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Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.
Mark Twain. -
yes I caught that bit on the radio - the microphone can be very cruel !Originally posted by waldhorn View PostFor good reason.
It was nice to hear some of the 'human element' creeping in via a somewhat 'struggling' solo by the 4th horn in the 'slow' movement ( probably very authentic - can you even begin to imagine how it might have sounded at the 1st performance?)
Overall I was glad I took a night off from the hall - the first in 10 days - sounded like I didn't miss much !Comment
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Hmm... who exactly is 'Alexandra Coghlan' anyway?
Although in its essence the review is a fair account of what we heard, what is NOT fair is
to single out two tiny little instrumental smudges and to pronounce that that these two excellent players were 'having off nights'.
No mention of the hundreds of 'abused' and 'approximate' pitches ( vibrated to 'within about a semitone' up or down)
that were heard from the solo singers.
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I settled down to listen, not expecting much from the Fitkin and had the crossword ready in case of boredom but after a while I was gripped and I intend to listen to it again as soon as I can. I gave up on the Beethoven I'm afraidComment
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Roberston attempted to inject Historically Informed practices (and sound...!) to the BBCSO's playing which worked up to a point. However, due to not enough rehearsals, or sheer bloody mindedness (!), it brought about Schoolchild Errors all over the orchestra: fluffed horns; woodwind plain wrong notes; string ensemble errors in cellos and basses which include missed entries, unclear conducting perhaps but the BBCSO should be able to play this with their eyes shut. John Chimes, as ever, was superb on tymps but at times he unwittingly highlighted rhythmic errors among his colleages. The performance was dull, lacking in energy and clueless as to where it was going in each movement let alone the whole.
The chorus was very good with superb attack and ensemble. Toby Spence shone (unexpectedly?!) and sliced thorough everyone but the rest seemingly could not cope and Miss Brewer was painful especially at the top.
As for the Fitkin, it was well performed and colourful, to a point, but with precious little to earn a second hearing. There was no meat in this sandwich and the whole was somewhat anaemic. And as for Robertson bringing out a red sparkly yoyo for the soloist at the conclusion... yuchhhhh.
I should of left after the Composer Portrait, excellent!!Comment
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Crumbs, I'm very glad I didn't even switch on the radio.Comment
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Good morning WH,Originally posted by waldhorn View PostHmm... who exactly is 'Alexandra Coghlan' anyway?
Although in its essence the review is a fair account of what we heard, what is NOT fair is
to single out two tiny little instrumental smudges and to pronounce that that these two excellent players were 'having off nights'.
No mention of the hundreds of 'abused' and 'approximate' pitches ( vibrated to 'within about a semitone' up or down)
that were heard from the solo singers.
I do agree with your post wholeheartedly (that's a blooming change innit?)
I have never shrunk from expressing how much I shudder at the murder of Beethoven's finale by successions of singers who are quite incapable of meeting the (admittedly) high standard required by Beethoven. Singing way out of tune - both with the score and with each other. After the sublime beauty of the third movement and the excitement of the scherzo, it must rank as the biggest 'let down' in the history of music.
When Eric Kleiber conducted a performance way back in the fifties, the then 4th horn, Sim Saville told me that he was actually allowed to play that solo part; which a lot of unfeeling conductors insist must be played by the 1st horn. Quite right, too. It is the one chance a year that the poor old 4th horn gets an opportunity to shine; but Sim also told me something else:
He said that Kleiber had the full chorus, soloists and orchestra assembled for the first rehearsal.
When he announced "...first movement, please" the solo quartet rose and made to leave the stage; but they didn't get very far before Kleiber stopped them.
"How can you sing the last movement if you don't know what is the other three?" he asked. He gestured towards the choir. "You sit here like them, and listen to what is."
The soloists returned meekly to their chairs and sat through all the rehearsal sessions.
That's telling 'em!
VHComment
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I missed the concert last light, but I've listened to most of it this morning, and the Beethoven was indeed a disappointment. It pandered to the Hippsters and yet tried to be a "grand" performance at the same time. Only Toscanini ever managed that. Robertson is at his best when being true to himself.Comment
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Despite the flaws in last night's performance, being present at one of the greatest musical masterpieces ever written moved me to tears. Are we all so jaded by adverts and worn down by the daily grind of life that we never stop to think about what this symphony truly means?
Instead of joining in the criticism, I'd rather ask you to pause for a moment and reflect on Schiller's message and how Beethoven brought it to life. Sure, it's only tangentially related to last night's concert-- but it does explain why I'm not going to bash it, despite the numerous errors.
According to Schiller, the role of the modern artist is imaginatively to represent the possibility of a renewed harmony to heal the wounds inflicted by mankind's alienation from nature. We cannot go backward to our biological or historical beginnings, as the pastoral poet desires, "for this would place behind us the end toward which it ought to lead us". The task of the artist, therefore, is to lead us "who can no longer return to Arcadia forward to Elysium."No other piece of music has inspired such consistently fervent admiring commentary from such a broad variety of critics and eras. Notably, foremost among the recurring critical themes is its sheer emotional scope and impact that no other work has ever matched. Lawrence Gilman cited its "strange blend of fatefulness and transport, wild humor and superterrestrial beauty, mystery and exhaltation, tragical despair and shouting among the stars." To Alfred Eisenstein, it "throws a bridge over abysses of despair, distraction and fond yearnings, to the goal of mankind reconciled in brotherly love and certainty of God's fatherly goodness." W.H. Haddow felt he was "no longer listening to music but standing face to face with the living world."
Re-read the poem and see if it speaks to you...it certainly spoke to me.
SCHILLER: ODE TO JOYComment
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Perhaps some of us have lived longer than you Cavatina and have thought through Schiller's amd Beethoven's message many times when you were in rompers [or whatever baby-wear is called in the US].
Your elevated posts and thoughts do you credit but, dear lady, you are not the only person on these boards to love and understand music.I'm really glad you've had such a good Prom season and wish you well. SalComment
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Oh no, Sal, I'm not saying you haven't...it's just that it meant so much to me last night, I really wanted to say something. I knew full well what the reaction was going to be around here, and thought I'd throw in a different angle. Hope all is well-- cheers!Comment
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It might have moved me to tears at one time but I've always had problems identifying with an 18th century consciousness; the world has moved many many more complicated stages further, and we have had modernism to convey that, (listen to what Elliott Carter has to say about expressing it, if you can find a clip or have the R3 interview from 1988). Today we have had 25 years of Capitalist Realist art and those promulgating it to refract our sense of alienation, and ordinary people confronted with constant recyclings, whether in pop, hip hop or contemporary classical, are maybe reverting to fundamentalisms because they're finding few alternative places to go for confirmation of their sense of dislocation.Originally posted by salymap View Post
The last place I want to go for inspiration is back 200 years! The consequences of the Industrial Revolution are all around in polluted watercourses and in manicured crumbled Heritage glory, the aftermath in glass and tin edifices.
I hope, just hope, that Fitkin represents the start of a new spirit of enquiry and imagination to pierce one more the dank conformisms in new guise we fought to liberate ourselves from in the 1960s.Comment
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But reasonable in the circumstances. Quite why the solo quartet was tucked away toward the top of the racked orchestral risers to the left of the Arena was presumably up to the conductor - bizarre - although the Arena and the seated audience towards the right would have heard them reasonably those folk on their side wouldn't. Also they were behind the percussion on the main stage floor.
Now, I wonder who are undergoing the full body searches (Nurse the screens) tonight for a very short 66minutes of weirdly programmed music...??!!Comment
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Not sure I agree with the word "ucharacteristically" regarding Ms BrewerOriginally posted by Mr Pee View PostComment
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