Prom 45 (15.8.12): São Paulo Symphony Orchestra

[EdgeleyRob]

A super performance I thought but as mentioned by others it would be nice to hear 1 to 5 once in a while.

[Serial_Apologist]

I still sometimes think of the G major as no 4 instead of no 8 and D minor as 2 instead of now 7. It was a rocky time for a music librarian when they changed over and we referred to thm by keys mostly.

I have a 40 box set of good Dvorak recordings and love most of them. My best ever was no 8 in Gmajor with Vaclav Talich and the Czech Phil on 78s when I was a teenager

Yes, who invented keys? I can never find mine whenever I go out.

My dad never thought much of the "New World Symphony" - The most he felt he could listen to it was once a year! When asked why, he said, "All it is is a string of nice tunes - Dvorak never does anything with them!"

[Pabmusic]

A Dvorak symphony cycle might be an idea. They divide naturally into the three well known ones, three less well know ones (4, 5 & 6), and three almost unknown ones (1, 2 & 3), so the programming can be quite varied.

[teamsaint]

Looking forward to this on the telly, despite the mixed reaction.
and as far as I am concerned CFM CANNOT have the 9th all to themselves. Popular it may be,but its just out of the very top drawer, and i for one am not tired of it !!
It does need careful programming , though, given its regular exposure.

[Alison]

Speaking for myself Dvorak 9 doesn't come my way that often and , while no proms statistician,

the symphony isn' t an aboslute regular in the manner of Mahler 1 or Rite of Spring.

How pleasing to come across it again especially in the context of such a non-South Bank Centre/Barbican

programme.

[salymap]

And it's selfish of us to even think of leaving itto the guastly CFM. Judging by the tentative applause between movements there were people hearing it for the first time.

A conductor said to me once tnat it was up to the listener to'ration' works if they seemed hackneyed. There is always a proportion of new listeners, not necessarily young either.

[Kuhlau]

I really enjoyed this Prom - the "New World" was wondefully performed, the largo exceptionally moving (to me, at least). I had no real issue with the tentative applause between movements...the woman sauntering through the stalls in audible high heels after the first movement however.... Marin Alsop, to her credit, saw the funny side.

I would love to know what the second encore was. I was fortunate to be positioned in sight of the music on the stands...it was headed with one word, starting with "B" - I think Battique, or something similar...wish I'd taken more notice, as it was a very interesting piece!

[Nick Armstrong]

CFM CANNOT have the 9th all to themselves. Popular it may be,but its just out of the very top drawer, and i for one am not tired of it !!

[teamsaint]

Had a nice day at the beach, and then watched the Sao Paolo SO concert on the telly.
With my TV sound it was hard to tell too much about the quality, but it made for a fun 2 hours TV at least.

[Lateralthinking1]

I really enjoyed this Prom - the "New World" was wondefully performed, the largo exceptionally moving (to me, at least). I had no real issue with the tentative applause between movements...the woman sauntering through the stalls in audible high heels after the first movement however.... Marin Alsop, to her credit, saw the funny side.

I would love to know what the second encore was. I was fortunate to be positioned in sight of the music on the stands...it was headed with one word, starting with "B" - I think Battique, or something similar...wish I'd taken more notice, as it was a very interesting piece!

I think it might have been Batuque by Oscar Lorenzo Fernandez?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SFoIcKvYQU

I caught the end of this concert again on TV tonight and wished I had tuned in earlier. Loved the South American music. Marin Alsop didn't leap into the air quite as far as I expected but I thought that she brought something special to the occasion. And the fact that we are heading towards several years of wall-to-wall Brazilian culture is something that I very much welcome.

[RobertLeDiable]

It's not a bad orchestra. The strings are quite good and the brass OK, Some of the wind playing wouldn't pass muster in a British orchestra, but they probably need a few more years to raise the general standard by bringing in some new players. I thought Marin Alsop's New World was workaday and largely uninspiring. She's certainly energetic, but there was zero magic in the slow movement, which she never allowed to breathe, and a lot of the edge was lost in the fast movements by tempi that were just a bit too fast at times.

[Extra Vaganza]

It's not a bad orchestra. The strings are quite good and the brass OK, Some of the wind playing wouldn't pass muster in a British orchestra, but they probably need a few more years to raise the general standard by bringing in some new players. I thought Marin Alsop's New World was workaday and largely uninspiring. She's certainly energetic, but there was zero magic in the slow movement, which she never allowed to breathe, and a lot of the edge was lost in the fast movements by tempi that were just a bit too fast at times.

So out of tune in places that at one point, my better half actually let out a howl of dismay. I too, quite agree with the comment that everything was rushed in the Dvorak.

Highlight for me was the playing of the Cor Anglais in the slow movement. Very musical - even 'though his tone was more akin to a soprano saxophone than a cor anglais.

This was my second hearing of the Dvorak and first viewing of the whole concert.
As far as the second half is concerned, I would say Dudamel and his Simon Bolivar orchestra have nothing to fear.

Sorry, Robert, but it is a bad orchestra. The worst that I have ever heard in years of Proms seasons. They need a lot more than "a few more years" - and this is supposedly Brazil's largest and finest band.

EV

If Ms Alsopp continues to jump around and gyrate in that fashion, she will soon need to have a good osteopath on hand.

[french frank]

So out of tune in places that at one point, my better half actually let out a howl of dismay.

Were you at the Prom or listening at home?

[DracoM]

I fear I have to endorse the criticisms of this orchestra. Tuning and ensemble were very poor indeed in places, and at some points downright embarrassing. How did they get included?

[amateur51]

Were you at the Prom or listening at home?

Naughty!