Rise of the Machines; H&N, 10:30pm, Sat 4/6/16

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07dk7l2

In spite of the "Geography Teacher at the Sixth-Form Disco"-type marketing for this, I shall listen in the hope that my low expectations will be gleefully contradicted. Note the later starting time, though.



(With apologies to any Geography teachers.)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Anyone else listen? Obviously enjoyed by the youngish-sounding audience - the pieces that I already knew sounded rather under-powered to me; the Mosolov (for all the build-up from Tom Service, and the frequent references to "thrilling" and "excitement" that peppered the presentation) sounded domesticated and cosy - as did the Shostakovich scherzo (which also had some scrappy string ensemble, inexcusable when taken at this relaxed pace). Leroy Anderson's Typewriter lacked sparkle, too - a disappointing debut appearance on H&N.

Gabriel Prokofiev's Concerto for Turnatables, Percussion, Trumpet, and Orchestra sounded like a piece by Bernhard Lang that had been given a mug of Horlics and sapped of most of its energy. Larry Goves' The Clouds flew round with the Clouds was the "composed" work that I was most interested by - but seemed to end just as it was about to do something else. I've had that feeling with other works of his before. The Aphex Twin arrangements reminded me of Philip Glass' botoxic arrangements of Bowie: just too safe and housetrained, taking out precisely that sense of threat and danger we were promised at the start of the programme.

For a concert billed as offering something dark and dangerous, the overall effect gave me the impression that the greatest danger these Musicians had ever experienced was worrying that Marks & Spencer might have run out of Piri Piri Houmous. I wish they'd broadcast more of Leon Michener's Klavikon piece - uncredited on the BBC website, it was by far the work that most interested me; but they faded it out after three minutes!

[Richard Barrett]

I didn't listen to it, finding almost every aspect of it objectionable in some way or another, in ways you have elegantly formulated to which I would add the whole Soviet-chic thing, though I might give Larry Goves' piece a go.

[Bryn]

I have a distinct feeling that this is one Hear and Now that will sit on a hard drive unlistened to. A very rare occurrence.