have a single conductor-director as many other period bands do. The concept of having big-name conductors was there from the beginning.

[Lento]

can you perhaps give us a summary of the reasons for his displeasure?

He refers to slow, fussy details, paring back the explosive energy. He does says that there were some lovely things, notably the performance of the "slow" movements, especially the oboe and clarinet in Schubert's Andante. The rhythms of the Beethoven he describes as too often feeling slack and flabby, whilst he describes as too careful the build-up to the boiling climax in the Schubert.

[Lento]

If The Times insists on having a paywall, they cannot expect people to read their articles

While the Times is out on a limb in the current market, it is perhaps worth reminding ourselves that, a few years ago, there was no such thing as free quality newspaper content.

[David-G]

He refers to slow, fussy details, paring back the explosive energy. He does says that there were some lovely things, notably the performance of the "slow" movements, especially the oboe and clarinet in Schubert's Andante. The rhythms of the Beethoven he describes as too often feeling slack and flabby, whilst he describes as too careful the build-up to the boiling climax in the Schubert.

Thanks, Lento. I felt not a trace of slackness or flabbiness; neither did I feel that the explosive energy was pared back.

[ardcarp]

Thanks, Lento. I felt not a trace of slackness or flabbiness; neither did I feel that the explosive energy was pared back.

...so maybe one can understand how critics can disagree!

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

I attended the concert twice - in the Anvil last Saturday and then in the Festival Hall.

I was also at the Anvil performance, David, and loved the performance so much, I was very nearly called in at the RFH on returning from Paris on Tuesday evening (but that way madness lies...). Funnily enough, Neil Fisher had spotted a 'tweet' of mine during the evening praising the Anvil performance and had assumed I was there at the RFH. Over a couple of exchanges, it was obvious we had come to very different conclusion about the performance, which is - of course - a perfectly valid thing to do. In fact, although I would have given it a 5 star rave had I been reviewing, I find Neil's Times review a good deal better than the Telegraph one in terms of the writing and explaining his disappointment with the concert. I can understand his reasoning, which follows the argument that this is Bychkov's first time 'behind the wheel' of the OAE (or any period instrument orchestra as far as I'm aware) and he wanted a more risk-taking, exhilarating 'ride'. The motoring analogy in his first paragraph was rather telling (and witty), I thought.

Although I echo the Telegraph's praise for the concert, I can't say I prefer the writing. The critic seems oblivious to the fact that the OAE has been performing in the RFH for many years and his idea about them as a 'self-directing band' seems very outdated.

What I loved about the performance at the Anvil was that Bychkov seems to be revelling in the glorious sounds available to him through the OAE palette and the results were gloriously genial. Even at slower tempi, I still found the finale to Beethoven 7 tremendously uplifting.

[Alison]

I dont think the finale had to be super fast to make it effective. It's all about articulation and a certain trenchant quality.