Prom 24: Tuesday 2nd August at 7.00 p.m. (Elgar, Grainger, Strauss)

[meles]

Tasmin Little's Elgar

Another "Oh gosh, aren't I wonderful?" performance by Tasmin tonight. Work with the piece and the orchestra, girl. You may yet be a decent performer.

[Peter Katin]

Another "Oh gosh, aren't I wonderful?" performance by Tasmin tonight. Work with the piece and the orchestra, girl. You may yet be a decent performer.

I'm not surprised, but I did hear Andrew Davis say, in the off-stage preamble, that "she knows this work like nobody else". I think that's accurate!

[makropulos]

Another "Oh gosh, aren't I wonderful?" performance by Tasmin tonight. Work with the piece and the orchestra, girl. You may yet be a decent performer.

Harsh - and not my impression at all, I have to say. I thought the slow movement, in particular, was wonderful, and Davis was on excellent form too.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Tasmin Little is a very good vioinist and fully deserved the praise from Sir Andrew. I do wonder why musicians should be expected to be good interviewees as well as great players. The former is not important, but it fills a tick-box.

[moeranbiogman]

Have the BBC got it right at last? For the BBC 4 relay, no so-called 'experts' wittering away in the box, but refreshing commentaries from the players themselves delivered with clarity and informality. More please!

[rauschwerk]

Another "Oh gosh, aren't I wonderful?" performance by Tasmin tonight. Work with the piece and the orchestra, girl. You may yet be a decent performer.

How insufferably patronising you are. Do you play the fiddle at all by any chance? If I were Ms Little and read your remark I'd be strongly tempted to send the boys round.

[Ventilhorn]

Another "Oh gosh, aren't I wonderful?" performance by Tasmin tonight. Work with the piece and the orchestra, girl. You may yet be a decent performer.

If that's all that you can find to say, it implies that you found nothing to criticise in the ladiy's performance.

An unpleasant and snide remark in my opinion

VH

[mercia]

this could be a coincidence or something well known that I've only just noticed (or possibly just wrong) but does Elgar quote from Gerontius just before that extended accompanied cadenza in the last movement of the VC? There's a sequence of four or five notes which to me sound identical to a unison passage in the second chorus of The Dream - "Thy servant deliver" are the words. If anyone feels like going to the trouble of checking, I would be interested.

[Barbirollians]

It was a relief when Little started playing . I thought it was one of the dullest orchestral introductions to the Elgar I have ever heard .

She played very well I thought . In recent years I have sometimes found her tone uningratiating ( a performance of the Lark in Sheffield in particular) but she was on very good form . The orchestra and Davis were serviceable but no more . I should have much rather have heard the Halle and Elder with her - they were superb accompanying Znaider last year .

PS still would rather have had Ida Haendel's 1984 performance !

[chapman19]

Have the BBC got it right at last? For the BBC 4 relay, no so-called 'experts' wittering away in the box, but refreshing commentaries from the players themselves delivered with clarity and informality. More please!

How right you are. To hear those who were going to play the music commenting on it was so much more interesting. Even the first violin - Stephen Bryant - can be forgiven for his apparent nervousness in front of the camera, when he pinpointed the difficult run he had to play in Till Eulenspiegel.
I was in the audience and I did wonder how they were going to do it as I couldn't see an announcer jumping up and down in a box!!
To my mind that is how televised concerts should always be shown.

[makropulos]

It was a relief when Little started playing . I thought it was one of the dullest orchestral introductions to the Elgar I have ever heard .

She played very well I thought . In recent years I have sometimes found her tone uningratiating ( a performance of the Lark in Sheffield in particular) but she was on very good form . The orchestra and Davis were serviceable but no more . I should have much rather have heard the Halle and Elder with her - they were superb accompanying Znaider last year .

PS still would rather have had Ida Haendel's 1984 performance !

Agreed about Little, but it's extraordinary how the same thing can strike different people - I thought the orchestral introduction was anything but dull and Davis conducted most sensitively. Incidentally, I also thought Elder's conducting was very fine too (on his recording with Zehetmair). I remember an Ida Haendel Elgar with Haitink at the Proms in 1978 as something rather special too.

[Nick Armstrong]

I'm not surprised, but I did hear Andrew Davis say, in the off-stage preamble, that "she knows this work like nobody else". I think that's accurate!

Elegantly double-edged, Mr Katin! I find her very difficult to watch, and having missed the radio broadcast, I had to stop watching the BBC TV recording (my loss, musically, no doubt - I'll try and play-it-again on R3 on the iPlayer). I have to echo comments here about the BBC Singers - their warbly style and blend has always been a turn-off for me. And I don't feel the need to experience Andrew Davis and the BBCSO doing "Till". So I 'partial deleted' my recording to keep only the Grainger "In a Nutshell" which (to end on a positive note!) I look forward to hearing and watching this weekend!

PS I agree that the absence of simpering, gushing 'celebrity' presenters / interviewees / "analysts" was an enormous plus in this broadcast

[makropulos]

Elegantly double-edged, Mr Katin! I find her very difficult to watch, and having missed the radio broadcast, I had to stop watching the BBC TV recording (my loss, musically, no doubt - I'll try and play-it-again on R3 on the iPlayer). I have to echo comments here about the BBC Singers - their warbly style and blend has always been a turn-off for me. And I don't feel the need to experience Andrew Davis and the BBCSO doing "Till". So I 'partial deleted' my recording to keep only the Grainger "In a Nutshell" which (to end on a positive note!) I look forward to hearing and watching this weekend!

PS I agree that the absence of simpering, gushing 'celebrity' presenters / interviewees / "analysts" was an enormous plus in this broadcast

I'll be surprised if you don't enjoy the Grainger. For that matter Till was actually rather good too (slightly surprisingly so).

[EdgeleyRob]

What a fantastic performance of the Elgar concerto.Isn't it the best violin concerto ever ?

[Roehre]

What a fantastic performance of the Elgar concerto. Isn't it the best violin concerto ever ?

No