Prom 21: Saturday 30th July at 7.30 p.m. (Strauss, Walton, Prokofiev)

[salymap]

As someone who gave up the violin after three lessons [with my good, amateur, chamber music playing uncle] I think there is a lot of 'body language', as with most instruments. Surely Midori seemed hunched over her violin, not projecting as she should. But what do I know?

[Ariosto]

As someone who gave up the violin after three lessons [with my good, amateur, chamber music playing uncle] I think there is a lot of 'body language', as with most instruments. Surely Midori seemed hunched over her violin, not projecting as she should. But what do I know?

Yes saly, your comment and observation has been taken up elswhere and on another board, so you have been pretty perceptive. She did hold the instrument in an uncomfortable way, and most players stand up more and hold the instrument higher with less movement. (Except for Josh Bell of course ... who moves around a lot).

I would also question the use of the bow with a lot of passages being accomplished with a short length of bow rather than using it all. She did appear to break quite a few hairs too.

But it was also the lack of emphasis on certain key notes, ones which were important because they were alien to the key, that gave it a somewhat limpid feel and lack of musical shape.

[Osborn]

But all reviews on Google at the moment are favourable which either indicates that the Walton sounded much better in the hall (blame BBC?), that 5 out of 5 reviewers are wrong, or that some messageboard contributors struggle to adapt to hearing a fresh interpretation by someone who's still living:

Gdn
"..Midori was the soloist in the Walton, a natural partner for Nelsons in her concern for flow and her eschewal of technical for emotional virtuosity. Indeed, the tenderness in the first movement was so deep and sensuous that one quite forgot its composer was an Englishman."

D Tel
"The temperature dipped slightly in Walton’s Violin Concerto, where the soloist Midori was technically adroit but seemed pinched in sound."

Arts Desk
"Midori’s little frame convulsed with the melodic spasms of the Andante, integrating even the bravura passages into her emotional narrative. If some of the second movement’s tarantella lost body of tone then this was compensated for in the filmy subtlety she brought to the finale..."

Indie
"Midori played it with such soft-grained lustre and delicate inflection that the sound itself seemed almost disembodied. It’s a small intense sound, one that will have given radio listeners a better deal than those sitting further away in the hall. But that said, I have rarely heard the sognando (dreamy) quality of this exotic, sun-kissed, music so sensuously addressed. .."

Eve Stnd
"In the Albert Hall her sound felt small, occasionally sinking beneath the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Andris Nelsons. Yet that fragility only underlined the rapture of her playing. At times the violin was barely a breath in the air.."

[Norfolk Born]

It sounded fine on our telly (BBC2 digital, standard definition).

[Ferretfancy]

I don't want to get into a pointless wrangle, but the best engineers in the World can only deal with the sound that they are given, and in this case Midori failed to produce it. I'm very glad that cavatina and others who were in the hall enjoyed it more than I did, but for me the etiolated and insecure tone was painful to hear. This is a concerto which is romantic and vehement by turns, a most satisfying piece in the right hands. We must of course speak as we find, and it is not personal dislike of the performer that leads me to unfavourable comment.

[salymap]

I also have no dislike of any performer but I would love to know, without malice,* what WW or more so, his fearsome Lady, would have thought of the performance.

* one of Walton's frequent requests in his music, not necessarily in this work though, I have no score.

[Ariosto]

I don't want to get into a pointless wrangle, but the best engineers in the World can only deal with the sound that they are given, and in this case Midori failed to produce it. I'm very glad that cavatina and others who were in the hall enjoyed it more than I did, but for me the etiolated and insecure tone was painful to hear. This is a concerto which is romantic and vehement by turns, a most satisfying piece in the right hands. We must of course speak as we find, and it is not personal dislike of the performer that leads me to unfavourable comment.

Ferret, you are quite right, and some of us are of course above personal dislikes of performers. I personally think that she is a serious artist who may be having a few problems at present, along with this concerto not being one that she necessarily identifies with.

And the critics quoted in a previous post - well, personally I never believe critics. I often wonder what their motives are. I recently watched a play in the theatre in cental London by Pinter, and the critics raved about it. It was the best thing to have hit the west end in years. In the end I found it a boring play, and in my view pointless. (About two couples having it off with each other. It was a real drag, and we came out extremely dissapointed). It was called Betrayal. Apt, because the critics betrayed the public. The applause was polite and only just so. I hardly clapped at all, even though it had a pretty famous cast.

[Ventilhorn]

[QUOTE=cavatina;71451]

When you, a British person, say "only the British understand x in music", what you're really doing is making a statement about the nature of what resonates with your own musical aesthetic and sensibilities. Perhaps if you were from another culture, you'd find resonances with performances by people with a similar outlook on life to your own.

Cavatina:

Methinks thou doth protest too much.

If you are going to quote others, please do so accurately. I wrote Maybe only the British...

I'm completely alienated from what passes for "American culture" in every possible respect, so would never think of viewing anything musically-related through a nationalistic lens. I've had more than one Russian tell me they think I have, quote, "a Russian soul", and were dead serious about it. I really love Russian music and poetry, so maybe so, but how I came by a Slavic temperament is anyone's guess.

I was speaking from my experience as a former professional orchestral player about performances that I have heard from many sources - including Russian and those much-hyped Scandinavian conductors; who make Walton's music sound like Sibelius. Your own cultural background is really of no interest to anyone but yourself.

Although I was neither gripped by the performance or the piece, I think those of you blasting those who enjoyed it ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Who died and made you the Arbiter of Perfect Taste-- and what right do you have to knock someone for finding pleasure in anything? They may indeed be hearing it with different ears, but genuine enthusiasm for musical experience ought to count for something to anyone who's not a bitter, bloodless old dried-up empty husk of a human being.

I don't believe I, or any other message boarder was "blasting" anyone for enjoying what they heard. Even you admit that you were not gripped by this performance. Were you guilty of blasting those who were?

Your final paragraph is unnecessary and insulting. I have no further comment to make except to say that I consider you to be totally out of order.


VH

[Ariosto]

You, dried up? Never!!! Anyway, perhaps the audiophile engineers/aesthetes/sticklers/nerds among us could weigh in about what was wrong with the recording. I'm confident they'll be able to pinpoint the problem for you.

A brief side note about the Arena acoustics: Last night, I was late and had to stand on the--gasp!-- fifth row instead of my usual place on the front row left. Someone reassured me that the sound would be better from my new vantage point, but seeing as how I've heard all of the previous 21 concerts this season (96 Proms in a row, counting last year) from the same spot it just sounded "wrong" to me. And I felt so awkward, exposed, and "off" being so far back, it just wasn't the same...I suppose I've come to love that particular aurally-skewed vantage point.

By the way, Norman Lebrecht is wrong that attending every Prom is an unmusical act. Personally, I'm in it for the hedonic experience and like to see it as an unabashedly extravagant, immoderate, extreme act of musical gluttony.

Oh well, better get back to the subject before somebody has a coronary.

As I've mentioned, I think the problem was with the performer.

I've just listened to the Heifetz recording made in 1941 and its a different piece of music. In fact, I'm speechless. I would recommend it and although its an early recording it is quite incredible. (Naxos re-issue and cleaned up by Mr Obert-Thorn).

As for attending all the proms, I couldn't imagine anything worse, and I think it perhaps shows your lack of judgement and taste.

[Serial_Apologist]

As for attending all the proms, I couldn't imagine anything worse, and I think it perhaps shows your lack of judgement and taste.

On the other hand it could show an exceptionally broad taste - considerably broader than mine, I would have to say.

As to the performance of the Walton V Concerto, I would suggest that the piece would not impress greatly on first hearing without the soloist engaging with its rhapsodic emotional power and being able to convey that beyond the first few rows to the entire concert hall and audience dimensions Walton would (one guesses from his other orchestral works) have had in mind - as seems the case here.

S-A

[Roehre]

I've just listened to the Heifetz recording made in 1941 and its a different piece of music. In fact,

My first Walton VC was with Francescatti. Do you know it and if so, what's your opinion about that one ?

[Ferretfancy]

Roehre,

I'm very fond of the Francescatti recording, like you, it was the first in my collection, and the CD still sounds good. He is rather closely miked in the old CBS manner, but I don't mind that, and the Philadelphia sounds luscious under Ormandy. This concerto has fared well on disc, with Heifetz of course, with Goossens and the Cincinnati SO, Haendel, Chung, Bell, and many others, but I often return to Francescatti and his CD coupling of the Tchaikovsky is excellent as well.

[salymap]

Did Heifetz record the Walton more than once? I've just found a bargain price CD with three concertos and the first symphony, which I have of course. Previn, Walton conducting.

[french frank]

But all reviews on Google at the moment are favourable which either indicates that the Walton sounded much better in the hall (blame BBC?), that 5 out of 5 reviewers are wrong, or that some messageboard contributors struggle to adapt to hearing a fresh interpretation by someone who's still living

But, however favourable generally, four of the five quotes you give do refer to the sound ('seemed pinched in sound', 'lost body of tone', 'a small intense sound, one that will have given radio listeners a better deal than those sitting further away in the hall' - speculation since clearly the critic was in the hall, not listening on the radio, 'her sound felt small, occasionally sinking beneath the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra').

[Bryn]

Did Heifetz record the Walton more than once? I've just found a bargain price CD with three concertos and the first symphony, which I have of course. Previn, Walton conducting.

He recorded it at least twice, in 1941 with the Cincinnati SO under Goosens, and in 1950 with the Philharmonia Orchestra under the composer. Both are in the quite wonderful "Jascha Heifetz: The Complete Album Collection" (103 CDs + 1 DVD).