Prom 5 - 15.07.13: Bamberg Symphony Orchestra

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

7.30pm – c. 9.55pm
Royal Albert Hall

Helmut Lachenmann
Tanzsuite mit Deutschlandlied (c36 mins)
UK Premiere
INTERVAL
Mahler
Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor (73 mins)

Arditti Quartet
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
Jonathan Nott conductor

Written over the summers of 1901 and 1902, Mahler's Fifth remains one of the best-loved symphonies in the repertory, its famous Adagietto a love-letter to his wife, Alma. Before it, the brilliantly virtuosic Arditti Quartet joins the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra for Helmut Lachenmann's Tanzsuite mit Deutschlandlied, an abrasive, unsettling example of the composer's 'musique concrète instrumentale', whose metallic timbres and subtle textures promise to transfix and enthrall.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Although Mahler 5 will always be a favourite, the Lachenmann promises to be equally enticing.

[Petrushka]

I will be present at this Prom and it will, moreover, be my introduction to Lachenmann's music. Can anyone better versed in it than I am kindly provide a handle for me to latch on to this particular piece?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I will be present at this Prom and it will, moreover, be my introduction to Lachenmann's music. Can anyone better versed in it than I am kindly provide a handle for me to latch on to this particular piece?

I'm a great enthusiast for Lachenmann's Music, but I don't actually know this work that well Here's the composer himself talking about his general view of Art and aesthetics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pod0ro-oKQo

... and this is the complete work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebsF16Ywwsk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w189lssV5rU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufgsqTik-F8 (you might like to start with this section before playing through the whole work)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2s4mc3j4Ko

[Barbirollians]

I think Nott is a first rate Mahler conductor and I am greatly looking forward to this .

[pastoralguy]

[QUOTE=Eine Alpensinfonie; the brilliantly virtuosic Arditti Quartet .[/QUOTE]

I heard them at the Edinburgh Festival a couple of years ago playing the Debussy Quartet and their intonation was appalling. The performance was busking at the highest level.

Very disappointing - I hope they are better on this occasion.

[edashtav]

Thanks for those pointers. I shall be at the RAH, attracted both by the Lachenmann and Nott's conducting - the last time that I heard him with his Bamberg outfit at the Proms, the quality of their music-making was superb

[amateur51]

Thanks for those pointers. I shall be at the RAH, attracted both by the Lachenmann and Nott's conducting - the last time that I heard him with his Bamberg outfit at the Proms, the quality of their music-making was superb

Very good to see you again, edashtav - welcome back!

[jayne lee wilson]

Thanks for those pointers. I shall be at the RAH, attracted both by the Lachenmann and Nott's conducting - the last time that I heard him with his Bamberg outfit at the Proms, the quality of their music-making was superb

Hey ED! Welcome indeed - I look forward to your eloquent and incisive reviews!

[amcluesent]

Tanzsuite mit Deutschlandlied - I genuinely though the hi-fi had gone on the blink.

[Thropplenoggin]

I was genuinely moved by the Lachenmann - from my chair to the radio to turn it off.

Nott's Mahler was superb until the fourth movement, where the sound engineers did him or the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra no favours by miking the harp too closely, completely throwing the balance out of the adagietto. What a shame.

Still, I've been raving about Nott's Mahler for a while now with this orchestra - no surprises about what an exhilarating combination this conductor/orchestra make in these works. I expect their CDs will receive a sales boost on the back of this performance.

First Prom I regret not buying tickets for.

[antongould]

I was genuinely moved by the Lachenmann - from my chair to the radio to turn it off.

.

Stayed for the whole scary 36 minutes Thropps.........wish I hadn't!

[Thropplenoggin]

Stayed for the whole scary 36 minutes Thropps.........wish I hadn't!

Such Karma has to count for something. A Valkyrie-free Breakfast, perhaps?

[antongould]

Such Karma has to count for something. A Valkyrie-free Breakfast, perhaps?

Unlikely but in SMP we trust

[seabright]

Tanzsuite mit Deutschlandlied - I genuinely though the hi-fi had gone on the blink.

It wasn't the word "blink" that came to mind but "plink," as in "Plink, Plank, Plunk," though there at least Leroy Anderson did at least provide us with a decent tune :)