What was your last concert?

[tigajen]

I had a similar reaction to Lewis's playing when he gave the last three LvB sonatas at Snape some years ago, but thought: maybe it's just me. But maybe it wasn't!

How reassured I am by this. I have not heard(seen) Paul Lewis live but have his Beethoven PS set and found it generally uninvolving.I also thought in view of the reviews elsewhere it must be me. This is probably not the place to ask this(not worth a seperate thread?),but has anyone any views on the Jonathan Biss performances,as far as he has got?

[pastoralguy]

The OAE at Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Centre on Saturday 28th of February. The programme was Smetana's 'Bartered Bride' overture, the Brahms Violin concert with Viktoria Mullova as soloist and Dvorak's 'New World' symphony. Adam Fischer conducted.

The whole day was a special treat for me since it was my birthday and my wife, whose a friend of Chi-Chi Nwanoku, arranged for the three of us to have lunch at the hall. Chi-Chi then invited us to attend the afternoon rehersal and I got the opportunity to meet the great Ms. Mullova and she was gracious enough to autograph some cd booklets for me.

The concert in the evening was terrific. (The orchestra really played their socks off!)

Before that, we had breakfast at the Carnegie Deli which features in 'Broadway Danny Rose', one of my all time favourite movies. This left sufficient time for a wee trip to Academy Records in West 18th street before heading up to the Lincoln centre.


Fabulous day.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Brilliant news, countryboy!

And belated happy returns.

[pastoralguy]

Brilliant news, countryboy!

And belated happy returns.

Many thanks.

[Nick Armstrong]

Brilliant news, countryboy!

And belated happy returns.

Ditto!

Old teamsaint's hearing the same concert, same line-up, in SE1 this evening! He could potter over Waterloo Bridge for a post concert supper in Woody Allen location too (at Brasserie Max in Covent Garden, which features in ..."Match Point" )

Anyhoo your birthday Big Apple day sounds a blast

[teamsaint]

Yup, belated happy returns from me too PG.Sounds like a fun trip.


Just heading back on the Seaside special, having decided against partying with the beautiful people, lots to say on an interesting and eventful night down by the riverside...........

[Beef Oven!]

Yup, belated happy returns from me too PG.Sounds like a fun trip.


Just heading back on the Seaside special, having decided against partying with the beautiful people, lots to say on an interesting and eventful night down by the riverside...........

I'm fond of Dvorak's #9, especially the finale - how did the finale go?

Full report tomorrow?

[Nick Armstrong]

Full report tomorrow?

Here's a clue: the OAE twitter feed features this intriguing post just after the concert:

...we were rather distracted there so forgot to take the usual curtain call pic...

Over to you teams

[teamsaint]

I was at the RFH on Wednesday night to hear the last night of the OAE and Adam Fischer’s Del Trotter –like tour of the Brahms Violin Concerto and Dvorak Symphony #9…….New York- London-Basingstoke. It always looked an interesting prospect to see how the programmes stood up to this schedule.
The evening was kicked off by a free talk about the origins of the three works, by a University lecturer, discussing the need to separate in our minds the work and the performance, which culminated in him reading words from Hiawatha over a recording of the final movement of the Dvorak. Interesting stuff, and thought provoking, in more than one way.
A quick break enabled a glimpse of the last moments of the lovely spring afternoon, which yielded 5 minutes of the most beautiful blue/black sky over north West London. Simply stunning. Overlooking the Thames from the RFH on a good evening is a special place to be.

We got a classy and rousing introduction from Fischer and the OAE in a nicely judged Bartered Bride Overture. Fischer was relaxed here, and let the violins get on with their stuff , and it paid off with a thoroughly enjoyable performance . A good “folky “ element in the sound from the strings, and some delicate, well articulated power. I like Fischer’s style. Her conducts like a man who has had a career change from lightweight boxing, his arms usually tucked in close to his body keeping his guard up, and judicious punches and jabs when the moment allows it.

A quick change around, and a no nonsense stage entrance from Mullova and Fischer for the Brahms. I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest fan of this work, and was, somewhere at the back of my mind, hoping to be converted , by something top class from a big name soloist.

It was a bit of a curate’s egg of a performance , in truth though. The first movement suffered from tuning issues. I wonder if this was to do with the D major key. I read suggestions that the open strings resonate in sympathy, and if this is the case, it may explain some consistent tuning issues. There was a major retune after the movement. I expected, if nothing else, to be swept away by the lyricism of the slow movement, but in truth it felt somewhat detached and uninvolving . The finale was by a long way the best of it. Mullova showed her technique off to full effect, although of course not in a showy way.An exhilarating display of skill, which most importantly brought out the best in the music.

A quick move of seat for at the interval from the choir to the rear stalls, for that all important change of perspective.
Thoughts about the Dvorak tend mostly to be about the overall quality and sound of the performance., and how it worked in the huge space of the RFH, after a week on the road with the piece. The playing was marked by moments of real beauty, for example the quiet passage in the horns in the Largo, contrasted with the ( I suppose) inevitable inconsistencies in sound produced by the instruments and equipment used. There were also moments of slightly scrappy timing too, but overall the sounds and performance were really engaging. The trumpets were magnificent, those timps most impressive, and best of all the Flutes really grasped their moment and led us deep into the American heartland. Fabulous and thoughtful playing. I do wonder if this orchestra in this hall, playing this piece really worked , especially in the big noise moments. I see that the hall in NY is about 1000 capacity, and I did feel that the sound struggled to achieve maximum impact in the RFH spaces.

Sadly, as hinted at by Caliban and Beefy, the final movement was marred by an intruder, who got onto the stage and danced about , for about 30 seconds taking selfies. He was eventually ushered off as he lurched to one side, the orchestra ploughing manfully on. Concentration for the audience thoroughly broken, and not helped near me by somebody having a heavy duty bag rustling session, and somebody else kicking over a glass. Somehow, Dvorak's wonderful ending survived the chaos, but it was a dispiriting incident.


In the end, more questions than answers from this one, plenty to enjoy, but I ended up contemplating and thinking, not least about whether this kind of schedule really works musically, ( even if it necessary financially), rather than being swept away. Which, I suppose, is fine.

[Beef Oven!]

I was at the RFH on Wednesday night to hear the last night of the OAE and Adam Fischer’s Del Trotter –like tour of the Brahms Violin Concerto and Dvorak Symphony #9…….New York- London-Basingstoke. It always looked an interesting prospect to see how the programmes stood up to this schedule.
The evening was kicked off by an interesting free talk about the origins of the three works, by a University lecturer, discussing the need to separate in our minds the work and the performance, which culminated in him reading words from Hiawatha over a recording of the final movement of the Dvorak. Interesting stuff, and thought provoking, in more than one way.
A quick break enabled a glimpse of the last moment of the lovely spring afternoon, which yielded 5 minutes of the most beautiful blue/black sky over north West London. Simply stunning. Overlooking the Thames from the RFH on a good evening is a special place to be.

We got a classy and rousing introduction from Fischer and the OAE in a nicely judged Bartered Bride Overture. Fischer was relaxed here, and let the violins get on with their stuff , and it paid off with a thoroughly enjoyable performance . A good “folky “ element in the sound from the strings, and some delicate, well articulated power. I like Fischer’s style. Her conducts like a man who has had a career change from lightweight boxing, his arms usually tucked in close to his body keeping his guard up, and judicious punches and jabs when the moment allows it.

A quick change around, and a no nonsense stage entrance from the Mullova and Fischer for the Brahms. I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest fan of this work, and was, somewhere at the back of my mind, hoping to be converted , by something top class from a big name soloist.

It was a bit of a curate’s egg of a performance , in truth though. The first movement suffered from tuning issues. I wonder if this was to do with the D major key. I read suggestions that the open strings resonate in sympathy, and if this is the case, it may explain some consistent tuning issues. There was a major retune after the movement. I expected, if nothing else, to be swept away by the lyricism of the slow movement, but in truth it felt somewhat detached and uninvolving . The finale was by a long way the best of it. Mullova showed her technique off to full effect, although of course not in a showy way.An exhilarating display of skill, which most importantly brought out the best in the music.

A quick move of seat for at the interval from the choir to the rear stalls, for that all important change of perspective.
Thoughts about the Dvorak tend mostly to be about the overall quality and sound of the performance., and how it worked in the huge space of the RFH, after a week on the road with the piece. The playing was marked by moments of real beauty, for example the quiet passage in the horns in the Largo, contrasted with the ( I suppose) inevitable inconsistencies in sound produced by the instruments and equipment used. There were also moments of slightly scrappy timing too, but overall the sounds and performance were really engaging. The trumpets were magnificent, those timps most impressive, and best of all the Flutes really grasped their moment and led us deep into the American heartland. Fabulous and thoughtful playing. I do wonder if this orchestra in this hall, playing this piece really worked , especially in the big noise moments. I see that the hall in NY is about 1000 capacity, and I did feel that the sound struggled to achieve maximum impact in the RFH spaces.

Sadly, as hinted at by Caliban and Beefy, the final movement was marred by an intruder, who got onto the stage and danced about , for about 30 seconds taking selfies. He was eventually ushered off as he lurched to one side, the orchestra ploughing manfully on. Concentration for the audience thoroughly broken, and not helped near me by somebody having a heavy duty bag rustling session, and somebody else kicking over a glass. Somehow, that lovely ending survived the chaos, but it was a dispiriting incident.


In the end, more questions than answers from this one, plenty to enjoy, but I ended up contemplating and thinking, (not least about whether this kind of schedule really works musically, ( even if it necessary financially), rather than being swept away. Which, I suppose, is fine.

Thanks for the report teamsaint. Quite a night!

I wonder if the bloke will be charged. I assume the police were called.

[Nick Armstrong]

What a great review teams! Interesting points about the tuning and about how that band works in that space (I must say I'd been labouring under the misapprehension that it was in the QEH). Reminds me of thoughts I've had about trying to hear HIP bands in the Albert Hall unless you're right next to them.

And I smiled a lot:

Del Trotter –like tour

... London, Paris, Vienna, Peckham...

He conducts like a man who has had a career change from lightweight boxing, his arms usually tucked in close to his body keeping his guard up, and judicious punches and jabs when the moment allows it.

Pure P.G. Wodehouse!

A quick move of seat for at the interval from the choir to the rear stalls, for that all important change of perspective.

Arrest that man!!! Lucky for you the rozzers were distracted by the nutter....

astonishing scenes:

...the final movement was marred by an intruder, who got onto the stage and danced about , for about 30 seconds taking selfies. He was eventually ushered off as he lurched to one side, the orchestra ploughing manfully on. Concentration for the audience thoroughly broken, and not helped near me by somebody having a heavy duty bag rustling session, and somebody else kicking over a glass. Somehow, Dvorak's wonderful ending survived the chaos, but it was a dispiriting incident.

Presumably we infer from your 'lurched' that he was pi**ed, errr sorry, had drunk too deep of the pleasures of the South Bank on a spring evening?

I've never heard of anything like that. Could have been worse, I suppose, could have been an FA Cup-style streaker

But an extreme example (along with the bag and the glass) of what not infrequently gains the upper-hand in my mind after a concert - that certain members of the audience were so intrusive and annoying that I wish I'd stayed at home

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I wonder if the bloke will be charged.

Hope so.



About 300 volts should do it.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

What a great review teams! :

[teamsaint]

Just on the nuts ( !!) and bolts of that intrusion. I didn't see, but I assume he must have got on through a stage door. I certainly heard a steward saying this. Obviously the auditorium doors are closed, ( but I assume not locked) so it really begs the question of how he got into the back stage area.

He certainly appeared drunk, and was wearing a striped woolly hat, ( a bit like Where's Wally ?)so wouldn't have been hard to pick out as possibly not being in the right place.

I'm not sure what effect a streaker would have had on last nights audience......

[Nick Armstrong]

Did the OAE bring it on themselves with this daft tweet on Wednesday morning?

https://twitter.com/theoae/status/573160409047433216