Prom 32: Grace Williams/K. Jenkins/Louise Farrenc/Beethoven, BBC NOW, Gillam/Venditti

[bluestateprommer]

Monday 12 August 2024
19:30
Royal Albert Hall

Grace Williams: Concert Overture (first performance at The Proms)
Karl Jenkins: Stravaganza (BBC commission, first performance at The Proms)
[Encore:
(a) Meredith Monk: "Early Morning Melody" (first performance at The Proms)
(b) Rune Sorensen: "Shine You No More" (first performance at The Proms)]

Interval

Louise Farrenc: Overture No. 1 (first performance at The Proms)
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92

Jess Gillam, soprano saxophone
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Nil Venditti, conductor (Proms debut artist)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e4m3v2

https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-24/prom-32/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0021psk

[Norrette]

I do have a stalls ticket for this, but I'm afraid what with a 50 min Picadilly tube journey and 30 degree heat, I'm not sure I'll survive. Does anyone have an experience to relate when the temperature peaked ... was it last week? How is the "air-conditioning" these days.

[bluestateprommer]

Rather abrupt ending to Grace Williams' Concert Overture just now, certainly a novelty to me, and I guess to just about everyone else, since it apparently sat hidden for some nine decades. Good job from the BBC NOW and Nil Venditti, even if the piece wasn't a knockout for me, but still well worth a hearing.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Rather abrupt ending to Grace Williams' Concert Overture just now, certainly a novelty to me, and I guess to just about everyone else, since it apparently sat hidden for some nine decades. Good job from the BBC NOW and Nil Venditti, even if the piece wasn't a knockout for me, but still well worth a hearing.

Not sure which is the weaker musically the undiscovered Grace Williams or the commissioned Karl Jenkins. Roll on Beethoven 7…

[bluestateprommer]

Interesting that Stravaganza is the first Karl Jenkins work ever to be performed at The Proms (will leave it to others to discuss why, as I'm not all that familiar with his work, but I'm generally aware that he's a very polarizing figure here). This work was actually good clean fun, good entertainment. Whatever one thinks of the music, Jess Gillam did an excellent job, as did the BBC NOW and Nil Venditti. Very fine encore as well, kind of clever to start off slow, but then ratchet things up.

Good to hear our own makropulos in the interval discussion, with mention of tomorrow's all-British Prom, and particularly VW's A London Symphony. While he's obviously not reading this at this exact moment, maybe he can explain the rather odd timing of 57 minutes (??) given for the RVW, if the assumption is that the performance will be of the standard final version (e.g. not the 1920 version that Martyn Brabbins recorded with the BBC SO, and certainly not the 1914 version).

[edashtav]

Interesting that Stravaganza is the first Karl Jenkins work ever to be performed at The Proms (will leave it to others to discuss why, as I'm not all that familiar with his work, but I'm generally aware that he's a very polarizing figure here). This work was actually good clean fun, good entertainment. Whatever one thinks of the music, Jess Gillam did an excellent job, as did the BBC NOW and Nil Venditti. Very fine encore as well, kind of clever to start off slow, but then ratchet things up.

Good to hear our own makropulos in the interval discussion, with mention of tomorrow's all-British Prom, and particularly VW's A London Symphony. While he's obviously not reading this at this exact moment, maybe he can explain the rather odd timing of 57 minutes (??) given for the RVW, if the assumption is that the performance will be of the standard final version (e.g. not the 1920 version that Martyn Brabbins recorded with the BBC SO, and certainly not the 1914 version).

Very fair, bsp. Am I dilating your message or diluting it?

Grace Williams
Grace was the daughter of a choir conductor who did not formally teach his daughter but gave her roaming rights to his extensive library of scores. The inter War period was a fecund period for composing British overtures and this night's overture was Grace's second. It's bright and buoyant and full of rhythmic vitality. What a shame Miss Williams didn't give it a name (this is the first concert I've experienced with two nameless overtures - can you remember such an event)? It's festive and was first performed at the 1935 Eisteddfod.

Sir Karl Jenkins
Stravaganza for soprano saxophone and orchestra
All second-rate music can be disguised and made to gleam through using a virtuoso soloist with an orchestra and conductor who are proud of their national music. Jenkins score gains so much by regular injections of jazz. It's a crossover piece that might better achieve escape velocity if scored for jazz band rather than classical orchestra. It does display a light touch and cheeky humour. It fits the character of Jess Gillam like a tailored suit(e). Jenkins piece, as you may have noted, is the opposite to his The Armed Man- Stravaganga has disarmed one critic!
Farrenc's 1st Concert Overture was very representative of its times- in fact I could adapt Richard Wagner, it was 'the apotheosis of the romantic concert overture'. I really enjoyed it despite recovering my critical fangs during the concert's interval.

Beethoven's Seventh has started as the apotheosis of joy.
later notes:
The second movement was a little rushed and the conductors habit of plunging into a new section without a pause for breath exacerbated that impression.
The finale was dangerously fast and descended into an exciting but confused tumult.

[kernelbogey]

Well she said she was going to make every movement dance...!

[kernelbogey]

My affection for this symphony is much to do with making my first LP purchase a recording by Rowicki recommended by Trevor Harvey in the Gramophone, praising particularly his unusual handling of the slow movement, holding back the second subject initially and keeping it beneath the first subject.

[bluestateprommer]

Curious extra noises during the Beethoven, which presumably were from Nil Venditti's footwear enthusiastically hitting the podium at those moments. Interesting that she took the one first movement repeat, but not the parallel repeat in the fourth movement. It sounded as though she were having a good time, though. Not sure what to make of the "one-bar encore" at the very end, but we also got the footwear stomp again.

The Louise Farrenc overture put me in mind of Schubert, and of the Germanic style in general, kind of curious for a French composer. Still, a nice listen.

[Barbirollians]

I enjoyed this concert . A very enjoyable dancing Beethoven 7 , the Farrenc overture displayed much of the misogyny in current criticism of her work . The Grace Williams was slight but enjoyable . The Jenkins saxophone work was even slighter but well played .