Prom 21: 'All-American Prom', Sinfonia of London, Osborne / J. Wilson

[Lordgeous]

I happened to catch Harmonielehre on the telly and was riveted by it, as were my house guests who are most definitely *not* classical music fans. Oddly, I caught the same performance another day on R3 and wasn't impressed, as I wasn't the first time I heard it years ago. Funny that.

I also thought Steven Hough's bluesy encore a highlight of the show.

The Barber though - just too fast for my liking, with not enough "espressivo cantando" as is marked in my copy.

Hough? Steven Osborne surely. And yes his encore most memorable.

[LMcD]

Hough? Steven Osborne surely. And yes his encore most memorable.

Indeed, it was Steven Osborne. The other 'Steven' - who is actually a Stephen - is waiting until the Last Night.

[LHC]

I finally got around to watching this last night and would agree with most of the comments. The first half was quite disappointing. Although well played, there was a distinct lack of emotional engagement with the Barber and the Rhapsody was far too fast and hard-driven. The jazzy elements also felt imposed to me, rather than coming naturally from the score and players as happens in the best performances.

The second half was much better, and I thought Adam's Harmonielehre was stunning and came across very well. Comfortably the best performance of the night, and more than made up for the earlier disappointments.