Prom 6 (18.7.12): Lam, Rachmaninov & Prokofiev

[Alison]

The orchestra performed it quite recently with Jiri.

This augurs well for the new partnership announced a few month ago.

Yes, much better engineering this season so far. A firmness and presence to the sound
while still conveying the unique RAH acoustics.

[Petrushka]

Yes, much better engineering this season so far. A firmness and presence to the sound
while still conveying the unique RAH acoustics.

Listening via Freeview this evening as a deferred relay via my DVD recorder I have to agree on the quality of sound both last night and tonight. Full marks to the engineers and a vast improvement on last year.

[EdgeleyRob]

Well! Wasn't that terrific?!

A TRULY GREAT Prokofiev 6th, played with polish, precision and huge power, quite the best live performance I've heard, and easily on a par with the best on disc - Kitajenko or Rozhdestvensky. The crushing ending drew a few tears from me... how well the performers traced those complex, fluid, episodic structures of the first two movements, yet at times with a strikingly chamber-musical delicacy; then the speed and buoyant attack of the deceptively simple finale, ending in a tragedy as starkly defined as I've ever heard. My hands are shaking a little as I type...

I enjoyed the Fung Lam very much too - perhaps it should have been called "Endless Melody" as it traced a glowingly beautiful, flowing curve across its short span, through a very wide dynamic range.

Excellent engineering tonight via HDs.
Have Oramo and the BBCSO done the Prokofiev 6th before? There was a gleam and discipline to the sound in these two pieces that surprised me. Is there really a possibility that Oramo may take the helm?

What a great review, Jayne, of a brilliant Prokofiev 6.
Endless forms was not for me I'm afraid,glad it did end.
Rachmaninov 2 sounded ok to me, but I am no music critic.

[antongould]

Very much enjoyed the Prokofiev - a work I didn't know - but like ER I am not a music critic and Rumpole has, I think said, that Mr. Prokofiev cannot write symphonies...............

[Barbirollians]

Looks like I missed the right half of this concert . I agree that is was a very fine performance of the Prokofiev - Oramo is a major catch for the BBC symphony - their best principal conductor in a very long time - since Kempe I should say.

[amac4165]

Looks like I missed the right half of this concert . I agree that is was a very fine performance of the Prokofiev - Oramo is a major catch for the BBC symphony - their best principal conductor in a very long time - since Kempe I should say.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Prokofiev - conducted without score btw. I think he promises much - and he will inherit a much improved and invigorated orchestra.

Some one was working on the piano(s) right up until about 10 mins to go - at one point the whole keyboard was out of the soloist piano so possible there were technical issues.

I thought the Rachmaninov was a decent enough - not a piece I particularly care for - can't help think of Dame Ceila Molestrangler and Binkie Huckaback while it is playing

amac

[amateur51]

Just back from the concert, heard from Circle Row 5 seat 117

The Hall looked pretty packed to me and it was very warm in there.

The Lam was really rather a surprise, full of incident and delight, not really very memorable except for certain textures. I'd be very happy to hear it again to get a better impression. Mr Lam was there to take a bow.

I found the Rachmaninov to be well out of the routine performance I was expecting. Gerstein played for quite a significant period turned on his seat, watching & listening to the trombones and to the woodwind. He also watched Oramo a lot and there was quite a lot of checking each other out. I must say that the sound seemed to me to be brass heavy initially but Oramo made a good job later of balancing and of bringing out passages that I don't usually hear. Gerstein's performance was certainly not an indulgent one but I enjoyed it. At the end of the performance pianist & conductor treated each other to an extended bear hug and Oramo singled out the different sections for applause, urged on by Gerstein.

Gerstein came back on to give us some variations on Gershwin's 'I Got Rhythm' but by whom I don't know - the audience was delighted.

I confess that I've not heard Prokofiev Symphony no 6 before and after this I certainly want to hear it again, several times. Oramo conducted without a score and really got stuck into the piece. There was so much about the piece that was interesting and exciting and I was bowled over by it. Woodwind , brass and percussion, particularly timps, got huge and deserved applause. What a discovery for me!

That is likely to be my only Prom this season - friends gave me the tickets when they were made a better offer - and it was certainly a memorable one If Oramo and the BBCSO strike sparks off each other like this in future concerts then we're in for a treat.

[antongould]

Cracking review Ams thank you very much.

[EdgeleyRob]

Cracking review Ams thank you very much.

Ditto,we are blessed on this forum with so many quality reviewers.

[bluestateprommer]

Gerstein came back on to give us some variations on Gershwin's 'I Got Rhythm' but by whom I don't know - the audience was delighted.

Per Petroc's comments, this was Earl Wild's reworking of "I Got Rhythm", which I vaguely recognized from past radio broadcasts. Not the greatest Rach 2 I've ever heard, but it was good enough and Rach 2 always works, barring out-and-out train wrecks. Nice of PT to mention that Gerstein will be traveling to this side of the pond for the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, for these programs, one solo recital and 3 others where he's one of many artists:

http://www.sfcmf.org/concert/solo-piano-recital-2

http://www.sfcmf.org/concert/barber-...ussen-bartok-2 (in Albuquerque, not Santa Fe)

http://www.sfcmf.org/concert/barber-...sen-bartok-2-2 (same as above, but in Santa Fe)

http://www.sfcmf.org/concert/peter-lieberson-oliver-knussen-magnus-lindberg-2

Getting back to Prom 6, I generally agree with amateur51 about the Fung Lam work, pleasant modern music for folks who don't like "modern music". PT didn't mention that Fung Lam took a bow, so I'm glad to read the report that he was in the hall to take some applause. Very fine Prokofiev 6 also from SO and the BBC SO. Kind of amusing that the on-line version had Oramo's bio and information printed, which makes me wonder how long the Proms management knew that JB was out for this one. However, I think that JB really wanted to do this program, since the article in the most recent BBC Music Magazine mentioned that he worked on these programs with RW. As noted earlier in the thread, JB conducted Prokofiev 6 before, so it makes sense that he'd want to have another go at it.

[cloughie]

Getting back to Prom 6, I generally agree with amateur51 about the Fung Lam work, pleasant modern music for folks who don't like "modern music".

The second bit of Modern Music on Prom debut I've enjoyed - are we going back to tunes in the 21st Century? - Good move!

Just listening to Prokofiev 6 - I hear the 'happy clappers' are back at the end of Movt1!

[Nick Armstrong]

Very much enjoyed the Prokofiev - a work I didn't know - but like ER I am not a music critic and Rumpole has, I think said, that Mr. Prokofiev cannot write symphonies...............

I'm sure I didn't use those words! But I may well have said that I just don't get Prokofiev's symphonies... It's odd, it's as if every phrase, every sequence, is in a foreign language which I don't understand at all - in total contradistinction to Shostakovich, each of whose phrases means something to me. It's not through want of trying either - being susceptible to 20th C Russian music, and a brass player, I've really tried

Glad you and others enjoyed last night though And Ammy! What prompted you to go to this one? Most illuminating review anyway, thanks!

[Bax-of-Delights]

Also attended last night - the first this season - primarily on the request of Mrs B-o-D who loves the Rachmaninov (as do I to be honest).

Circle Row 4 seat 38/39 and a trifle warm up there I have to say. Also stuck bang in the middle of a row where those on the ends were reluctant and very slow to move at the interval and at the end with the result we were more or less the last out of the Hall which can play havoc with the homeward journey (more of which later).

The Lam was a more rewarding piece than I expected and certainly the lady on my right (as opposed to my wife on my left) said she enjoyed it ("I thought it would be one of those pieces you had to grit your teeth and endure").

Gerstein gave a fairly direct performance but none the less enjoyable. The previous occasion we heard this piece in 2008 with Hough was spoilt, we felt, by an over-eagerness to "flash" in the fast sections which led to some stumbling.

The Prokofiev was the surprise of the evening. Like Caliban I've never really got to grips with Prokofiev. Perhaps there's a lack of lyricism - especially in the symphonies - in his music that fails to touch the other parts that DSCH and his other Russian compatriot, Miaskovsky, do. Somehow his work has never really featured in my LP or CD collections over the years but hearing the 6th has perhaps changed my view - a little. The sudden switch from the jaunty tune in the finale to the electrifying tragedy of the ending is a masterstroke and has lead me to re-evaluate his work. Never too late eh?

****

Being virtually last out of the hall we were faced with the problem of returning in good order here to Sussex. The queue for the 52 bus to Victoria was horrendous and since I never use the underground (large numbers of people in a confined space under tons of London clay just about frazzles the mind) we made the choice of heading for West Brompton. Quick trot down to South Ken, 430 bus along to West Brompton and the Overground round to Clapham Junction where we hitched up with the train out of Victoria. Out of the Hall at 9.20 and tucked up in bed by 11.00 in deepest Sussex has to be a record. A route certainly worth investigating if you are travelling in from the South Coast and want to avoid central London during the Olympics (although I note that West Brompton is designated as an "Olympic venue destination" so perhaps there's something going on at Earl's Court 2.

[amateur51]

I'm sure I didn't use those words! But I may well have said that I just don't get Prokofiev's symphonies... It's odd, it's as if every phrase, every sequence, is in a foreign language which I don't understand at all - in total contradistinction to Shostakovich, each of whose phrases means something to me. It's not through want of trying either - being susceptible to 20th C Russian music, and a brass player, I've really tried

Glad you and others enjoyed last night though And Ammy! What prompted you to go to this one? Most illuminating review anyway, thanks!

I think I know what you mean about the 'foreign language' aspect of Prokofiev's music but it's almost that aspect that draws me in, Caliban. I want to get to understand & listening to a mix of 'live' and CD performances I gradually assimilate what's going on & it becomes a part of me

i didn't choose this Prom, it chose me! Friends had booked tickets but were later invited down to friends for a break and so they gave me their tickets. Who's a lucky boy then?

[amateur51]

Also attended last night - the first this season - primarily on the request of Mrs B-o-D who loves the Rachmaninov (as do I to be honest).

Circle Row 4 seat 38/39 and a trifle warm up there I have to say. Also stuck bang in the middle of a row where those on the ends were reluctant and very slow to move at the interval and at the end with the result we were more or less the last out of the Hall which can play havoc with the homeward journey (more of which later).

The Lam was a more rewarding piece than I expected and certainly the lady on my right (as opposed to my wife on my left) said she enjoyed it ("I thought it would be one of those pieces you had to grit your teeth and endure").

Gerstein gave a fairly direct performance but none the less enjoyable. The previous occasion we heard this piece in 2008 with Hough was spoilt, we felt, by an over-eagerness to "flash" in the fast sections which led to some stumbling.

The Prokofiev was the surprise of the evening. Like Caliban I've never really got to grips with Prokofiev. Perhaps there's a lack of lyricism - especially in the symphonies - in his music that fails to touch the other parts that DSCH and his other Russian compatriot, Miaskovsky, do. Somehow his work has never really featured in my LP or CD collections over the years but hearing the 6th has perhaps changed my view - a little. The sudden switch from the jaunty tune in the finale to the electrifying tragedy of the ending is a masterstroke and has lead me to re-evaluate his work. Never too late eh?

****

Being virtually last out of the hall we were faced with the problem of returning in good order here to Sussex. The queue for the 52 bus to Victoria was horrendous and since I never use the underground (large numbers of people in a confined space under tons of London clay just about frazzles the mind) we made the choice of heading for West Brompton. Quick trot down to South Ken, 430 bus along to West Brompton and the Overground round to Clapham Junction where we hitched up with the train out of Victoria. Out of the Hall at 9.20 and tucked up in bed by 11.00 in deepest Sussex has to be a record. A route certainly worth investigating if you are travelling in from the South Coast and want to avoid central London during the Olympics (although I note that West Brompton is designated as an "Olympic venue destination" so perhaps there's something going on at Earl's Court 2.

Thanks for your review BoD and for your travel route home - inspired I'd say. What a wonderful way to end the evening