Prom 49: Saturday 20th August at 7.30 p.m. (Brahms/Haitink 2)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Bernard Haitink conducts the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and pianist Emanuel Ax in music by Brahms.
In their second concert of Brahms's masterworks at this year's Proms, they open with a work long central to Emanuel Ax's repertoire. Brahms's Second Piano Concerto is on a grand Romantic scale and makes huge technical demands on the soloist.

After the interval, the composer's astonishing final symphony, where the balance between expressiveness and structural control is most perfectly maintained.

Brahms: Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat major
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor

Emanuel Ax (piano)
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Bernard Haitink (conductor)

[bluestateprommer]

recent Guardian article on BH

Some light reading about Bernard Haitink in advance of his 2 Proms next week, c/o Tom Service in The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/aug/11/bernard-haitink-masterclass

The FT article by Shirley Apthorp from the Mahler 2/"El Dude" thread is also worth a read, despite some howlers of detail there, including calling BH "Sir Bernard" and saying incorrectly that he was chief conductor of the LSO once.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

does any one know if this prom [49] and its precursor [47] are going to be on tv? ooops yes 47 is on BBC4 at 730 now that is a date and 49 is on BBC2 at 900pm that too

[BBMmk2]

I think Haitink was made an honorary Knight of the Realm you know?

[David Underdown]

He's an hon KBE, but they are not addressed as Sir

[PaulT]

A lot of people make this mistake. Previn is often referred to as Sir Andre Previn.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

A lot of people make this mistake. Previn is often referred to as Sir Andre Previn.

Both Haitink and Previn deserve such an honour far more than some actual knights.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Was it the Radio 3 sound balance, or was the orchestra underpowered in the Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto?

[Bryn]

Was it the Radio 3 sound balance, or was the orchestra underpowered in the Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto?

Neither. Far too often in Brahms performances the orchestra a heavily overpowered.

[jayne lee wilson]

Came over very well here too on HDs, plenty of power in the Handelian sections of (ii), weighty enough where apt... optimodded FM often sounds all on one dynamic level in the B flat.

Was it the Radio 3 sound balance, or was the orchestra underpowered in the Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto?

[Roehre]

Both Haitink and Previn deserve such an honour far more than some actual knights.

As neither Haitink or Previn have got the British nationality, they cannot use the accolade sir.

As soon as Haitink is abandoning his Dutch nationality in order to gain the British, he automatically becomes Sir Bernard Haitink. Btw, he was once chief conductor of a London orchestra, the LPO in the 1970s. His Liszt symphonic poems cycle was recorded with them for Philips. His Shostakovich cycle recorded by Decca began with Symphony 10 with the LPO. He left the LPO iirc in 1979, and from then onwards it was the Concertgebouw orchestra with which that Shostakovich cycle was performed and recorded.

[Simon]

Superb in the slow movement, in my opinion. Absolutely captivating.

Given a wonderful performance of Britten's last string quartet shortly beforehand, too, [edit: on R3 - not of course at the Proms!] what a wonderful evening of music! How fortunate we are.

[cavatina]

Was it the Radio 3 sound balance, or was the orchestra underpowered in the Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto?

From the front left, I didn't notice any imbalances that were out of the ordinary. VH made a similar comment yesterday; I'm almost sure it was something about the way they recorded it.

[Bryn]

From the front left, I didn't notice any imbalances that were out of the ordinary. VH made a similar comment yesterday; I'm almost sure it was something about the way they recorded it.

I think it's quite likely that it's more a matter of adjusting one's aural perception to the size of the orchestra. Of course, Brahms would have had the opposite problem, that of adjusting to today's convention of big, noisy orchestras.

[jayne lee wilson]

What a 4th symphony! Wasn't that terrific?

A performance which grew in tension and sheer dynamic range as it progressed, with an extraordinary, explosive power in the finale. With Haitink, there's never any doubt that the end of a 1st movement is just that - only a hypothetical conclusion, a way-station, he never lets it all go to soon. Radiant slow movement, the allegro giocoso fleet-footed but powerful too, a wonderful clarity of musical line drawing all 4 movements tightly together.

It didn't sound like an old man's Brahms, and the greater than conventional prominence of wind and brass created an ideal balance listening at home (HDs). Marvellous response from the COE, disciplined and sonorous, tight and dynamic but not too driven.

One of the best live 4ths I've heard, a great achievement.