Prom 29: Friday 5th August at 7.30. p.m. (Mahler 2)

[Serial_Apologist]

How many recordings of the third movement of Berio's Sinfonia do you have?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Jane's avatar reminds me of the budgerigar we had when I was a child. He would sing happily with most music, but whenever Mahler's music was on the radio, he would go wild with excitment. My mother said, jokingly, that he must have been Mahler reincarnated. From then on, he was renamed "Gustav".

[Serial_Apologist]

Jane's avatar reminds me of the budgerigar we had when I was a child. He would sing happily with most music, but whenever Mahler's music was on the radio, he would go wild with excitment. My mother said, jokingly, that he must have been Mahler reincarnated. From then on, he was renamed "Gustav".

Not Cage?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

[StephenO]

How many recordings of the third movement of Berio's Sinfonia do you have?

I knew there was a gap in my CD collection!

[Serial_Apologist]

I knew there was a gap in my CD collection!

I have the original CBS recording of the NYP and Swingle Singers under Berio - at around 30 minutes one of the shortest LPs in my collection. I also have the later, more "considered" Boulez version on cassette somewhere, with the additional 4th movement, which I consider the greatest compositional mistake Berio ever made. The original from 1968 or 9 captures the full impact of the time the composer penned it.

S-A

[johnb]

Jane's avatar reminds me of the budgerigar we had when I was a child. He would sing happily with most music, but whenever Mahler's music was on the radio, he would go wild with excitment. My mother said, jokingly, that he must have been Mahler reincarnated. From then on, he was renamed "Gustav".

Call me hyper-sensitive to possible nuances but I'm surprised that a Host posted that.

[BudgieJane]

I have the original CBS recording of the NYP and Swingle Singers under Berio - at around 30 minutes one of the shortest LPs in my collection. I also have the later, more "considered" Boulez version on cassette somewhere, with the additional 4th movement, which I consider the greatest compositional mistake Berio ever made. The original from 1968 or 9 captures the full impact of the time the composer penned it.

S-A

Have you got this right? I thought the original was in four movements, and the additional movement was the fifth.

[BudgieJane]

Is 131 replies a record for a thread concerning a specific performance of a solitary piece of music?

Does this reflect the (still) growing popularity of Mahler?

This thread has wandered off-topic (mea culpa) a couple of times along the way, so that 131 should be a bit lower.

Alternatively, by wandering a bit more off-topic, I'm sure we can make this a record-breaking thread <At this point the List owner shudders, says "Oh no!" and threatens to ban everybody making off-topic postings>

[Serial_Apologist]

Have you got this right? I thought the original was in four movements, and the additional movement was the fifth.

Jane, you are of course quite right. Tsch!

[Roslynmuse]

My first prom, in August 1984, included the Berio Sinfonia (plus two Birtwistle works and the Bartok Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion); my second, later that month, was the Ozawa / Boston SO Resurrection mentioned above with Jessye Norman. I queued from about 10am that morning and was rewarded with a place at the front of the arena.

[Serial_Apologist]

My first prom, in August 1984, included the Berio Sinfonia (plus two Birtwistle works and the Bartok Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion); my second, later that month, was the Ozawa / Boston SO Resurrection mentioned above with Jessye Norman. I queued from about 10am that morning and was rewarded with a place at the front of the arena.

Phew! That must have been quite a Prom, Roslynmuse!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Jane's avatar reminds me of the budgerigar we had when I was a child. He would sing happily with most music, but whenever Mahler's music was on the radio, he would go wild with excitment. My mother said, jokingly, that he must have been Mahler reincarnated. From then on, he was renamed "Gustav".

Call me hyper-sensitive to possible nuances but I'm surprised that a Host posted that.

Call me naive, but all such suggestions go over my head. But it's a true story.

[Nick Armstrong]

Call me hyper-sensitive to possible nuances but I'm surprised that a Host posted that.

I tend to be alert to nuances, I think, but the reason for your surprise eludes me so completely that I'd love you to explain, johnb! Feel free to send a private if necessary!

[Roslynmuse]

Phew! That must have been quite a Prom, Roslynmuse!

Both were! I had got to know Mahler 2 having taken part in a performance (as a very amateur 2nd violin) some months before and was obsessed with the piece. Getting to know the Berio had been a consequence of that obsession, and very rewarding it was (and still is). Ozawa's reading wasn't quite what I was expecting or hoping for, but the effect of the ending of the work was unforgettable - the choral sound in particular. I remember it being an incredibly hot evening, but it might well also have been the crush of bodies.