Prom 47: Friday 19th August at 7.00 p.m. (Brahms/Haitink 1)

[BBMmk2]

CoE, Calum!

Altogether a truly magnificent concert! One of the best so far!

[Alison]

The spine tingle factor was very high for me at the end of the concerto.

Perfectly glorious music making of the least egocentric kind.

I was half expecting some criticism of the symphony on here with the old
dour (etc) Haitink comments. It was lovely not have an 'interpretation' thrust down our throats
and I am looking forward enormously to hearing it again.

Two other small points -

Isnt it good to just occasionally not have a concerto soloist of the latest young and good looking whizz kidd variety?
That's now a very rare thing in the major concert series.

Has Chas H finally grown up a little bit now. ? Even for him the music seemed to be the thing last night with his now modified pronunciation
of 'concerTo' another clinching feature.

[Ferretfancy]

There's a very interesting interview with Bernard Haitink in the programme for last night's Prom in which he discusses how the Concertgebouw moved away from the very dense German romantic tradition exemplified by Mengelberg when van Beinum took over. Over several seasons he gradually changed to a leaner approach in Brahms, and Haitink went onto say that Mengelberg was gold, van Beinum silver in their approach. Interestingly, he also said that another liberating influence was Boult, who visited Amsterdam at the end of the war.
' He did Brahms's Fourth Symphony and many found it quite amazing because of its rhythmic precision and lightness- and that this approach could come from an english conductor! You could then go back to the score and would see how important rhythm was to Brahms. Yet, as so often in those traditional performances, it wasn't apparent. With orchestras today, I work towards a Brahms who is lighter on his feet'

Interestingly, both Boult and Haitink produced Brahms recordings at roughly the same time back in the 1960s, and certainly last night's performance with the COE was fascinating to hear with a slightly smaller orchestra. As Haitink said in the interview ' Communication isn't just about loudness' I thought it was a wonderful performance, and Ax was his superb self in the concerto.

[makropulos]

I've just come across an irritating, surly review of this concert over at theartsdesk:

http://www.theartsdesk.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=4370:bbc-proms-ax-chamber-orchestra-of-europe-haitink/-hewitt-bbc-scottish-symphony-orchestra-manze&Itemid=27

What a strange reaction.

[Curalach]

I was amused at Haitink starting to go up the stairs as he left the platform rather than heading for the tunnel. He must have momentarily thought he was back in the Concertgebouw.

[amac4165]

I think the radio audience might have had the best of this concert (so much so I staying at home tonite !) - in the Hall it did sound distance and "thin" no doubt due to RAH acoustics - you certainly had to listen hard to get anything out of it. Apart from a few persistent coughers it was possible to do !

I certainly agree with the sentiment of the The Arts desk review if not the detail and the highlight of the evening for me was the Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor (arr. Schoenberg) - complete surprise and enjoyment.

The whole evening did remind me of a variant on the Monty Python Spam sketch

Brahms Brahms Brahms Brahms Brahms Schumann Brahms Schoenberg and Brahms


Has it got a lot of Brahms in it ?

well its got a bit of Brahms -

How much ?

Well .. quite a lot of Brahms - actually

Have you got anything that isnt Brahms ?

Well the Schumann is only dedicated to Brahms ...




..... oh well only me then - never mind - ploughing me own furrow on that one



ps - I don't think the encore was planned - R3 had cleared off well before it even looked like he might do and encore.

[makropulos]

"The whole evening did remind me of a variant on the Monty Python Spam sketch"

Especially as it included Brahms's Third Racket. :)

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

I've just come across an irritating, surly review of this concert over at theartsdesk:

http://www.theartsdesk.com/index.php...anze&Itemid=27

What a strange reaction.

hmmm i was rather underwhelmed by Axe last nigh .... it does not strike me as surly, just a direct expression of a view .... the CoE were magnificent, and the 3rd Symphony was magical but i felt Axe was not on his best game in the first concerto ...

[Ventilhorn]

hmmm i was rather underwhelmed by Axe last nigh .... it does not strike me as surly, just a direct expression of a view .... the CoE were magnificent, and the 3rd Symphony was magical but i felt Axe was not on his best game in the first concerto ...

Brahms P/c No 1. Emmanuel Ax really took his hatchet to it in my honest opinion.

When will these soloists realise that sometimes they are only the accompanist and someone else has the tune?
I think the Axeman kept his foot down on the loud pedal from start to finish.


I was first introduced to the magic of the Brahms concertos by the famous Solomon/Philharmonia recording of Nº 2.
Since then, I played both concertos with Julius Katchen on several occasions and I can assure you that during my horn solos, he never took his eyes off me.. Also with John Ogden, Stephen Bishop, John Lill, Gina Bachauer and I heard wonderful live concerts by Claudio Arrau and Mauritzio Pollini.
I cherish good memories of playing the Brahms concertos. I find it quite shattering (literally) to hear them treated in this way.

To me, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe still sounds a bit like the youth orchestra that was founded 30 years ago. Unbalanced in places and I think it proves the old adage that assembling a group of stars from different orchestras, disciplines and styles does not make for a perfect combination. Like one of those huge Holywood extravaganzas, the whole does not equal the sum of its parts .

However, I thought that Haitinck's reading of Brahms 3rd was sublime.

Have a good day. I shall listen and watch for Brahms 2nd concerto tonight. Hopefully, Emanuel Ax, for whom I have great admiration as both pianist and musician will not disappoint again.

VH

[Dave2002]

Since when did R3 start using its discretion to pull the plug on encores? They had plenty of time in hand.

Not impressed.

Seems shoddy to me, unless the schedule is really tight. It sounds as though it wasn't. I thought the whole point of the Prom broadcasts is to give the feel of live concerts.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

They could simply say that later programmes may be subject to delay. The Proms are, after all, the jewel in Radio 3's crown.

[salymap]

Maybe I dreamed it but I thought I heard that the encore was to be included in the repeat.

[Persephone]

Personally, I too thought it was too slow and therfore did not have the energy I was expecting, and apparently there was not supposed to be an encore!

[BudgieJane]

I think the Axeman kept his foot down on the loud pedal from start to finish.

Which pedal would that be, then?

[cavatina]

When will these soloists realise that sometimes they are only the accompanist and someone else has the tune? I think the Axeman kept his foot down on the loud pedal from start to finish.

Speaking as someone who had a direct line of sight to his feet-- and indeed eyed them from time to time-- I can assure you this wasn't the case. From the front row, he didn't sound overpowering or out of balance with the orchestra at at all; perhaps it had something to do with the way they miked it.

Rather than argue about subjective impressions, why don't you go into more detail contrasting it with performances you found outstanding? What made them so special, and why was last night's performance such a disappointment? I'm sure we'd all learn something.