Britten

[Pulcinella]

Alma seems to have been dilatory in releasing Mahler's short scores of all five movements to those who were best able to attempt a completion, probably because of comments inserted by the composer at a time of great personal angst during her dalliance with Gropius. According to Michael Kennedy, for the 1924 performance of the Adagio and Purgatorio GM's short scores were edited by Krenek with some help from Alban Berg & possibly others (Alma & Zemlinsky ?). In 1940 Shostakovich was approached to attempt a completion, presumably by Alma or an emissary, but refused, as did Schoenberg in 1949..

Like you, Pulcie, I've never heard Britten's name mentioned in connection with a completion of GM10, but of course he was in New York in 1940, and knew Alma, to whom he dedicated his Nocturne some years later.

You've got your ballets mixed up!

[Maclintick]

You've got your ballets mixed up!

🫣 Apologies - now corrected.

[Pulcinella]

🫣 Apologies - now corrected.

No problem.
In fact, I'd never heard of Britten's name being mentioned either.

[hmvman]

Interesting item on the BBC News website about the reunion of the Highgate School choirboys who sang in Britten's War Requiem recording in 1963.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ced08vxq7gpo

I hadn't heard the story before of Galina Vishnevskaya throwing a wobbly at being put on the balcony with the choirboys. I was also amused at the journalistic twist of saying that the choristers were never listed in the recording's credits like it was some terrible injustice. I don't think the individual members of choirs have ever been credited on recordings have they?

[smittims]

Only when they sing a solo, I think.

The Vishnevskaya tantrum is covered in John Culshaw's posthumously-published memoir Putting the Record Straight. He claimed that some of her screaming could be heard on the rehearsal recording, but I think it's been tactfully edited out of the CD version.

[Barbirollians]

Should have stuck with Heather Harper !

[smittims]

I agree. I think she used to sing it from up near the organ. She's on the famous Prom performance (1963?) and a similar one conducted by Ansermet with the same soloists (Hemsley, Pears).

[oliver sudden]

I agree. I think she used to sing it from up near the organ. She's on the famous Prom performance (1963?) and a similar one conducted by Ansermet with the same soloists (Hemsley, Pears).

And of course in the recording of the premiere, which I’m very glad is generally available nowadays.

(I also agree!)

[Hitch]

The Guardian swapped its sportswriters and art critics for a day. Barney Ronay, the chief sports writer (the Grauniad couldn't decide on whether the job title is one or two words), was assigned to the ENO's production of The Turn of the Screw.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/nov/04/guardian-sports-writers-and-arts-critics-swap-jobs-for-one-day

[oliver sudden]

The Guardian swapped its sportswriters and art critics for a day. Barney Ronay, the chief sports writer (the Grauniad couldn't decide on whether the job title is one or two words), was assigned to the ENO's production of The Turn of the Screw.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/...bs-for-one-day

Curious that someone who spends quite a bit of his time writing about cricket should find Turn of the Screw long!

I usually very much enjoy Ronay’s writing when it’s about sport, which fortunately is nearly all of the time.

[smittims]

I think this was a publicity stunt more than anything. It reminded me of a documentary presented by a well-known TV person (described as a 'political editor' : I have genuinely forgotten his name, but he wore glasses and it wasn't Robert Peston) ) asking how long we could manage without bin men. A whole streetful of people volunteered to go without . Of course the verdict was that we need bin men very much. I said that although it was predictable it was a good idea for a series. How long could we survive without political editors? They didn't take it up.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Curious that someone who spends quite a bit of his time writing about cricket should find Turn of the Screw long!

I usually very much enjoy Ronay’s writing when it’s about sport, which fortunately is nearly all of the time.

It sounds like he’s got to the nub of what’s wrong with this production. By making Quint an obvious sex abuser you take away the ambiguity that James and Britten were at such pains to create and musically recreate. We never really know what “ he made free with the household “ means . Did he abuse everyone ? Quint has to be a musically seductive figure for it all to be plausible - as a cardboard cutout villain it doesn’t work.
Its all part of the real horror of child abuse . By making him a “Jimmy Savile “ to quote the reviewer you turn subtle horror into Grand Guignol.

[oliver sudden]

Have you seen this production? I haven’t, but the reviews I’ve read are pretty favourable and seem to agree that it’s managed to keep the goings-on ambiguous…

Martin Kettle for example:

https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2024/oct/13/the-turn-of-the-screw-review-eno-coliseum-london

[Ein Heldenleben]

Have you seen this production? I haven’t, but the reviews I’ve read are pretty favourable and seem to agree that it’s managed to keep the goings-on ambiguous…

Martin Kettle for example:

https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2024/oct/13/the-turn-of-the-screw-review-eno-coliseum-london

Yes well it’s almost as if Kettle and Ronay have seen two completely different productions!
I haven’t seen it but naively assumed a sports reporter would be able to give an accurate précis .

[oliver sudden]

Yes well it’s almost as if Kettle and Ronay have seen two completely different productions!
I haven’t seen it but naively assumed a sports reporter would be able to give an accurate précis .

Arts Desk had a review as well, far more on the Kettle side than the Ronay side. If what Ronay reports is accurate then it doesn’t sound like much of a production. But it’s quite a clash with the other reviews.

I was disappointed, since I very much enjoy his sports writing. The other critics seemed to realise that the exercise was for once actually about them, specifically them being a fish out of water, whereas Ronay really went for it (“By the end, it seems odd that this piece of art is still being performed at all”) after his initial confession of ignorance.

Shame that there was only one classical performance in the article, too. Maybe they should have sent him (or anyone) to an orchestral concert or a nice piano recital.