Prom 46: Sibelius/Lara Poe/Holst, Sibelius Academy SO/RCM SO & Cham. Ch., Komsi/Oramo

[Andrew Slater]

Tom Service is spreading misinformation: Holst was born in Cheltenham, not Gloucester!!

[Ein Heldenleben]

Tom Service is spreading misinformation: Holst was born in Cheltenham, not Gloucester!!

Yes complete with a birthplace museum . A weird mistake to make as everything is supposed to get fact checked.

[bluestateprommer]

An extraordinarily virtuosic performance from Anu Komsi in this Lara Poe piece . One of the most extraordinary vocal tour-de-forces I’ve heard in long time. The sheer range of vocal effects she commanded - almost beyond belief.

Agree totally about the excellence of Anu Komsi's performance, well supported by the young folks from the two academies. It would have been nice to have the texts in hand to follow along, especially as the work did feel a tad prolonged. Very strong start to the concert as well with the Sibelius, which struck me as a quite a new experience and unfamiliar listening (besides the standard fingerprints of Sibelius' style), even though I vaguely remember hearing a BIS recording with the spoken text way some years back.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Agree totally about the excellence of Anu Komsi's performance, well supported by the young folks from the two academies. It would have been nice to have the texts in hand to follow along, especially as the work did feel a tad prolonged. Very strong start to the concert as well with the Sibelius, which struck me as a quite a new experience and unfamiliar listening (besides the standard fingerprints of Sibelius' style), even though I vaguely remember hearing a BIS recording with the spoken text way some years back.

Yes I have absolutely no idea what it was about but I found it extremely intriguing
As you say the youngsters are playing very well - a demanding score.

[smittims]

I caught up with this concert in Sunday's TV repeat. As I've said before, I'm only interested in listening to the music,so I don't usually hear the presenter-chat. But on this occasion curiosity led me to watch the introduction to the Planets performance . I wasn't expecting anything profoundly informative, but even so I was taken aback at the poor quality of the conversation. Both of them were clearly reading from a script on their knee, one hardly looking up from it at all, and neither of them said anything about the music. Then we had Tom Service's 'guide to the galaxy' (sic) , just the solar system in fact, and again for all his hand-waving, Blue-Peter-style sensationalism, nothing was said about the originality of Holst's use of harmony or orchestration.

If the rest of the Proms presentation is like this it's surely time someone took a critical look at how much it's costing.

[LMcD]

I caught up with this concert in Sunday's TV repeat. As I've said before, I'm only interested in listening to the music,so I don't usually hear the presenter-chat. But on this occasion curiosity led me to watch the introduction to the Planets performance . I wasn't expecting anything profoundly informative, but even so I was taken aback at the poor quality of the conversation. Both of them were clearly reading from a script on their knee, one hardly looking up from it at all, and neither of them said anything about the music. Then we had Tom Service's 'guide to the galaxy' (sic) , just the solar system in fact, and again for all his hand-waving, Blue-Peter-style sensationalism, nothing was said about the originality of Holst's use of harmony or orchestration.

If the rest of the Proms presentation is like this it's surely time someone took a critical look at how much it's costing.

I always record televised Proms and fast forward past all the chat. If the concert in question proves to be memorable, I then have a permanent record of it.
Petroc's introduction to the War Requiem was, for my money, a fine example of how it should be done.

[Serial_Apologist]

I caught up with this concert in Sunday's TV repeat. As I've said before, I'm only interested in listening to the music,so I don't usually hear the presenter-chat. But on this occasion curiosity led me to watch the introduction to the Planets performance . I wasn't expecting anything profoundly informative, but even so I was taken aback at the poor quality of the conversation. Both of them were clearly reading from a script on their knee, one hardly looking up from it at all, and neither of them said anything about the music. Then we had Tom Service's 'guide to the galaxy' (sic) , just the solar system in fact, and again for all his hand-waving, Blue-Peter-style sensationalism, nothing was said about the originality of Holst's use of harmony or orchestration.

If the rest of the Proms presentation is like this it's surely time someone took a critical look at how much it's costing.

Lucky for us (speaking as a musical autodidact, mind) that we once had a Radio 3 that gave us those sorts of details along with the motivation to inform ourselves further if necessary. Which makes it all the more sad that, going by present unchecked trends, this and future generations will not have the benefits associated with being informed about music which offers so much more once one is really and not merely superficially informed about it.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Tom Service is spreading misinformation: Holst was born in Cheltenham, not Gloucester!!

Why am I not surprised? I have to set a good example as a Host and refrain from saying what I really think.
However, the concert itself was excellent, and apparently no rude interruptions from hyperactive members of the audience.

[oddoneout]

Tom Service is spreading misinformation: Holst was born in Cheltenham, not Gloucester!!

At least someone's got the message about the town

https://cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk/event/holst-150th-birthday-concert-with-sir-stephen-hough/

But it was Clarence Road*, not Clarence Street...and I don't know about the favourite son bit - when I was growing up there, there didn't seem to be much made of his links with the town, that came later.
*Actually it was Pittville Terrace when he was born there, later renamed.

[Andrew Slater]

At least someone's got the message about the town

https://cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk/event/holst-150th-birthday-concert-with-sir-stephen-hough/

But it was Clarence Road, not Clarence Street...

Thanks for the information.
A strange choice of pieces for a Holst concert! There's only about 16 or 17 minutes of Holst! (UnlessThe Perfect Fool is the actual opera rather than the ballet music - that would be worth the trek to Cheltenham!) I would have expected, if not The Planets, something like Egdon Heath or Beni Mora or A Somerset Rhapsody - the Grieg Piano Concerto seems bizarre. I suppose it's to guarantee a minimum audience. I can sort of understand the inclusion of A London Symphony, RVW being a close associate of Holst, but as with the Grieg it's longer than the two Holst pieces put together!

Re. the Clarence Street reference (which I've discovered is some distance from Clarence Road), nobody seems to be able to get anything right these days. (To be strictly accurate, at the time it was Pittville Terrace.)

Last year I was in an audience which was confidently told that Holst and RVW met at Cambridge university - no they didn't, it was at the RCM; Holst couldn't afford a university education. We were also told that RVW had Darwins on one side of the family and Wedgwoods on the other - no, they were both on his mother's side. I didn't bother correcting the speaker - this was the last of several talks she was giving around the country, so the damage had been done.

[oddoneout]

Thanks for the information.
A strange choice of pieces for a Holst concert! There's only about 16 or 17 minutes of Holst! (UnlessThe Perfect Fool is the actual opera rather than the ballet music - that would be worth the trek to Cheltenham!) I would have expected, if not The Planets, something like Egdon Heath or Beni Mora or A Somerset Rhapsody - the Grieg Piano Concerto seems bizarre. I suppose it's to guarantee a minimum audience. I can sort of understand the inclusion of A London Symphony, RVW being a close associate of Holst, but as with the Grieg it's longer than the two Holst pieces put together!

Re. the Clarence Street reference (which I've discovered is some distance from Clarence Road), nobody seems to be able to get anything right these days. (To be strictly accurate, at the time it was Pittville Terrace.)

Last year I was in an audience which was confidently told that Holst and RVW met at Cambridge university - no they didn't, it was at the RCM; Holst couldn't afford a university education. We were also told that RVW had Darwins on one side of the family and Wedgwoods on the other - no, they were both on his mother's side. I didn't bother correcting the speaker - this was the last of several talks she was giving around the country, so the damage had been done.

Yes the links between the works, and to Holst, are tenuous to non-existent, but if Stephen Hough agrees to play the Grieg piano concerto then tenous will do! Bums on seats or, more accurately money at the box office, is important...
I've just found some more tenuous links

https://cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk/event/the-planets-celebrating-holsts-150th-birthday/

To be fair the town seems to have put quite a bit of effort into celebrating the anniversary.

[smittims]

I listened to the afternoon repeat of this concert and was very impresssed by the performance of the Planets. I think all those young musicians deserve congratulation. Altogether this was splendid occasion. If only the BBC4 introductory presentation could have been on the same level...

[Barbirollians]

I enjoyed this concert a great deal . I did not know the Wood Nymph but will seeking out a recording asap. What a lovely piece.

The Lara Poe was fascinating and the praise for Ms Komsi well deserved and finally what a finely etched , splendid and idiomatic performance of the The Planets from the young orchestra and Oramo . The freshness and care of the young players lifted the spirits .