Very harsh on Taneyev IMVHO bsp
Each to their own
Each to their own
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“Music is the best means we have of digesting time." — Igor Stravinsky -
bsp - Check out Claudio Abbado's final BPO concert consisting of the Mendelssohn Midsummer Night's Dream and Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique.
This might be standard fare but Abbado and the BPO give a wonderful Mendelssohn while the Berlioz is truly electrifying. No wonder the audience go wild at the end and give Abbado a tremendous ovation. Wish I'd been there.
Petrenko? I don't know, the jury's still out. I watched his Mahler 6 and failed to be impressed. Afraid the camera was on KP too much and I found him distracting to watch.
Watched all of the Haitink concerts (except those I already have on DVD) which, like the vast majority of the relays, have excellent video direction. Time and time again, the camera went to exactly where I wanted. Little details of the score were often illuminated by the camera like the moment early in the second movement of the Bruckner 4 where a repeated two note figure on the horn is passed down each of the four horns in turn.
Had a few days rest from it over Easter but will return to watch a few Rattle concerts including a Prom I went to."The sound is the handwriting of the conductor" - Bernard HaitinkComment
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Originally posted by silvestrione View Post
Playing here at the moment... Exhilarating stuff!
Wonderful (and fascinating) to hear and see this music in the hands of this orchestra and conductor
"...the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."
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Yes, completely agree. There's also a fine Barenboim Falstaff.Originally posted by Caliban View Post
Playing here at the moment... Exhilarating stuff!
Wonderful (and fascinating) to hear and see this music in the hands of this orchestra and conductor
Though unfortunately, my 30 day free access has expired.Comment
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I was informed by an acquaintance (who I would rely on for accuracy, in general) that the 30 day limit has been removed (or I suppose, can be renewed - to same effect). I didn't find information on the concert hall about that, but thought I would see what happens at the end of my 30 days.......Originally posted by silvestrione View PostComment
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In case anyone hasn't yet heard, the Berlin Phil is planning a small-ensemble version of their annual May 1 concert, to be offered through the Digital Concert Hall, among other media:
This could potentially serve as a model for David Pickard and his Proms team to try to present something this summer under the Proms rubric. Intuitively, I would think that they'll be watching this concert to see how the Berliners do it, and see if they can adapt anything to the Proms."In order to comply with all social distancing rules and hygiene requirements under these special circumstances, the programme has been adapted to a chamber music ensemble. The new programme presents works by Arvo Pärt, György Ligeti, Samuel Barber and Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 4 in an arrangement for chamber ensemble by Erwin Stein. Soloist ist [sic] soprano Christiane Karg."
This was on my list, and I did see it. I enjoyed it, if w/o being as blown away by it as you, and to be honest, IMHO, while the audience was happy, they didn't go any wilder than in other concerts, at least that I could tell. That aside, wonderfully delicate and finessed playing in the Mendelssohn, which actually carried over into the Berlioz. I thought that Abbado "Mendelssohnized" the SF, in a way. Happily, I'm glad that Abbado took both the 1st and 4th movement repeats, definitely a plus in my book. For contrast, I had seen Paavo Jarvi's reading captured earlier this year of the SF, which had perhaps a bit more fire. Paavo J. took the 1st movement repeat, but not the 4th (curious, that), and included the cornet part in "Un bal". If you haven't seen it, you might be amused at the shot chosen for the very end of the symphony.Originally posted by Petrushka View Post
On your comment on the Abbado 2011 Mahler concert, and why no DVD, I saw in the end credits that two broadcast networks, ZDF (Germany) and NHK (Japan), also hold copyright on this video recording. While I clearly don't know the real reason of why no DVD, some reasons aren't difficult to speculate, such as:
* One or more of the copyright parties said "no".
* JK or ASvO may have said "no".
* The Berlin Phil themselves might have said "no".
Plus, once a DVD like this has been released, sooner or later, someone will upload it, or at least try to upload it, to YT, and the artists or copyright holders will have no control over it. The irony here is that, with the Digital Concert Hall, the DCH almost makes production of DVD's redundant. In the DCH, the Berlin Phil retains total control. Plus, there's no need to manufacture and ship DVDs, so much less carbon footprint.
Sure, things are at the beginning phase of Petrenko's tenure, and the jury is still out. Likewise, some of his gestures can be distracting, and a bit repetitive (like his gaze upwards that has happened more than once). But that was the case with SSR as well, if everyone remembers the raking he got in the press during the early years of his tenure, and much of SSR's facial gesturing from videos in the DCH. What is key now at the start of the "marriage" is the chemistry between the Berlin Phil and KP, which looks really good. I've noticed the occasional thumbs-up or happy wink from Petrenko to the orchestra.Petrenko? I don't know, the jury's still out. I watched his Mahler 6 and failed to be impressed. Afraid the camera was on KP too much and I found him distracting to watch.
In general, I've tried to find more off-the-wall items, like:
* El Dude conducting Gubaidulina's Glorious Percussion and DSCH 12
* Stenhammar 2 with Blomstedt
* Late Night concert with Matthias Pintscher conducting Kurtag's Messages of the Late Miss R.V. Troussova
* SSR's all-French Late Night concert that has Jacques Ibert's Divertissement (the perfect musical tonic)
* Another SSR Late Night concert, in tribute to Paul Whiteman, with the jazz band version of Rhapsody in Blue and a few guest numbers from Max Raabe (his fee, according to SSR, very little money and a good bottle of wine)
* Ginastera's Harp Concerto with Marie-Pierre Langlamet, plus the complete Three-Cornered Hat in the same program (for a moment, a kid was conducting from his seat in the choir stalls behind the orchestra)
* Takemitsu's from me flows what you call time, with the chimes suspended from high up in the hall and colored streamers for the percussionists to manipulate
I also had really wanted to see the documentary Rhythm Is It!, about the Berlin kids from various social strata for the Royston Maldoom-choreographed Rite of Spring. I was then able to find the actual video of that full danced performance of The Rite given in the converted transportation center, and the kids did a great job. A few of them were particularly highlighted, one of whom admitted that she was not a particularly good student, so that I wonder how they all turned out, 17 years later.
Since several people here have mentioned KP's Elgar 2, it's kind of surprising that no one has mentioned Runnicles' Elgar 1, which is also in the DCH. (There's also a Walton 1 with Bychkov.) In the first half, Ludwig Quandt, one of the orchestra's principal cellists, tilted at windmills as Don Quixote. It's interesting to jump around among the years and pay attention to the musicians as they stay around, and age. So I notice people like Albrecht Mayer (oboe), Stefan Dohr and Sarah Willis among the French horns, and among the violins, Bastian Schafer (the Otto Klemperer-lookalike), Stanley Dodds and Madeleine Caruzzo, and violists like Julia Gartemann (who did the interview with Elina Garanca for the Mahler 3 that Lorenzo Viotti conducted this past February). Perhaps most poignant is to see Christian Stadelmann in the front desks of the second violins over the years in different concerts, someone who left us all too soon. I rather like Mayer and Quandt, in particular, as real "characters", in their dry way, with some drolly cynical and humorous comments from Mayer in his short film musician profile in particular.
Other more standard fare has included:
* SSR's inaugural concert from 2002, with Thomas Ades in the audience (as well as Kent Nagano) for Asyla, along with Mahler 5
* SSR's final concert as chief conductor with Mahler 6 (with the 11+ minutes of applause)
* Harnoncourt's final appearance with Beethoven's Mass in C and the Fifth Symphony (where one guy was videoing the 1st and 4th movements with his phone)
There literally is too much good stuff to catch there. I do need to take a break from it after seeing something on pretty much each of the 30 days. However, now that I've taken a closer look at the free content that is independent of the 30-day voucher (I watched some items, like KP's Suor Angelica, w/o realizing that they were free to all anyway), after a few days' break, I might catch up on some of that other content (which includes KP's Elgar 2, or SSR leading LvB 4 & 7, and separately, the Mozart final symphonic trilogy). It really is a terrific gift that the BPO have offered here.Last edited by bluestateprommer; 28-04-20, 21:54.Comment
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I've been using my 30-day pass over the past week or so and finding so much to enjoy. I like KP's way of highlighting detail in the orchestral textures.
Last night I found a thrilling account of 'Pictures at an Exhibition' conducted by Tugan Sokhiev.Comment
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Indeed it is. There's a tiny sample on You Tube which ought to whet a few Elgarian appetites ... :) ...Originally posted by silvestrione View Post
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