What was your last concert?

[Dave2002]

I'll kick off with the LA Philharmonic at the Barbican. Adams Slonimsky's Earbox), Bernstein (Jeremiah Symphony) and Beethoven 7th. Dudamel.

Good in parts.

Does anyone have a clue what the second encore was?

[kuligin]

Last Monday

Manchester Chamber Music Society RNCM

Haydn Trio 18

Shostakovich Trio 2

Beethoven Trio op70/2

Cropper, Roscoe, Welsh trio


No encore. Good in parts, Mr Cropper, dressed in a lurid orange shirt while as vigorous in rhythmical drive as in his Lindsay days, made some rather unpleasant sounds in the Beethoven finale, Mr Roscoe was excellent throughout.

[Ferretfancy]

Last night at the Royal Festival for the first in a Bartok series with Ekka-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia which is being broadcast on R3 on 3rd February. This was stunning, with the early tone poem Kossuth, the First Piano Concerto with Yefim Bronfman, and a dazzlingly savage performance of The Miraculous Mandarin. I say savage, but the more lyrical episodes were superb too, with all the orchestra on top form. Do listen to the broadcast, I'll certainly be recording it.

[Norfolk Born]

Last Sunday in our local church: works for viola da gamba and harpsichord by Telemann, J S Bach, Handel, Marais and Abel, played by Mary Pells and Martin Knizia. Part of the excellent series of concerts organized by Felixstowe Music.

[Simon B]

Same as Ferret - the Philharmonia's all-Bartok programme.

If I'd not known, I'd have struggled to guess Kossuth was by Bartok. Unusual (large) orchestration too - bass trumpet and a pair of euphoniums in addition to a very large orchestra (8 horns + bumper, 4 trumpets etc).

The Miraculous Mandarin wasn't quite savage enough at its most extreme moments for me, not from the whole orchestra anyway, though the trombones were nearly enough on their own! I didn't detect a single sound from the (emaciated) RFH organ - presumably it was submerged in the general racket...

Definitely worth catching the broadcast, though I doubt a relay can capture it convincingly.

The Kingdom at the Barbican on the coming Sunday should make a sharp contrast with all that depravity!

[Nachtigall]

Last night at the Royal Festival for the first in a Bartok series with Ekka-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia which is being broadcast on R3 on 3rd February. This was stunning, with the early tone poem Kossuth, the First Piano Concerto with Yefim Bronfman, and a dazzlingly savage performance of The Miraculous Mandarin. I say savage, but the more lyrical episodes were superb too, with all the orchestra on top form. Do listen to the broadcast, I'll certainly be recording it.

Looking forward to exactly the same programme with the same performers at the Anvil, Basingstoke, tonight!

[verismissimo]

Terrific new thread, Dave. Boarders don't get out enough. :)

[Pianorak]

Yevgeny Sudbin at Reading Concert Hall a couple of months ago. Will a piano recital qualify as concert?

[Flosshilde]

RSNO doing Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique, before Christmas. Didn't like it much - Deneve seemed to think that the object was to make as much noise as possible; it lacked refinement.

It's strange - a couple of seasons ago the programmes for the BBCSSO, RSNO & SCO all had plenty of concerts that interested (nay, escited, me (although I didn't neccessarily get to all of them). This season, very little, & even then they tend to have one item that I would want to hear, but not the rest.

[Ferretfancy]

Simon B

I agree with you about the inaudible organ in the Mandarin, may I ask, whereabouts were you in the hall? We were in the side facing seats overlooking the front stalls, and in the second row. The only problem I had was that the piano could have sounded better when the orchestra was in full throw, but I wasn't entirely surprised since the sound seems to vary almost from seat to seat in spite of the vast sums spent on refurbishment. It is better than before, but not that much better.
What did you think of the forest of microphones ? Perhaps both the Philharmonia and the Beeb were making independent recordings, it will be interesting to hear the broadcast.

[LeMartinPecheur]

Last Friday in Truro, the Sally Pryce Ensemble. Sally Pryce is a harpist and her ensemble, oddly enough, exactly matches the instrumentation of Ravel's Introduction and Allegro

That of course is a cracking work to finish a concert with. The tricky bit is working out how to fill up the rest of the time in the concert...

This group came up with a better mix than most - Hugh Watkins Gig (so-so), Debussy Danse sacree et danse profane, Francais Quintet No 1 for flute, violin, viola, cell0 and harp (worth seeking out again), and two movements from Piazolla's Histoire du tango.

The big discovery for me however was Cecilia McDowall's Dream City, 4 movements inspired by works or ideas by the artist Paul Klee. The work as a whole more than held the attention but the 3rd movement, Before the snow, was simply stunning. Amazon have very kindly just sent me the Dutton CD with this and other McDowall chamber works - I hardly dare play it

[Nachtigall]

Yevgeny Sudbin at Reading Concert Hall a couple of months ago. Will a piano recital qualify as concert?

I was there too, Pianorak. In fact I stayed behind and had an enjoyable chat with him and his manager afterwards, about photography as much as music.

The Philharmonia Bartók concert at the Anvil, Basingstoke, last night – a repeat of the RFH programme commented on above – was an excellent, adrenalin-charged antidote to dreary winter weather. The hall seemed only two-thirds full but the audience was very appreciative of a pretty demanding programme. Yefim Bronfman was a vigorous soloist in the First Piano Concerto, seemingly taking years off the life of the Anvil's concert grand, and the Miraculous Mandarin pursued his prey and perished in sonically spectacular fashion.

[Dave2002]

Camarilla Ensemble playing Mozart, Nielsen, Barber and D'Rivera.
Adagio in. B flat K411, Quintet op 43, Summer Music, Aires Tropicales.
They have just released a CD with the Nielsen.

[Curalach]

Last night-

Dukas - The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Knussen - Violin Concerto with Leila Josefowicz
Rachmaninov - Symphony No 2
RSNO
Stéphane Denève

I had not heard Olly's Violin Concerto before and thought it an excellent piece superbly played by Leila.
She played a short encore by Esa-Pekka Salonen which was stunning.
This was followed by possibly the finest live performance of the Rachmaninov I have heard in the last 50 years.

[Nick Armstrong]

Last night: LPO-Jurowski. Programme set out here: http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...ert-at-the-RFH

Ligeti's 'Lontano' leaves me somewhat cold; a very winning performance of the Bartok Concerto (plus two encores, a movement each from Bartok and Bach solo sonatas); and then a tremendous Klagende Lied, wonderful brass (including an enormous offstage band who trouped on halfway up the stalls for the applause) and strings, and chorus... and yours truly's godson nailing the solo treble role - including a great final phrase from him to conclude the saga...

Powerful evening for musical and non-musical reasons