Prom 70: Honegger/Rachmaninov/Gabriela Clark/L. Bernstein, RLPO, Tsuji/Hindoyan

[bluestateprommer]

Friday 8 September 2023
19:30
Royal Albert Hall

Honegger: Rugby
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor
[Encore: Nikolai Kapustin: Eight Concert Etudes, op. 40 - No. 1, Prelude]

Interval

Gabriela Ortiz: Clara (UK premiere)
Leonard Bernstein: 'Symphonic Dances' from West Side Story
[Encore: Roberto Sierra: Alegria (Happiness; first performance at The Proms}

Nobuyuki Tsujii, piano
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Domingo Hindoyan, conductor

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ev9n5v

https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-2023/prom-70-rachmaninovs-third-piano-concerto/

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

19:30 Friday 8 September 2023
Royal Albert Hall

Arthur Honegger: Rugby
Sergey Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor
Gabriela Ortiz: Clara (UK première)
Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from ‘West Side Story’

Nobuyuki Tsujii piano
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Domingo Hindoyan conductor

[bluestateprommer]

Good, solid first half to this 2nd penultimate night Prom today. In the Rachmaninov, everything seemed in place, without necessarily knocking me out of my chair, so to speak. NT did cut loose more in the encore, however. Likewise, fine opening with the Honegger, if not quite cutting loose (contrary to NT's encore).

[edashtav]

A very warm welcome to Arthur Honegger's Rugby. It was played with enthusiasm and brio. I felt that brass and wind were a bit more convincing than the upper strings who sounded stretched by the composer's awkward leaps. The piece is a child of Pacific 2.3.1.so,once or twice , I.felt as if heard the rugby teams arriving in Paris for the World Cup led by that powerful steam engine. The final chord of triumph was given the full treatment.

Nobuyuki Tsujii did more for my jaded Rachmaninov palette than he did for b.s.p.'s. Except for one bridge passage in the first movement, I found his interpretation to be clear , well-phrased, and fresh. The slow movement was very convincing and the finale was rocket-propelled. I hope Nobujuki does not have to wait for a decade before being invited back.

[bluestateprommer]

The second half of this RLPO Prom felt all of a piece with the first half, at least for me, namely in being well-played, everything in its place, but feeling rather restrained, such as in the first sections of Gabriela Ortiz's Clara, until the sudden jump into the more overtly "Mexican" section of GO's "response" to the shade of Clara Schumann. That section felt like a fresh pressing of Carlos Chavez or Silvestre Revueltas, which is no bad thing. Hindoyan's restraint did pay dividends, IMHO, in the West Side Story 'Symphonic Dances', particularly in the "Mambo".

Perhaps ironically, the encore of Roberto Sierra's Alegria was the most lively selection of the evening for me, in a generous concert for the Not-Quite-Last Night. DH and the RLPO have recently released an album of Roberto Sierra's music on Onyx, on which Alegria is one work, so a subtle commercial tie-in on DH's and the RLPO's part :) .

[Serial_Apologist]

A quite well-known living composer once told me that he really did not believe Honegger composed a piece titled "Rugby".

[Bryn]

A quite well-known living composer once told me that he really did not believe Honegger composed a piece titled "Rugby".

Well, he was Swiss, rather than French.
A fine, all-round 3-D composer.

[gedsmk]

Rach 3: in the Hall, very enjoyable, clear articulation, sensitive orchestra. Listening on Sounds, microphones had a bit of a melt-down during the first movement of the Rachmaninov unfortunately. The sound perspective changed with the recovery but for a while the piano sounded like it was in a separate room from the orchestra. Such a pity!

[Pulcinella]

Rach 3: in the Hall, very enjoyable, clear articulation, sensitive orchestra. Listening on Sounds, microphones had a bit of a melt-down during the first movement of the Rachmaninov unfortunately. The sound perspective changed with the recovery but for a while the piano sounded like it was in a separate room from the orchestra. Such a pity!

Yes: there was a momentary drop-out on the stream I was listening to (on Sonos).

[Nick Armstrong]

Yes: there was a momentary drop-out on the stream I was listening to (on Sonos).

Ah thanks, I thought my DAB radio was packing up (it happened during some Fauré on TTN the other night too)

[Ein Heldenleben]

Rach 3: in the Hall, very enjoyable, clear articulation, sensitive orchestra. Listening on Sounds, microphones had a bit of a melt-down during the first movement of the Rachmaninov unfortunately. The sound perspective changed with the recovery but for a while the piano sounded like it was in a separate room from the orchestra. Such a pity!

Yes there was definitely a signal loss just before the recapitulation in the first movement. On returning the piano was much more forward in the balance and more closely miked with the band distant. Sounds like a mic failure possibly one of the Main Stereo pairs covering the orchestra. Great for piano fans I guess as you could hear every piano note.
Good to hear the almost unplayably difficult chordal first movt cadenza for once - magnificent playing.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I’ve just heard Martin H apologising for the tech problem.

Oh Nobuyuki is playing that Kapustin C major concert etude as an encore - an absolute finger buster. I spent days practicing that and he’s despatched it like a Beethoven bagatelle. What a player .

..and he’s been blind from birth . That just defies belief.

[gedsmk]

Congratulations to the engineers for fixing the recording. Beautiful balance now?