Prom 44: Lili Boulanger / Debussy / Prokofiev / Ravel, Rotterdam PO, Shani

[oddoneout]

Especially as it left them without any time to play the terrific encore (which was included in the live broadcast)



Still, great to hear the main pieces on proper equipment.

I suppose it was a small mercy not to have the movements of the Prokofiev spread across three afternoons, of which the present régime would be perfectly capable…

Safety in numbers? If it was only a weekend festival then that might have been the fate of some of the concerts, but repeating all(sort of) of so very many thankfully rules that out.

[edashtav]

Suk and ye shall not find.

Exactly! The SNO under Walter Susskind announced what was probably the first British performance of Suk's Asrael Symphony as part of the Edinburgh Festival of 1952. As August came around, the Orchestra's librarian found there were no part copies in Britain. A letter was sent to the work's publisher in German.
No reponse:
Suk and ye shall not find!
At the last minute ,RVW' s London Symphony was selected to fill the gap.
A prominent critic thought the change was blessed relief.:irony3:

[Barbirollians]

One of the best concerts of the season IMO . Stunning pianism and to direct from the piano - even Howard Shelley might avoid this one. The performance was very Argerichesque and that's a compliment, The Boulanger was moving , the Debussy and Ravel both first rate but very individual . One suspects Rotterdam might find it hard to hold on long term to such an outstanding conductor.

PS I see in fact he is off to Munich PO in 2026