What was your last concert?

[MrGongGong]

I was at a concert too at the Walled City Festival. A programme of Oboe and Piano music with Nicholas Daniel and Cathal Breslin. Bach, Britten, Beethoven, Poulenc.

MrGongGong I use this link:

http://symbolcodes.tlt.psu.edu/accents/codealt.html

Thanks

Glad to see that Nic got there OK
(I heard he missed his flight)

How was it ?

[Padraig]

Thanks

Glad to see that Nic got there OK
(I heard he missed his flight)

How was it ?

You're welcome MrGongGong.

I'm quite nonplussed that you should know about this concert!

It started on time in any case, and was a most generous offering, both in duration and in committed performance from both musicians. The heat was dreadful yet the very disappointing turn out made not a whit of difference to them. Nicholas Daniel was a witty and endearing announcer of many of the pieces - eight in all - JSB opening and closing, along with Schumann, Beethoven, Britten, Julius Rietz and Poulenc. Right in the middle, in a nice symmetry, were two solo pieces by Benjamin Britten - Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, for solo oboe; and Night Piece for solo piano. The pianist, Cathal Breslin who also co-directs the Festival, is a local lad who has moved on, did a tremendous job all evening and seemed to enjoy the relative peace of his piano solo. The piece for solo oboe was a highlight of the concert - a first for me - but my abiding memory (so far) is the sparkling playing in Poulenc's Sonata for oboe and piano, especially in the second movement Scherzo - another first for me.

Yes MrGongGong, I got much more than my money's worth.

[MrGongGong]

You're welcome MrGongGong.

I'm quite nonplussed that you should know about this concert!

There's much wrong with Facebook
but it has some benefits
Glad you enjoyed it
Nic is a great player IMV

[Richard Tarleton]

Excellent chamber concert last night in the Oak Hall at Rhosygilwen - Tim Hugh and friends playing Shostakovich Piano Trio no 2, Boccherini Musica notturna delle strade de Madrid and the Trout Quintet. The friends were, no less, Peter Manning and Katerina Nazarova (violins), Chi-chi Nwanoku (with her 1631 Amati double bass), Robin Ashwell (viola) and Olga Sitkovetsky (piano). Marvellous music making in a relaxed and informal setting, only sorry I can't go to the remaining two concerts in the series. Other regulars at this veue include Peter Donohoe, Llyr Williams, Natalie Clein.....

[pastoralguy]

Just back from Pavel Haas Quartet at the Queens Hall. Absolutely superb!

Schlhoff,
DSCH and

Brahms.


Should be available on BBC Radio3 listen again.

Well worth hearing.


I should report the following conversation. Mrs. PG was sitting next to a very 'pukka' couple from the Home Counties. The lady of the couple got into conversation with Mrs. PG and the following exchange occurred...

Pukka Lady:- 'I believe the second piece is by Stravinsky'.

Mrs. PG. :- 'I believe it's Shostakovich's 10th quartet'.

P L:- 'Well, it doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, this modern music all sounds much the same. It's so barbaric, isn't it?'

Much spluttering from PG...!

[Stanfordian]

Just back from Pavel Haas Quartet at the Queens Hall. Absolutely superb!

Schlhoff,
DSCH and

Brahms.


Should be available on BBC Radio3 listen again.

Well worth hearing.


I should report the following conversation. Mrs. PG was sitting next to a very 'pukka' couple from the Home Counties. The lady of the couple got into conversation with Mrs. PG and the following exchange occurred...

Pukka Lady:- 'I believe the second piece is by Stravinsky'.

Mrs. PG. :- 'I believe it's Shostakovich's 10th quartet'.

P L:- 'Well, it doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, this modern music all sounds much the same. It's so barbaric, isn't it?'

Much spluttering from PG...!

Hiya pastoralguy,

Great story PG. I have heard the Pavel Haas Quartet 3 times; once in Preston about 8 or 9 years ago and twice in Germany, the latest being last year in Dresden. It is a fine quartet and have done extremely well to get through personnel changes that can deeply affect a quartet. I wouldn't class them as the best quartet that I have heard but they are up there. If find the Emerson and Henschel the finest around. In Dresden the last work on the Pavel Haas Quartet programme was Schubert's ‘Death and the Maiden’ and the extent to which the players visibly tired did surprised me.

[HighlandDougie]

Mahler: Symphony No 6

Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin - in the Usher Hall as part of the Edinburgh Festival

Good to see the Usher Hall packed to the rafters for this concert. Slightly short measure but the quality of the performance was such that it would have seemed churlish to complain. Scherzo/Andante with the latter a bit slow for my taste (if Bernstein is your favoured Mahler interpreter rather than, say, Abbado, you would have been very happy). Very good orchestral playing, although the brass were getting slightly ragged towards the end. I much like Y N-S (I was going to say, "the pint-sized maestro who clearly spends a lot of time doing bench-presses in the gym", but that seems a bit rude) and the energy he brings to the podium without going to Andris Nelsons-esque extremes. He clearly has a good relationship with the orchestra - and showed a firm grasp of the symphony's structure. The ending was suitably powerful in its impact (like being punched in the solar plexus). It was being recorded, although anyone curious to hear what this combination of conductor, orchestra and work sounds like can hear the performance they gave last weekend in the Concertgebouw on Dutch Radio 4. Daftest comment of the evening came from TOH who wondered if they couldn't just omit the cow bells. Duh!

[teamsaint]

I popped up to London on Wednesday night for the first LPO concert of their RFH season.

Magnus Lindberg: Chorale
Sergey Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No.3
Interval
Dmitry Shostakovich: Symphony No.8 in C minor

London Philharmonic Orchestra
Vladimir Jurowski conductor
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet piano


A breezy pleasant autumn evening , with a bit of swell on the Thames, weather which helped expectations of a fine season to come. Well, let’s hope so !!


The evening kicked off with an introduction by Jurowski, with special reference to Lindberg, who was in attendance, and his residency at the SBC. All very interesting, especially his thoughts about the Berg Violin Concerto, with which the Chorale was originally intended to go. Jurowski is so enthusiastic about the music he presents that it is hard not to get swept along. In fact, why try not to be? He demands that the audience go with him on the journey !

Jurowski suggested that the Chorale works even better as a standalone piece. Personally, I wasn’t too convinced with it as a concert opener, but it was a good introduction to his music, ( surely strongly Ives influenced?), and I’ll certainly seek out more.

On with Bavouzet’s interpretation of the Prokofiev, which Jurowski had rather skimmed over in his chat. Personally, I didn’t think this was flawless. The first movement , with its (inherent) breakneck speed, seemed a little messy at times, and the piano just a little lost in the orchestra early on, but Bavouzet’s technique was more than up to the job. Indeed it led to a thunderous outbreak of applause at the end of the movement. This is indeed rather tempting, but also diminished the subtle effect of the start of the variations. The second movement variations were the most successful part for me, lovely nuances and subtleties. In the third , I found myself wanting a little more folksy sentimentality that he gave it, but all in all a great run through, and Bavouzet is certainly a sight to see in full flow in a work like this. The end of the finale was spellbinding. He has a big fan club, they were out in some force, and gave him a great ovation.
He treated us to two encores, “ The Girl with the flaxen Hair”, and Massenet’s Toccata. Can’t have too much of a good thing !

The Shostakovich, which Jurowski had bigged up in his talk, was, in my opinion , magnificent. I suppose in works like this there will always be something not quite to our particular taste, but from where I was sitting, ( front of the sadly empty rear stalls) it was as good as one could ask for. The first movement in particular was absolutely compelling. Jurowski had promised big climaxes, and we certainly got them. Throughout, the soloists were superb, and the orchestra’s sound was exemplary, and very impressive. I found myself wondering if anybody ever wrote better for woodwind?
It’s such a massive and complex work that it isn’t always easy to get things straight in the mind. Emotions seem to get battered around, almost inexplicably coming and going, but perhaps that is what wartime chaos produces. I did wonder once or twice if there are little nudges and questions(the violin solo?) about how Germany had been in better times.
A special high point….that major chord resolution at the end of the fourth movement……breathtaking, as was the conclusion of the finale, which Jurowski marshalled beautifully. What a good conductor he is, and, more importantly, what a great advocate for C20 music. I’m a fan of his, and so surely are those who stayed to give a long, if not deafening ovation.

Downside of the evening was a shocking performance from the rather sparse audience. The coughers were out in force, bottles crashed around the arena, folk left mid- performance, and between movements allowed opportunities for a nice chat.
I may have missed details, but four days without broadband have been a mess! A terrific night, and one to convince any waverers, if there are any, of the genius of Shostakovich.

[Ferretfancy]

I enjoyed an evening at the Theatre by the Lake in Keswick, when the Royal Northern Sinfonia directed and led by Bradley Creswick gave a concert of Purcell, Haydn ( the D major Cello Concerto) Elgar and Mozart.
It's a very attractive theatre, quite modest in size, with a fairly dry acoustic. We were right down the front, only a few feet away from the second desk of violins. The suite from Abdelazar, played without vibrato sounded extraordinary at this close range, but was fascinating, as was the sound of the solo cello in the Haydn. The performance of Mozart's Symphony No. 39 K 543 was really terrific, with particular fine woodwind playing, even under the microscope as it were.

Keswick Music Society has an ambitious winter programme. I wish I could be there to hear Louis Schwitzgebel's recital in October. Most of the enthusiastic audience we local people, and it was a very friendly occasion.

[EdgeleyRob]

Some super reviews there folks,always a good read.

Alas I am incapable writing such a good quality review of my last concert.

Bach's B Minor Mass in Manchester last Friday.
The English Concert,Harry Bicket et al.

Quite unlike anything I've ever heard live before.
Some of you guys will know better than me,an absolute monument of a piece.
A thought provoking evening with added poignancy as it was dedicated to the memory of Christopher Hogwood

[pastoralguy]

Mrs. PG and I are just back from Sophie Ellis-Bextor at the Queens Hall here in Edinburgh. She really knows how to get the crowd going. And we met her afterwards and got our photo taken with her.


Quite odd going to that venue after all these classical concerts during the EIF.

[teamsaint]

The 2014-15 international concert series at the Anvil in Basingstoke kicked off last night, with Local favourites the Bournemouth SO.


Kirill Karabits CONDUCTOR /Andreas Ottensamer Clarinet


Mozart
Clarinet Concerto

Bruckner
Symphony No.7


THis was the third might of a run of three , so I thought it might be interesting to see how enthusiasm levels were running in the band.

Not hard to get an audience on your side with the Mozart of course. This was a pretty relaxed rendering. Karabits was in laid back mood for this, allowing plenty of space for the soloist to show his skill, which he did pretty spectacularly. I was about 5 feet from him, close enough to hear the noise of the pads on the clarinet at times !. A thoroughly charming performance from Ottensamer, whose demeanour certainly helped win friends in the band and audience alike. His entry notes in some of the quieter passages were absolutely exquisite. The slow movement was taken just about as slowly as it is possible to sensibly do, but it worked fine. A nice exuberant encore, no idea what it was !!

The Bruckner of course is a whole different ball game. This was a first Bruckner 7 for me, so not too much to compare with. Karabits was far more energetic and involved for this, really driving the orchestra at times, and was especially vigorous at the start of new sections. Overall, the performance was what one might expect, and karabits seemed happy with everybody's efforts. I would have to say though, that a stern critic might have found issues with some of the playing. there were certainly ragged moments, understandably perhaps, particularly in the brass. From my seat I couldn't see the exact forces in use, but I am pretty certain that there must have been extra players drafted in there, and this may have led to the odd moment of untidiness. There was also from time to time, a slight lack of balance, with some rather too gentle brass on the odd occasion. This could have been down to my seat position though.

The band seemed pretty pleased at the end...or was that relief at the end of their 3 night stint?!
Good response from a rather patchily filled hall, who overall seemed happy enough.

[Petrushka]

Barbican, October 11 2014

BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo
Augustin Hadelich (violin)

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 6
Mozart: Violin Concerto No 4
Nielsen: Symphony No 1

This was the first in a Nielsen Symphony cycle from Oramo and the BBCSO and can be heard in Afternoon on Three week commencing November 17.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Oh, give us a clue, Pet! Any good?

[Alison]

Oh, give us a clue, Pet! Any good?

My thought too!!