Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla's first year at CBSO: Radio 4 Tues 18 Jul 9.00am

[Zucchini]

"BEHIND THE SCENES" (42mins)

"Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla is the 30-year-old Latvian conductor who has taken charge at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra - one of conducting's rising superstars. Verity Sharp charts her first year in her new job."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08y0smt

[Zucchini]

on now

[Prommer]

Behind the Scenes, R4: Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla

Can were talk about this here, or somewhere, even though it was on Radio 4?

I caught a bit in the car, and Ivan Hewitt was saying some interesting, possibly controversial, things about Mirga's ability (as yet) to handle the 'big' symphonies of Mahler and Bruckner. Said she had to discover her 'inner man'! Verity Sharp did a good job of not taking in the breath too sharply at that point.

He is clearly a fan, but did say that these were the works which heralded/demanded the emergence of the maestro - with all of its traditional gestural, quite controlling elements which we have come to know so well. He gave an example of Mahler (think it was No.1) which he feels rather fell apart under her.

Am now going to listen to the whole thing!

[gradus]

How has she done in her first year? The programme was made last Summer and apart from the odd broadcast excerpt I haven't heard any of her concerts.

[jean]

I don't know, but according to some critic (Ivan Hewett?) she needed to discover her 'inner man' or she'd never be any good at Bruckner or Mahler.

[Sir Velo]

Can were talk about this here, or somewhere, even though it was on Radio 4?

I caught a bit in the car, and Ivan Hewitt was saying some interesting, possibly controversial, things about Mirga's ability (as yet) to handle the 'big' symphonies of Mahler and Bruckner. Said she had to discover her 'inner man'! Verity Sharp did a good job of not taking in the breath too sharply at that point.

He is clearly a fan, but did say that these were the works which heralded/demanded the emergence of the maestro - with all of its traditional gestural, quite controlling elements which we have come to know so well. He gave an example of Mahler (think it was No.1) which he feels rather fell apart under her.

Am now going to listen to the whole thing!

I rather felt the same about her Tchaikovsky 4 last year which she pulled about as if it were Mahler.

[jean]

Can were talk about this here, or somewhere, even though it was on Radio 4?!

We already were!

http://www.for3.org/forums/showthread.php?17422-Mirga-Gra%C5%BEinyt%C4%97-Tyla-s-first-year-at-CBSO-Radio-4-Tues-18-Jul-9-00am

[DracoM]

I'm afraid I'd find a conductor like that pretty gushing / exhausting to work for. Not convinced by the management of detail [ and interesting that management went out of their way to stress that she did take detail seriously]. Why do that? So, erm.......one or two of the performances seem not to bear that scrupulous attention to detail out entirely - see above.

What is she like taking an orchestra through repertoire new to both her and band??

BUT as a show-person, audience-wower, funding-gleaner, ambassador for the beleaguered CBSO etc, pretty unbeatable, so...............??

[DracoM]

NO, that is NOT what he said, and his preamble to that quite consciously ironic comment made both him and Verity Sharp laugh.

[jean]

Another view:

...Ivan Hewitt was saying some interesting, possibly controversial, things about Mirga's ability (as yet) to handle the 'big' symphonies of Mahler and Bruckner. Said she had to discover her 'inner man'! Verity Sharp did a good job of not taking in the breath too sharply at that point...

(Perhaps we could combine these threads?)

[jean]

I'm afraid I'd find a conductor like that pretty gushing...

Well, that's women for you.

We'll probably have to put up with it until she discovers her inner man...

[Zucchini]

How has she done in her first year? The programme was made last Summer ...

NO, it wasn't. She had only given 3 concerts as Music Director by then. The CBSO says "Over the past year a radio documentary team has been working with Mirga as part of a series following people in their first year of a job in the arts".

I've not heard the programme yet.

[Prommer]

And so...

http://slippedisc.com/2017/07/mirga-needs-to-find-her-inner-man/

[Zucchini]

What is she like taking an orchestra through repertoire new to both her and band?

I don't know the answer but she's programming more 'new/unfamiliar' works than her predecessor, Andris Nelsons. Good for everyone I think.

[ardcarp]

I have to say that the Ivan Hewitt comment was said with 'inverted commas' and I don't think he said she'd never be any good at Mahler and Bruckner. He was referring specifically to a passage in the the 1st Mov.t of Mahler's 1st where the 'folk song like tune' goes in to D major and which she took rather dreamily. He had been asked if there was anything he didn't like about Mirga's work, and this is what he came up with. [It's about 2mins 30 from the start, I think.] He also said that a young conductor needs to find her own voice, and whilst some may say she's very lucky to be on her journey of discovery with a major national orchestra, I for one am very happy at her appointment. It seems most of the players are too.

I was glad that the programme hammered home the shameful situation of CBSO funding from Brum City Council. It probably needs someone like Mirga to sell the orchestra to a wider audience than the middle-aged, middle class, middle-of-the-road music lover.

Yes this has been discussed on another thread, but that's no problem.