Prom 71 (4.9.12): St Louis Symphony Orchestra

[ardcarp]

did anyone take up KD's suggestion of watching the Schoenberg/Gershwin film ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cn1L_cgHPY

Yes. Interesting that the first part was a film (taken by a camera man) of Gershwin filming Schonberg, and the second part a painting (done by a painter) of Gershwin painting Schonberg. But (in part two) Schonberg's tribute to Gershwin was generous and not a little touching. It had never occurred to me that Gershwin died before AS.

[amateur51]

Yes. Interesting that the first part was a film (taken by a camera man) of Gershwin filming Schonberg, and the second part a painting (done by a painter) of Gershwin painting Schonberg. But (in part two) Schonberg's tribute to Gershwin was generous and not a little touching. It had never occurred to me that Gershwin died before AS.

Exactly ardcarp, nor that each man appreciated the other's music and friendship - Gershwin paid for the recording of the Schoenberg string quartet no 4 played on this clip, apparently

[ahinton]

At least of the stature of Toscanini?

That's what the man said - and, believe me, he was a most fulsome admirer of Toscanini!

[Pabmusic]

That's what the man said - and, believe me, he was a most fulsome admirer of Toscanini!

I wish there were an emoticon for...totally perplexed..or stupefied! [How did you know Sorabji, by the way?]

[ahinton]

I wish there were an emoticon for...totally perplexed..or stupefied! [How did you know Sorabji, by the way?]

We were friends for many years from the early 1970s.

[amac4165]

Not really. The approach to the boxes is not privately owned, so drinks can be banned in that area.

My point was that what goes on in the hall is in large down to the leaseholders as the recent "charity issue" highlighted

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Oh, I see -

I think

[Simon B]

Yes, my reaction to this idea (i.e. telling some box-owners that their enjoyment of nosebag and champers will henceforth be interrupted by the music) was basically "Good luck with that one...".

I suspect that the relative intransigence of the RAH on ticket exchanges/returns/whatever is at least partly attributable to the debenture holders who don't want the hoi-polloi competing with their ability to sell the tickets for events they don't wish to attend.

Some of the press stories about what's allegedly been going on in some cases there make for interesting reading.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Gershwin paid for the recording of the Schoenberg string quartet no 4 played on this clip, apparently

"Apparently": the only reference to this I can find is this youTube video text! The exhaustive (?) notes issued with the CD reissue of the recording gives full credit to Alfred Newman as the main motivator with support ( = money!) from Sam Goldwyn (in whose film studios all four Quartets were recorded). The work itself was commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge - I don't think Gershwin was financially involved at all, except, perhaps, as one of the people who bought their copies of the discs on subscription when they were first issued.

Nevertheless, the friendship of the two great composers is touching - as is Arnie's tribute (his voice here much clearer than it was in the '50s when he spoke to Halsey Stevens about his work as a painter 15 years later: his asthma there is very noticeable - and the touching humour where his English "stumbles" ["I don't know the English for autodidakt"!) And such a joy to see Arnie enjoying himself! (And the way Gertrud teases him about his baldness!) Lovely, lovely clip!


(The Kolisch recordings are/were available on ARCHIPHON, ARC-103/4. The sound doesn't get much better than in this clip, but the performances have so much insight and intensity. AND the first three Quartets were performed FROM MEMORY!

The interview with Stevens is on NAXOS 8.557520 with a magnificent Book of the Hanging Gardens and String Quartet Concerto.

Or here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD4UclGexk4

[Estelle]

Referring to the thread about audience noises which includes Message 20 from Petrushka:

I listened to the violin concerto. In my opinion that loud noise in the hall during the slow movement could not have come from ice cubes being rattled in a bucket. It sounded more like billiard balls or bowling pins being knocked around. It was horrible!

Also, regarding coughing and sneezing, whatever happened to keeping a tissue or handkerchief at the ready in one's hand during a concert and covering one's mouth with it when the moment comes?

Finally, most of those coughs between movements must be made on purpose because true coughs are involuntary and cannot be saved for movement intervals! So why cough then?

[Serial_Apologist]

did anyone take up KD's suggestion of watching the Schoenberg/Gershwin film ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cn1L_cgHPY

Huge thanks for posting this link, mercia, from a total Schoenberg nut.

[Petrushka]

Back to the St Louis SO who haven't been mentioned for a while. One wonders why the Proms management, to paraphase Sir Thomas Beecham in a slightly different context, hired a third-rate foreign orchestra when we have plenty of second rate ones of our own.

In all seriousness, any of the BBC house orchestras (not necessarily second-rate bands either!) could have turned in a performance that would have knocked spots off what we were offered last night. Poorest orchestral Prom of the season.

[rodney_h_d]

Thanks Rodney. Are you saying it did indeed have bells and whistles added to the piano concerto transcription? By Tetzlaff??

I have the standard Schneiderhahn/ Jochum recording with S's version of the piano cadenza, which IIRC is much more retrained. But I see online that S wasn't the only one to transcribe it. Or did tonight's soloist perhaps emphasize the oddities more?

I too have the Schneiderhan recording with 'that' cadenza which I'm afraid spoils it for me. I believe another Schneiderhan recording has been available with a different 1st movement cadenza, but I haven't heard it. He was a fine violinist and of course his wife was none less than the distinguished soprano Irmgard Seefried.

I'm sure you are right in that Tetzlaff played his own version based on the piano cadenza.

[bluestateprommer]

The coughing start of the slow mvt was bad though - worst I have heard in a long time.

Otherwise a good concert and the orchestra seemed a good solid one - disappointed by the American in Paris - he/she did not appear to being having much fun on his holiday!

I finally got to hear this concert via NPR's Performance Today, and given the comments, was half-expecting a train wreck. It proved to be nothing of the sort. Once past KD's rather hyperbolic presence (which I suspect may account for some of the hostility), amac's characterization as "good solid" strikes me as more accurate. True, not everything was 100% perfect, with a minor near-scramble towards the end of An American in Paris and the principal trumpet missing his 1st top note at the start of the big solo. Likewise, Christian Tetzlaff's slightly quirky rendition of the LvB may have thrown some people off (not to mention that horrific coughing at the start of the slow movement, but Robertson and the musicians stayed admirably in focus, I thought.) But, and I'm not going to win friends by saying this, overall, IMHO, the Saint Louis' ensemble was actually tighter than the Vienna Phil's in the Bruckner and Strauss, overall. (True, the Saint Louis orchestra has many more women than the Vienna Phil. Make of that what you will.)

So not the greatest Prom ever, far from it, but not the disgrace that some here felt (so we obviously agree to disagree). From hearing it, the Saint Louis Symphony did just fine. Given current world finances, they may not be touring overseas any time soon, admittedly. The current state of financial dysfunction that is infecting so many US ensembles now (Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber, Indianapolis Symphony currently; Atlanta Symphony, Chicago Symphony more recently) seems to have missed them, but maybe that's because they went through their own financial disaster back in 2001 and a labor dispute in 2005, from checking past history.