What was your last concert?

[HighlandDougie]

This was the first time I'd seen Nelsons conduct. Idiosyncratic scarcely does it justice! Clearly some great work must take place beforehand, in rehearsal. A great shambling bear of a man (in a good way), at times he leaned on the podium rail, holding it with one hand, every so often cranking himself up, leaning forward, lunging with his baton, flinging his arms in the air, becoming airborne a couple of times - I realised early in the Beethoven that his conducting style reminded me powerfully of Boris Yeltsin's. But whatever he does, it works brilliantly, because this was a truly superb performance. Most of all he seemed to be conducting with a glittering eye, ready to pounce at crucial moments. I'd love to hear more from CBSO regulars.

I had my first exposure to Nelsons in the flesh a few weeks ago in the RFH when he was conducting the Philharmonia in Richard Strauss and Beethoven (the 5th rather than the 7th; the execrable 'Death and Transfiguration' - like Liszt on a bad day; orchestral songs with the somewhat hard-voiced Angela Denoke). As Richard says, there must have been much work done in advance or the orchestra must be brilliantly telepathic to be able to understand what all those lunges, grimaces and weird gestures were all about. I sat there thinking, "bring back Sir Adrian", especially as the results of all that gyrating and cavorting around left me less than convinced. Exciting, yes, if you like that sort of thing (and the audience clearly did) but definitely not for me. I should probably have stayed at home and washed my hair.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The Philharmonia were in top form tonight for the last in their series commemorating Lutoslawki. Tonight we heard the 4th Symphony, an amazing piece with wonderful orchestral textures, a superb soloist in Mathias Goerne for Les Espaces de sommeil, and Jennifer Koh as violin soloist in Chain 2. I didn't really know the 4th Symphony, and was bowled over by it, neither did I know Jennifer Koh. She has a bold sound, and I know that the RFH acoustic is not always kind to solo violin. No problems this evening!

I envy you hearing the Fourth Live, Ferretf - I've only ever heard it broadcast and on record, and it's one of my favourite works by this composer (along with about twenty others)!

The Beeb somewhere has "archive" recordings of the composer conducting the work at its Proms premiere about six months before he died and the Proms premiere of the delightful Chantefleurs et Chantefables, neither of which he recorded in the studio. If only there were somebody at the Beeb with a grain of nous!

[amateur51]

The BBC SO were on outstanding form at the Barbican tonight with Alexander Vedernikov conducting. The concert began with John Adams' The Chairman Dances, followed by Tippett's Piano Concerto with Steven Osborne..For me, this is a work that doesn't really register. Obviously , Steven Osborne played well, but to my mind Tippett failed to achieve a satisfactory dialogue between the piano and the orchestra. I'm not expecting a classically proportioned concerto, but for much of the time the orchestra completely outguns the soloist, especially because of its use of high woodwind piercing through a congested texture. When the soloist can be heard there doesn't seem to be anything much on offer.

Things changed after the interval, with what I can only call an incandescent performance of Shostakovich's 8th, which did not lose a moment's tension from first to last. All the sections of the orchestra played at their very best, with that beautiful cor anglais solo in the first movement beautifully realised by Alison Teale The concert was broadcast live and is available on iPlayer for the usual duration of a week. The platform was heavily miked, so let's hope it may appear as a BBCMM DVD

This was one of those evenings where you wanted to leave the hall and not speak to anybody.

An excellent report Ferret - many thanks, I'll listen on iPlayer

[amateur51]

The Philharmonia were in top form tonight for the last in their series commemorating Lutoslawki. Tonight we heard the 4th Symphony, an amazing piece with wonderful orchestral textures, a superb soloist in Mathias Goerne for Les Espaces de sommeil, and Jennifer Koh as violin soloist in Chain 2. I didn't really know the 4th Symphony, and was bowled over by it, neither did I know Jennifer Koh. She has a bold sound, and I know that the RFH acoustic is not always kind to solo violin. No problems this evening!

The concert began with Ma Mere l'Oye, just the suite this time, what is it about this piece that stimulates the sea lions in the audience ? they weren't quite as bad as the last time I heard this work, which was beautifully realised.

I'm not sure if I dare mention La Valse, which ended the evening, since it is certainly overplayed on R3. Suffice it to say that it received a devastating performance. I don't think I have heard it played with such a sense of dissolution and collapse, reflecting the end of an era, after all it was composed in 1920 and surely should be harrowing and not a piece of orchestral excitement.

This was a challenging and outstanding evening. Shostakovich 8 at the Barbican tomorrow !

Your reviews really are excellent Ferret - I wanted to be there This is wonderful music after all

[amateur51]

Cardiff last night - CBSO with Andris Nelsons. Flying Dutchman overture, Mozart K488 with Paul Lewis, and Beethoven 7 .

A lovely, thoughtful, collaborative K488. I'd listened to a couple of versions at home the day befgore to refresh my memory. Lewis actually joined in the opening tutti before his solo entry, playing some chords very quietly (almost inaudibly from our 5th row seats) - the only time I've been aware of this before was V Mullova joining in the opening tutti of the Beethoven Violin concerto. He is a most expressive player, the slow movement was meltingly beautiful.

The Beethoven 7, my favourite Beethoven symphony, positively blazed. Brisk tempi (so often I'm disappointed by performances of this work), the orchestra were on great form. A taut, driving scherzo and trio (nearer the Toscanini than the Klemperer end of the scale ) and blistering last movement.

This was the first time I'd seen Nelsons conduct. Idiosyncratic scarcely does it justice! Clearly some great work must take place beforehand, in rehearsal. A great shambling bear of a man (in a good way), at times he leaned on the podium rail, holding it with one hand, every so often cranking himself up, leaning forward, lunging with his baton, flinging his arms in the air, becoming airborne a couple of times - I realised early in the Beethoven that his conducting style reminded me powerfully of Boris Yeltsin's. But whatever he does, it works brilliantly, because this was a truly superb performance. Most of all he seemed to be conducting with a glittering eye, ready to pounce at crucial moments. I'd love to hear more from CBSO regulars.

It was well worth the car journey by the sound of it RT - many thanks.

[amateur51]

I had my first exposure to Nelsons in the flesh a few weeks ago in the RFH when he was conducting the Philharmonia in Richard Strauss and Beethoven (the 5th rather than the 7th; the execrable 'Death and Transfiguration' - like Liszt on a bad day; orchestral songs with the somewhat hard-voiced Angela Denoke). As Richard says, there must have been much work done in advance or the orchestra must be brilliantly telepathic to be able to understand what all those lunges, grimaces and weird gestures were all about. I sat there thinking, "bring back Sir Adrian", especially as the results of all that gyrating and cavorting around left me less than convinced. Exciting, yes, if you like that sort of thing (and the audience clearly did) but definitely not for me. I should probably have stayed at home and washed my hair.

he does seem to be gathering some excellent reviews HD but I know what you mean by his distracting podium style. But it does seem to work and that's what matters

[Ferretfancy]

I envy you hearing the Fourth Live, Ferretf - I've only ever heard it broadcast and on record, and it's one of my favourite works by this composer (along with about twenty others)!

The Beeb somewhere has "archive" recordings of the composer conducting the work at its Proms premiere about six months before he died and the Proms premiere of the delightful Chantefleurs et Chantefables, neither of which he recorded in the studio. If only there were somebody at the Beeb with a grain of nous!

ferney

I was at that Chantefleurs et Chantefables Prom, and I absolutely agree, the performance must be in the archive somewhere. I do have a recording on Naxos with the Polish Nat.RSO under Wit and Olga Pasiecznik as the soloist, but the Prom stays in my memory.

[HighlandDougie]

he does seem to be gathering some excellent reviews HD but I know what you mean by his distracting podium style. But it does seem to work and that's what matters

Ams

Maybe I was just out of sorts - I much like what I've heard of him on disc and on the radio so next time I'll make sure that I don't sit too near the front (so that the foot-stamping becomes inaudible), close my eyes and listen. At least he's not as bad as Kristjan Järvi, whose performance on the podium has given me what I suspect will be a life-long aversion to his antics as a conductor

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

ferney

I was at that Chantefleurs et Chantefables Prom, and I absolutely agree, the performance must be in the archive somewhere. I do have a recording on Naxos with the Polish Nat.RSO under Wit and Olga Pasiecznik as the soloist, but the Prom stays in my memory.

- the Wit series on NAXOS is excellent: anyone who can't afford the Gardner CHANDOS recordings can get these without feeling short-changed. Iin fact ... ! )

[Mahler's3rd]

Mahler Symphony No 8
Brunel Sinfonia, also featured South Cotswold Choral Group, Nailsea Choral Society, Bristol Cabot Choir & Red Maids School
Charlotte-Anne Shipley, Kari Moffatt, Rhiannon Llewellyn, Janet Shell, Louise Crane, James Atherton, Michael Davis & Tim Nelson, conducted By Tom Gauterin
Bristol's Colston Hall Last Night

[Zucchini]

Andris Nelsons/CBSO: Beethoven Cycle; Symphonies 6 & 7 at Symphony Hall

We attended the second concert and entered Symphony Hall with Prince Edward about 50m behind us (I declined to shake hands with the Mayor or CBSO Chief Executive lined up inside). Both concerts were sold out with a sizeable queue sitting in the unlikely hope of returns. That's becoming the norm for Nelsons' concerts.

They're always wonderful but this time I found the CBSO playing almost beyond belief - stunning in ferocity, agility, transparency and sheer beauty of sound. Nelsons' says his orchestra is world class - they triumphed as Orchestra in Residence at Abbado's prestigious Lucerne Festival last year (sharing the platform with the VPO, Berlin PO, Concertgebouw & Cleveland and will return as OIR for 2014) - and it would be churlish to disagree.

Fiona Maddocks in The Observer:
"Another Beethoven cycle? Not for Andris Nelsons. This is his first. He and his City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra reached the Sixth and Seventh symphonies this week, with one concert left to go. After the breathless, bacchanalian frenzy which brought No 7 to a close and many in the capacity audience to their feet, it was clear something remarkable had taken place. I had to remind myself that "wow" is not yet acceptable in the critical lexicon except on Twitter."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/mar/24/cbso-nelsons-beethoven-dutchman-review?CMP=twt_gu#start-of-comments

The Birmingham Post:
Wagner, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and all the others: since his appointment in 2008 Andris Nelsons has brought us countless riches in his performances with the CBSO. But it was with the meat-and-potatoes of Beethoven that he delivered his finest (even by the standards we have come to expect) concert to date, two middle-period symphonies which revealed just how much of an exhilarating bond has been forged between this amazing conductor and his equally amazing, willing players."

http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leisure-birmingham-guide/birmingham-culture/2013/03/21/review-beethoven-symphonies-6-7-performed-by-andris-nelsons-cbso-at-symphony-hall-65233-33035783

There are a few comments above about his ebullient style of conducting. I've seen him many times and it no longer bothers me. His beat is absolutely clear at all times, he's wonderful with the CBSO chorus. Barenboim, Rattle and Pappano can be pretty animated but I think it's maybe more obvious with Andris because he's a very big man.

[Richard Tarleton]

Thanks for these links zucchini. Your comments, and Fiona Maddocks's, capture perfectly my feelings after the Beethoven 7 in St David's Hall. I was careful to say that however idiosyncratic his conducting style it clearly worked - it was just the first time I'd seen him in action. The orchestra were at the top of their game.

[Mahler's3rd]

OAE at Bristol St Georges Last Night with an all Bach programme

[Nick Armstrong]

Bach's St Matthew Passion in King's College Chapel, Cambridge, with the College Choir, the Academy of Ancient Music and a mixed bag of soloists under the direction of Stephen Cleobury.

The stand-out and sublime parts of the performance consisted of (1) the choral sections, brilliantly done by the choir and orchestra with very fluent and expressive phrasing - Cleobury kept it moving and flowing but not at the expense of meaning; and (2) Andreas Scholl's solos - 'Erbarme Dich' in particular, almost heart-stopping, Scholl's voice expanding to fill that astonishing space, no intrusive vibrato and perfect diction in the acoustic.

Sadly other soloists were no match - Sophie Bevan was ok, as were the Evangelist and Christus (Christoph Genz & Stephan Loges)... but "Mache dich" was lost thanks to a nondescript bass and the other tenor was awful (a late stand-in I think, as he didn't resemble in any way any of the photos in the programme).

I am very glad not to have missed the sublime bits - but one had to sit through probably 90 minutes-worth of less good stuff (and it wasn't warm in King's Chapel !! )

[BBMmk2]

Glad it wasnt toop bad a concert Calki! Worth it just for Andreas Scholl and the Choir!!??