Prom 6 (18.7.12): Lam, Rachmaninov & Prokofiev

[EnemyoftheStoat]

How I agree about the end of 7! That dying fall is perfect without the ridiculous race for the exits at the end.

Completely agree.

This chimes with my view of the end of 6, which should IMHO be played as Oramo did it, not as a mad scramble for the exits; it's not the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra.

[amateur51]

Completely agree.

This chimes with my view of the end of 6, which should IMHO be played as Oramo did it, not as a mad scramble for the exits; it's not the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra.

This Prom was my first exposure to the 6th and I found the ending to be very shocking

[prokkyshosty]

I can't entirely hate the jaunty ending of the 7th, though I agree the softer one is preferable. Were I a conductor, I think I might play the jaunty ending if I was going into intermission, and the quiet one at the end of the evening.

Conductors that savour the ending of the 6th -- that's the way to go. Oramo did it very well I thought, and the fascinating tympani pattern came out very strongly on the iPlayer. Gergiev and the LSO toured the 6th last year and took the ending to dramatic extremes, especially with the pauses that come just before the coda.

[pilamenon]

Thanks, but I'm going to go on preferring and enjoying the jaunty ending, even if it wasn't his original conception of the work. It chimes nicely with the idea of it as a symphony for children, and feels authentically Prokofiev to me, and a cheeky note to go out on.

I haven't really got into the 6th - perhaps because Nos 5 and 7 were works I knew before ever hearing it. Possibly for that reason, it feels like a remake of No 5 without the memorable tunes. Again didn't do much for me on Wednesday, but will have to try harder!