Prom 57: Saturday 27th August 2011 (Hillborg, Mozart, Beethoven)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Distinguished international guests, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and David Zinman, present top-flight Viennese classics and a post-minimalist work from Sweden.

Anders Hillborg's Cold Heat leavens high-art finesse with the rampaging pulse and flow of street music. Quite a contrast with the autumnal poise of Mozart's final piano concerto, tonight featuring Maria João Pires, whose Late Night Chopin recital was a highlight of last year's Proms.

After the interval, one of the great pinnacles of Western art music, a work inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution. Beethoven famously struck out the dedication to Napoleon Bonaparte when the latter declared himself Emperor but the heroic musical drama of the 'Eroica' stands for all time.

Anders Hillborg: Cold Heat (UK premiere)
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K595
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, 'Eroica'

Maria João Pires (piano)
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
David Zinman (conductor)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

David Zinman leads the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich in music by Anders Hillborg and Mozart.

Violin in hand?

[makropulos]

This could be a very good concert. After the Mahler last night I'd almost forgotten what was happening tonight.

[jayne lee wilson]

Hillborg - Distortion on HDs via R3 homepage - OK via iTunes.

[hackneyvi]

What a disappointment! It sounded like a lovely piece at times but I couldn't hear it.

[jayne lee wilson]

Still distortion on HDs via R3 homepage at the interval. All fine on iTunes.

Anyone has iTunes can get HDs by clicking on "radio" then on "classical" (might take a few seconds to load) then on "BBC radio 3 high" and press play. Learnt that from someone here, sorry can't remember who...

[Ariosto]

Mozart paino concerto K595

Wonderful playing by Maria João Pires (piano) in the concerto. This must be one of the absolute highlights of the Proms after some very disappointing soloists, especially string players. (Apart from Nige's late night Bach concert). She is a really great artist, one of the most unique. Every note mattered.

Pity the orchestra was pretty duff tonight - she deserved a much better partnership.

(Should read Mozart PIANO Concerto!! - Can't edit titles ...)

[Bryn]

This problem has also been raised on the "Penny Gore ... " thread. Thanks for the reminder re iTunes, jayne. I have now switched to that.

[makropulos]

She is a really great artist, one of the most unique. Every note mattered.

Pity the orchestra was pretty duff tonight - she deserved a much better partnership.

Pretty duff? Oh for heaven's sake.
If so, it was certainly my kind of duff: I noted the exquisite phrasing, the lovely balance, the fine ensemble, the gorgeous woodwind playing, and the superb partnership with the soloist...

[Ariosto]

Pretty duff? Oh for heaven's sake.
If so, it was certainly my kind of duff: I noted the exquisite phrasing, the lovely balance, the fine ensemble, the gorgeous woodwind playing, and the superb partnership with the soloist...

Well, your kind of duff is not good enough for me.

The woodwind was not too bad but the strings, especially first fiddles, were pretty bad. Generally a rough sounding band. However, they were together with her most of the time, even if the firsts were not together with themselves!! With a first fiddle sound like that one can't take them seriously.

Come on, we need better orchestral standards than that, and the strings sounded weak and puny. Well, that's how they came over on FM radio.

[Ventilhorn]

Well, your kind of duff is not good enough for me.

The woodwind was not too bad but the strings, especially first fiddles, were pretty bad. Generally a rough sounding band. However, they were together with her most of the time, even if the firsts were not together with themselves!! With a first fiddle sound like that one can't take them seriously.

Come on, we need better orchestral standards than that, and the strings sounded weak and puny. Well, that's how they came over on FM radio.

For me, the best Prom of 2011 by a street!

Fantastic playing, great interpretation and perfect sound balance.

VH

[jayne lee wilson]

Yes, beautiful Mozart, the piano nicely set in relation to the orchestra too, just slightly forward; Zinman may well have used a fairly small orchestra for the Mozart (anyone from the hall?) and I needed a higher volume setting than usual for a satisfying presence (as for the Mahler 6); that done, the Beethoven had considerable impact, especially at the peak of the funeral march! Very enjoyable, a sound and an interpretative approach I warmed to the more as the evening progressed.

Remember, Zinman does favour the "historically aware" approach, lean, swift, athletic, even a little brusque; and he uses the Barenreiter Edition, whose differences tend to enhance that; on those terms, I thought it was a magnificent Eroica.

Not to mention vibrato... whoops.

His recording has a closer and fiercer balance in the Tonhalle; it's excellent, but I almost preferred the spaciousness tonight.

Pretty duff? Oh for heaven's sake.
If so, it was certainly my kind of duff: I noted the exquisite phrasing, the lovely balance, the fine ensemble, the gorgeous woodwind playing, and the superb partnership with the soloist...

[makropulos]

Like VH and Jayne Lee Wilson, I enjoyed this very much.

The Eroica was fascinating. Oboe ornamentation in the slow movement and solo strings at one point in the finale are certainly not in the Bärenreiter Edition (which yes, DZ uses, in common with most conductors these days - a trend started by Abbado, Mackerras, Norrington, Haitink and Zinman himself). but they were delightful touches. Some of the balance he asked for in the finale was very imaginative too, allowing the woodwind to be heard at one point in a way they seldom are - it took a bit of conductor intervention to do that, obviously, but I thought it worked.

The whole thing seemed extraordinarily refreshing as well as very enjoyable. And the choice of encore was perfect.

[Petrushka]

Like VH and Jayne Lee Wilson, I enjoyed this very much.

The Eroica was fascinating. Oboe ornamentation in the slow movement and solo strings at one point in the finale are certainly not in the Bärenreiter Edition (which yes, DZ uses, in common with most conductors these days - a trend started by Abbado, Mackerras, Norrington, Haitink and Zinman himself). but they were delightful touches. Some of the balance he asked for in the finale was very imaginative too, allowing the woodwind to be heard at one point in a way they seldom are - it took a bit of conductor intervention to do that, obviously, but I thought it worked.

The whole thing seemed extraordinarily refreshing as well as very enjoyable. And the choice of encore was perfect.

I agree entirely with this. Like Jayne, I found a higher than normal volume boost (on Freeview) gave a very satisfying result indeed. I have to sort of agree with Ariosto in that my impression of the Mozart accompaniment was that it came across the airwaves as being somewhat small and anonymous but perhaps I still have in mind the partnership with Haitink and the LSO broadcast from the Barbican last June in this very piece and also with Pires.

[Ariosto]

My comment about the orchestra was one just in passing as I was being positive about the great musicianship of MJP, the soloist.

As I haven't heard the Beethoven which I understand was a bigger orchestra I have no idea how that came off. But certainly my enjoyment of the Mozart was slightly impaired by the orchestra performing with her. I notice hardly anyone has commented on the pianist apart from maybe Jayne Lee Wilson and myself which really does say something.