What was your last concert?

[Alison]

There is something compellingly ‘together’ about the LPO.

If I were of the required standard think I’d like to join them!

[Beef Oven!]

There is something compellingly ‘together’ about the LPO.

If I were of the required standard think I’d like to join them!

Currently the best UK orchestra, IMVHO!

[Simon B]

A good read Simon.

So you think LSO clearly superior to LPO and Philharmonia or not necessarily?

Must say all three have impressed me of late

Someone will probably be along shortly to chastise for the tawdry business of ranking orchestras like football teams. However, on the scale which ranges from comments under YouTube videos (there madness surely lies) to profound philosophical insight it's surely not so bad?

It is tempting to say just 'different' rather than 'better'. It is just a question of style to some degree. Honestly though? Yes, 'better' does cover it. The sound and cohesiveness of the upper strings is the most obvious weakness in many an orchestra and here the LSO currently casts others in its wake - amply demonstrated in Elgar 2, where gossamer textures and filigree are so crucial. There's the burnished corporate richness and weight of the brass allied with the most evenly excellent section percussion team around. Then there's the last of the timpanists of real character, Nigel Thomas, upholding the "London school" tradition of outrageous unscripted pedalling, especially in Tchaikovsky symphonies (high speed scales and arpeggios in mvt III of the last LSO Tchaik 6 at the Proms - breathtaking virtuosity and swagger) and really making an impact and driving the whole orchestra when required. The younger generation are all highly accomplished but a bit bland by comparison...

With Rattle, the current LSO seems able to provide transparency and layering in spite of the Barbican acoustic much as the LPO fairly consistently do for Jurowski at the RFH. Das Lied von der Erde was a recent striking example of this. For a different conductor with different priorites (e.g. Elder for the Elgar symphonies) they can turn on the kind of clotted-cream richness e.g. the '90s Philharmonia provided in the sumptuous moments of this rep, and then off again moments later to match the quicksilver moodswings of the music.

I suppose that's all a longwinded way of saying I personally like the racket they make and the assertiveness and swagger that seems to be a hallmark of the general current approach. They're good and they know it - though they're not going to beat you over the head with it to the same self-conscious degree as, say, the Berlin Philharmonic . Yes, I know, ducking for cover right now...

Maybe it's a rather silly metaphor, but the LSO do seem to have blossomed since they split up with Gergiev, even before embarking on a new romance with some other bloke called Simon - rather like someone coming out of a relationship that had stopped working some time ago and festered for too long!

All of that said, the LPO do play significantly more interesting and eclectic rep - Jurowski is an exceptionally daring and thoughtful programmer - and frequently at the same level albeit a different style. The Philharmonia is more uneven - spending ever more time traipsing around in search of a fee sometimes seems to be audibly taking its toll. However, again, on a good night (often with Salonen, providing the repertoire is a good match for his strengths, more Lutoslawski than Liszt) they can also hit the heights. London is spoilt for choice - unlike out here in the backwoods...

[HighlandDougie]

LSO/Elder @ Barbican, 11/2/18:

Dvořák: Othello Overture
Bruch: VC #1 (Nikolaj Znaider)
--------
Elgar: Sym #2

This was the second of two LSO concerts in a few days including both of the Elgar symphonies... by Elgar .

The first half was entirely lost to me for non-musical reasons, but the departure of some patrons who apparently only showed for the ultra-ubiquitous Bruch rectified matters...

This was such a different Elgar 2 from the one Elder conducted at the Proms in 2015. So soporific and languid was that that I initially decided to only attend the Elgar 1 on Thu 9/2 and skip this. Thankfully, the temptations of the currently glorious LSO sound won and the reward was a highly committed and exuberant performance.

That said, it sounds like Barry Millington was at the concert I was afraid of in some respects - https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london...-a3764171.html - the dubious Barbican acoustic outside its sweet spots in play perhaps?

David Truslove captures my experience though - http://www.classicalsource.com/db_co...w.php?id=15201 - "Elder masterfully navigating through Elgar’s dense writing to produce wonderful buoyancy and uninhibited exuberance" etc.

I'm mid-way, criticism-wise, between Barry Millington and David Truslove but that's probably because I like my Elgar 2 to be along the lines of the composer's recording. Mark Elder, ever one to experiment with platform placements, had the double basses at the very left (and slightly raised) and, as usual for him, divided violins. Whatever his reasoning, it produced a fine, balanced sound. The LSO, as Simon says, was in fine form (and is in fine form, generally - the woodwind were terrific when I heard them in December with Sir Simon - ditto on Sunday). The Dvorak, fine piece that it is, was a bit underwhelming - the orchestra seemed just a touch unengaged - and the Bruch VC was, well, the Bruch VC. I'm not a fan but it was well played by Nikolai Znaider, who resisted the temptation to big up its romanticism. I was with friends and we decamped afterwards to the Côte across the road for something to eat. In walked Mark Elder, his wife (I think) and Nikolai Znaider and, as one of my friends knows Elder, he came over to say hello. Difficult to do anything other than gush over how wonderful the concert had been (in fairness, it was pretty good - and the last movement of the symphony was beautifully paced by the conductor, as well as being beautifully played by the orchestra). I wish I'd asked him about the orchestral layout.

Robin Ticciati with the LSO (and Alina Ibragimova) next week. As to LPO vs LSO vs Philharmonia? Well, it's not the Premier League so I'm not sure that it matters. I've been to quite a few BBC SO concerts in the last couple years and they have given me as much pleasure as concerts by anyone else.

[Alison]

Very interesting reading from Simon and Dougie. Not sure I've ever found the ideal seat in the Barbican.

I was impressed with Antoine Sigure at a recent Philharmonia concert; maybe the programme of Debussy and Ravel wasn't the ultimate test on timps.

[Petrushka]

Not sure I've ever found the ideal seat in the Barbican.

Front row of the circle is fine for me. I usually try to book a specific seat but not revealing which one it is! I keep away from the stalls.

[Alison]

Thanks Pet. I always go in the stalls, perhaps that’s my problem.

Having been a bit more active in my concert going I’ve got the hunger for more!

[teamsaint]

Thanks Pet. I always go in the stalls, perhaps that’s my problem.

Having been a bit more active in my concert going I’ve got the hunger for more!

Theres some interesting looking Schumann coming up at the Barbican in March , one of them on a Sunday IIRC.

[VodkaDilc]

I was impressed with Antoine Sigure at a recent Philharmonia concert; maybe the programme of Debussy and Ravel wasn't the ultimate test on timps.

He is certainly a great asset to the Philharmonia. They seem to have been very successful recently in finding principal players to replace long-serving stalwarts of the orchestra. I'm not just thinking of Antoine Siguré on timpani, but also Tim Gibbs (double bass) and Tom Blomfield, the youthful principal oboist. The sound he produced in the Beethoven First Piano Concero last night at the RFH was stunningly beautiful.

In any comparison of orchestras, the Philharmonia strings always stand out from the rest. This is a personal opinion, but I know that many others share it.

[Alison]

He is certainly a great asset to the Philharmonia. They seem to have been very successful recently in finding principal players to replace long-serving stalwarts of the orchestra. I'm not just thinking of Antoine Siguré on timpani, but also Tim Gibbs (double bass) and Tom Blomfield, the youthful principal oboist. The sound he produced in the Beethoven First Piano Concero last night at the RFH was stunningly beautiful.

In any comparison of orchestras, the Philharmonia strings always stand out from the rest. This is a personal opinion, but I know that many others share it.

How was the Mahler 5??

[Conchis]

He is certainly a great asset to the Philharmonia. They seem to have been very successful recently in finding principal players to replace long-serving stalwarts of the orchestra. I'm not just thinking of Antoine Siguré on timpani, but also Tim Gibbs (double bass) and Tom Blomfield, the youthful principal oboist. The sound he produced in the Beethoven First Piano Concero last night at the RFH was stunningly beautiful.

In any comparison of orchestras, the Philharmonia strings always stand out from the rest. This is a personal opinion, but I know that many others share it.

I suppose it's fanciful to wonder if Tim Gibbs is any relation to the ill-fated early Philharnoia player Peter Gibbs?

[VodkaDilc]

How was the Mahler 5??

Very impressive; absolutely packed hall. Jakub Hrusa really seems to get the best out of the orchestra.

[Bryn]

Tonight, the first concert of this year's Principal Sound weekend at St John's, Smith Square. Nono, Schoenberg and Feldman. I can't make the afternoon concerts but am looking forward to the other two evening ones.

[gurnemanz]

A rare chance to hear Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch done complete at the Barbican yesterday. Glad we made the effort, having booked a year ago to hear two of the top singers around bring it off. Jonas Kaufmann, Diana Damrau with Helmut Deutsch on piano were on top form. Perhaps a wee bit operatic at times with some quite corny but not too overdone use of humorous gesture.

[Simon B]

The LSO gave another excellent (imv, obviously) concert at the Barbican on Sunday/18th.

My impression is that Daniel Harding has generally taken a bit of a critical mauling at times but on the basis of limited encounters it's not been apparent why.

A couple of previous Alpine Symphonies in the Barbican have given the impression that the acoustic just can't cope with it - congested and ear splitting. This one however somehow managed to give the impression of clarity at the same time as tremendous weight and power - not shying away from sheer decibels just momentarily at the key moments either. There were a few slips and blips here and there but generally the teriffic recent standard of LSO concerts continues.