Prom 31: Brahms / Schubert, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Mutter / Barenboim

[Prommer]

Klemperer famously fell asleep during one of his recording sessions, I think it was Schumann 2. Goodall went on way too long. Maybe it's heroic defiance, or maybe it's Titurel wanting the grail uncovered one last time, and then another etc. You wonder where the line comes where it feels like elder abuse. It's quite uncomfortable to watch. I don't know how he's going to manage the Schubert, which is a test for any conductor.

I agree, a test, but here is a review (perhaps read it later) of their performance in Berlin earlier in the week:

https://boulezian.blogspot.com/2024/08/mutterwedobarenboim-brahms-and-schubert.html?m=1

[pastoralguy]

I remember hearing Karajan’s last London appearance with the Berliner Philharmoniker back in the 1980’s on Radio3 and the announcer commenting that members of the audience flocked to the edge of the stage since everyone knew that this would be the last time he would be seen and heard in the UK. I think tonight is going to be a similar occasion. Barenboim was talking briefly during the interval and he certainly sounds extremely frail now.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Klemperer famously fell asleep during one of his recording sessions, I think it was Schumann 2. Goodall went on way too long. Maybe it's heroic defiance, or maybe it's Titurel wanting the grail uncovered one last time, and then another etc. You wonder where the line comes where it feels like elder abuse. It's quite uncomfortable to watch. I don't know how he's going to manage the Schubert, which is a test for any conductor.

Well I saw and heard quite a few of Goodall’s late performances and I would respectfully disagree. As you mention Titurel I would cite his 1984 performances and recording of Parsifal with WNO recorded a mere six years before his death.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Ahem, Goodall went on way too long... Proms 1987! Parsifal Act 3. Sublime...

Well cited - that’s a mere 3 years before his much mourned demise

[Ein Heldenleben]

Do we know what he has suffered from, in terms of illness? Whatever it is, it is quite something to want to continue and not just retire. I admire it.

Vasculitis - any one who ignores pain , gets on with life and gives pleasure to millions is admirable indeed .

[Prommer]

Majestic and yet dancing, if that is even possible.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Majestic and yet dancing, if that is even possible.

Yes .. extraordinary.The review you posted captured it well.

[Petrushka]

Vasculitis - any one who ignores pain , gets on with life and gives pleasure to millions is admirable indeed .

Vasculitis, inflammation of the blood vessels, was mentioned in connection with DB a while ago. However, since then he has apparently been diagnosed with 'a serious neurological condition'. What that is hasn't, as far as I know, been disclosed and could mean quite few things, none of them pleasant.

[Nick Armstrong]

Yes .. extraordinary.The review you posted captured it well.

Extraordinary photo with the review too



I shall have to give this concert a listen…

[Prommer]

Great picture. Carlo Quinto!

[smittims]

Just for the record, according to the definitive biography by Peter Heyworth, Otto Klemperer dozed off briefly during a playback at a session, not while he was conducting. He was not interested in listenng to playbacks, only in conducting. According to his daughter , he never played his own records.

[gurnemanz]

I read somewhere years ago that Mahler once fell asleep during a scene change at an opera he was conducting. Someone nudged him and he woke up startled with the words: Die Rechnung, biite! (The bill, please!). May or may not be true. I know he was a coffee addict and spent much time in cafés.

[Retune]

For me, this was a great Prom that will be long remembered. For those worried about security, it was just the usual bag check they've been doing for years - don't let it put you off. The Hall was as full as I remember seeing it - if there were empty seats, I didn't notice them, and the Arena was very obviously at full capacity. Barenboim looked rather frail hand in hand with the statuesque Mutter, but seemed to have no difficulty reaching and departing the podium without help in the second half. He conducted sitting down with some economy of gesture, rarely raising the baton in one hand but firing off passages precisely with the other, and doing a lot of work with his eyes and expression. He was as fully engaged with the music as ever. The Brahms is not a piece I know well and will explore more after this excellent performance. Mutter's Bach encore was wonderful. But what I'd really come for was the Schubert, an old-school but lively performance that was as good as any I've heard. Some of us in the Choir close to the stage exit rose to our feet spontaneously as he came off, which he seemed to acknowledge. I hope this isn't the last time we see him there.

[Ein Heldenleben]

For me, this was a great Prom that will be long remembered. For those worried about security, it was just the usual bag check they've been doing for years - don't let it put you off. The Hall was as full as I remember seeing it - if there were empty seats, I didn't notice them, and the Arena was very obviously at full capacity. Barenboim looked rather frail hand in hand with the statuesque Mutter, but seemed to have no difficulty reaching and departing the podium without help in the second half. He conducted sitting down with some economy of gesture, rarely raising the baton in one hand but firing off passages precisely with the other, and doing a lot of work with his eyes and expression. He was as fully engaged with the music as ever. The Brahms is not a piece I know well and will explore more after this excellent performance. Mutter's Bach encore was wonderful. But what I'd really come for was the Schubert, an old-school but lively performance that was as good as any I've heard. Some of us in the Choir close to the stage exit rose to our feet spontaneously as he came off, which he seemed to acknowledge. I hope this isn't the last time we see him there.

I really wish I’d gone . It was evident from the relay that this was a special unforgettable occasion.
A deserved 5 star review in The Guardian which again rightly makes the Klemperer comparison.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/aug/12/prom-31-west-eastern-divan-orchestra-barenboim-review

[Petrushka]

I wish I'd gone too, but I've been bitten too often when the advertised conductor fails to show both at the Proms and elsewhere. Jansons and Tennstedt especially but also Chailly and Kirill Petrenko. When you've booked days of work, paid for travel and hotel it's no small matter when this happens. Of course, the reality is that stuff happens, but it's really not worth risking a hefty bill to be disappointed when illness is a known quantity as with Jansons, Tennstedt and Barenboim. I did take a risk with Abbado in 2000 but got Haitink instead so that was luxury substitution.

I should add that I had to cancel a Prom myself after an eye operation in 2012 so stuff does indeed happen.