6/8/11 Ministry of silly noises?

[James Wonnacott]

There are so many wonderful pices of music out there. sigh

Off to the CD cupboard

[Anna]

You mean, I assume this rather than Ower Nige?

"DJ Switch joins the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain to perform Gabriel Prokofiev’s Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra, while BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Benjamin Grosvenor takes on Britten's Piano Concerto. After the interval, Prokofiev's ballet music recounts the doomed love of Verona's most romantic couple!

I think it's pretty funky. It'll be televised on 13th August

[James Wonnacott]

I'll be back after the interval :-)

[makropulos]

I'll be back after the interval :-)

I hope you didn't miss the Britten.

[PJPJ]

...or the encore!

[makropulos]

...or the encore!

Hell yes ! I used to have an old LP of Shura Cherkassky playing that Morton Gould piece and I thought it was a great choice after the BB Concerto.

[Chris Newman]

I was there and enjoyed all of it. Wish I did not have to catch a train as I'd have enjoyed Nige too.

[cavatina]

I heard it from the second-and-a-half row* of the Arena. As I was listening to people snicker and make (admittedly hilarious) cracks throughout the piece, it occurred to me that we would have been the same bunch of jerks who made a stink the first time Messiaen used the ondes Martenot. Then I felt really awful...After my little lightbulb moment, I tried to concentrate on hearing the piece for what it actually was, not the instruments as they were used for in other contexts. Once I did that, it was actually interesting and quite clever. I'm planning on listening to it again with the right attitude from the beginning.


* Flush with the second row, but with a person ahead of me between the proper first row and the second. "Row 2.5" consists of exactly one place on the extreme left only.

[pilamenon]

Listened to snatches in the car, and found it hard to take, mainly because it just seemed so dated. Scratching was good fun back in the 80s when it was relatively new. If I want to hear it now, I'd rather go back to Grandmaster Flash and crew. Anyway, will give this another go on the i-player to see if I can get more out of it, like cavatina.

[Serial_Apologist]

I heard it from the second-and-a-half row* of the Arena. As I was listening to people snicker and make (admittedly hilarious) cracks throughout the piece, it occurred to me that we would have been the same bunch of jerks who made a stink the first time Messiaen used the ondes Martenot. Then I felt really awful...After my little lightbulb moment, I tried to concentrate on hearing the piece for what it actually was, not the instruments as they were used for in other contexts. Once I did that, it was actually interesting and quite clever. I'm planning on listening to it again with the right attitude from the beginning.


* Flush with the second row, but with a person ahead of me between the proper first row and the second. "Row 2.5" consists of exactly one place on the extreme left only.

Didn't come across at all well to me on the radio I'm afraid, cavatina. Without the turntables, though, I was struck as the piece progressed by how similar the musical idiom was to some of Grandfather Sergei's stuff from the early 1920s: dry orchestral colour, mechanical rhythms: eg especially in "Le Pas D'Acier". Must be in the jeans!

[Serial_Apologist]

Listened to snatches in the car, and found it hard to take, mainly because it just seemed so dated. Scratching was good fun back in the 80s when it was relatively new. If I want to hear it now, I'd rather go back to Grandmaster Flash and crew. Anyway, will give this another go on the i-player to see if I can get more out of it, like cavatina.

I'd like to hear other stuff by Prokofiev Jr - interesting timbral combinations, microtones.

[Roehre]

I'd like to hear other stuff by Prokofiev Jr - interesting timbral combinations, microtones.

I would as well. IMO the turntables-concerto is a waste of talent: his, as well of that of the NYO combined.

[hackneyvi]

I'd forgotten about this; thanks heaven, again!, for the iPlayer.

I really enjoyed the piece and tapped both feet throughout. A primary pleasure was registering turntables as virtuoso instruments. No different in principle to live electronics but with interesting potential. The concerto did seem to me something of a demonstration piece; as soon as the jazzy bass came in, I wondered what Mark Anthony Turnage would do with the combination. It also struck me as fascinating to wonder what turntables would do in a free music ensemble, feeding the performed music back to the other performers.

I'd like to have seen it performed and more clearly grasped the distribution of scoring and labour. Very welcome instrument that I hope more music's written for because it could sophisticate and mature. Well-played by all, I thought, and I liked DJ Switch's witty use of his technique to respond to the audience. Good fun with much promise.

[french frank]

Anyone able to give some idea (or even a lot of idea) of the techniques of virtuoso turntable playing?

[cavatina]

Anyone able to give some idea (or even a lot of idea) of the techniques of virtuoso turntable playing?

Here's a Youtube instructional video for you...plenty more in the sidebar. You'll be an expert in no time! Unfortunately, "DJ Frenchy" is already taken so you'll have to think of something else.

SETTING UP TURNTABLE FOR SCRATCHING

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIpRQ29PQS8