Prom 20: Vadim Gluzman plays Korngold - 30 July 2023

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

19:30 Sunday 30 July 2023
Royal Albert Hall

Bernard Herrmann: Vertigo – suite
Mason Bates: Piano Concerto (UK première)
Sergey Prokofiev: Symphony No. 3 in C minor

Daniil Trifonov piano
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Gustavo Gimeno conductor

[FFAdminMKS]

The RAH site makes no mention of the Bates piano concerto: Korngold's violin concerto seems to have replaced it.

Programme

Herrmann Vertigo – Suite 12’
Korngold Violin Concerto

Interval

Prokofiev Symphony No. 3 in C minor 34’

Vadim Gluzman violin

BBC Symphony Orchestra
Gustavo Gimeno conductor

[Parlian]

Trifonov has had to withdraw due to a delay in processing his Visa. I believe he has cancelled several other UK appearances in 2023.

Ticket holders were advised of the repertoire change by email on July 20th. The Bates Concerto seems to be very much a Trifonov “vehicle” so I imagine it was impossible for anyone to step in for that piece.

[french frank]

Trifonov has had to withdraw due to a delay in processing his Visa. I believe he has cancelled several other UK appearances in 2023.

Ticket holders were advised of the repertoire change by email on July 20th. The Bates Concerto seems to be very much a Trifonov “vehicle” so I imagine it was impossible for anyone to step in for that piece.

Thanks very much for the information, Parlian - and welcome to the forum where, in case you hadn't gathered, we're only just getting used to our software upgrade.

[french frank]

This evening's concert at 7.30 on Radio 3, with amended programme: Vadim Gluzman performs Korngold's Violin Concerto replacing Daniil Trifonov/Mason Bates Piano Concerto.

[Barbirollians]

Korngold fits well with Herrmann.

[bluestateprommer]

Korngold fits well with Herrmann.

Or perhaps the other way around, in a manner of speaking. The BBC SO and "the other Gustavo" did a very good job with the Bernard Hermann Vertigo suite, but at least to my tin ear, the music doesn't really stand up well on its own w/o the film. The tunes in the Korngold are far more ear-wormy than with BH, IMVHO, although I confess that the Korngold Violin Concerto isn't my favorite, rather too sprawling and over-lush for my own taste. Nothing to do with the performance, of course, where Vadim G. played very well indeed, and excellent support from the BBC SO and Gustavo G.. The solo encore of Valentin Silvestrov's "Serenade" kind of showed up the Korngold, in its more concise, understated manner.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Or perhaps the other way around, in a manner of speaking. The BBC SO and "the other Gustavo" did a very good job with the Bernard Hermann Vertigo suite, but at least to my tin ear, the music doesn't really stand up well on its own w/o the film. The tunes in the Korngold are far more ear-wormy than with BH, IMVHO, although I confess that the Korngold Violin Concerto isn't my favorite, rather too sprawling and over-lush for my own taste. Nothing to do with the performance, of course, where Vadim G. played very well indeed, and excellent support from the BBC SO and Gustavo G.. The solo encore of Valentin Silvestrov's "Serenade" kind of showed up the Korngold, in its more concise, understated manner.

Gluzman has a wonderfully rich tone. I wonder what violin he plays. I was almost convinced by the Korngold. The Hermann - as you say works - best with the images.

[bluestateprommer]

Gluzman has a wonderfully rich tone. I wonder what violin he plays. I was almost convinced by the Korngold. The Hermann - as you say works - best with the images.

Petroc briefly mentioned VG's violin, but I double-checked, to be sure of my very short-term memory: Vadim Gluzman plays the "ex-Leopold Auer" Stradivari, from 1690. VG has a pdf of an article about the violin off his website:

http://vadimgluzman.com/wp-content/uploads/Strings_13_-_Auer.pdf

[Ein Heldenleben]

Petroc briefly mentioned VG's violin, but I double-checked, to be sure of my very short-term memory: Vadim Gluzman plays the "ex-Leopold Auer" Stradivari, from 1690. VG has a pdf of an article about the violin off his website:

http://vadimgluzman.com/wp-content/u..._13_-_Auer.pdf

Thanks very interesting. One of his bows was used by Ysaye and Henyrk Szeryng - that’s some provenance!

[smittims]

For anyone wanting to hear the Bates concerto, there's a (to my ears) good recording on YouTube. If, like me, you'd not heard of this composer and wanted to know what it's like, I'd say it's a colourful 28-minute conventional work in the usual three movements with a soulful slow movement and perky finale, adhering to well-worn tonality (even diatonic) and rhythms.

I enjoyed it, though I wouldn't rush to hear it again, its main limitation for me being a lack of memorable thematic material. Further down th YouTube page there's a discussion of it where it's likened to 'movie music', the term 'ear candy' being used. On the other hand, one newspaper called it 'stunning, staggering, stupendous' leading one to expect a 21st-century Sacre de Printemps .

Yes, I know, it's easy to be patronising and damn with faint praise, and clearly this music fulfils a need, but where are we going? It reminded me of these fake 'country villages' springing up all round the place. Is this really the future, or just the past?

[Ein Heldenleben]

For anyone wanting to hear the Bates concerto, there's a (to my ears) good recording on YouTube. If, like me, you'd not heard of this composer and wanted to know what it's like, I'd say it's a colourful 28-minute conventional work in the usual three movements with a soulful slow movement and perky finale, adhering to well-worn tonality (even diatonic) and rhythms.

I enjoyed it, though I wouldn't rush to hear it again, its main limitation for me being a lack of memorable thematic material. Further down th YouTube page there's a discussion of it where it's likened to 'movie music', the term 'ear candy' being used. On the other hand, one newspaper called it 'stunning, staggering, stupendous' leading one to expect a 21st-century Sacre de Printemps .

Yes, I know, it's easy to be patronising and damn with faint praise, and clearly this music fulfils a need, but where are we going? It reminded me of these fake 'country villages' springing up all round the place. Is this really the future, or just the past?

Can’t hear the surname Bates without thinking about Psycho - the film that Herrmann also wrote the score for. Was this another piece of programming by subconscious association ?

[french frank]

Can’t hear the surname Bates without thinking about Psycho - the film that Herrmann also wrote the score for. Was this another piece of programming by subconscious association ?

Or wickedly conscious?

[smittims]

If they'd played Hermann's 'Psycho' suite for string orchestra (as recorded by him for Decca many years ago) I think it would have made the Bates concerto sound very shallow. I think that's one of a few film scores that can stand up as music alone.

[edashtav]

Or perhaps the other way around, in a manner of speaking. The BBC SO and "the other Gustavo" did a very good job with the Bernard Hermann Vertigo suite, but at least to my tin ear, the music doesn't really stand up well on its own w/o the film. The tunes in the Korngold are far more ear-wormy than with BH, IMVHO, although I confess that the Korngold Violin Concerto isn't my favorite, rather too sprawling and over-lush for my own taste. Nothing to do with the performance, of course, where Vadim G. played very well indeed, and excellent support from the BBC SO and Gustavo G.. The solo encore of Valentin Silvestrov's "Serenade" kind of showed up the Korngold, in its more concise, understated manner.

Fair comments. The Herrmann is a threadbare piece, far too insubstantial when separated from its original context. There are a few ideas: one from Wagner (Tristan), a juicy chord borrowed from early Bartok plus a love tune that seems to be original, but nothing develops or blossoms. The Korngold Concerto just held my attention through the hard work of the soloist. I, too, was pleased the hear the encore which added real value to the first half of the Concert.