Prom 21 - 29.07.13: Colin Matthews, Prokofiev & Shostakovich

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

7.00pm – c. 9.20pm
Royal Albert Hall

Colin Matthews
Turning Point (18 mins)
UK Premiere
Prokofiev
Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor (27 mins)
INTERVAL
Shostakovich
Symphony No. 11, 'The Year 1905' (55 mins)

Daniel Hope violin
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Thomas Søndergård conductor, Proms debut artist

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales reutrns to the BBC Proms with Principal Conductor Thomas Søndergård to give the UK premiere of Colin Matthews's mercurial Turning Point. First performed in 2007 by the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, it's a work the composer wrestled with over several years. The fast opening section came into being in 2003, but Matthews couldn't immediately find the way forward, and when he did a year later, the continuation was even faster, a whirling, scherzo-like episode. Once again, the composer ground to a halt, unable to continue. The 'turning point' came with a complete change of direction, music that was very slow and intense though based entirely on the same material that was heard earlier. The overall impression is, as Matthews puts it "of complex momentum countered by expressive simplicity".

British violinist Daniel Hope has toured the world as a virtuoso soloist for many years. Acclaimed by critics as adventurous and brilliant, of probing intellect and commanding style, he's also been described as "the most exciting British string player since Jacqueline du Pré" by the Observer. Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto was a landmark in his search for a new simplicity and a directness of expression. The flinty beauty of the concerto stands in sharp contrast to the granite heft of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11, 'The Year 1905' written four years after the death of Joseph Stalin and studded through with revolutionary songs.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Good to have the BBC NOW back for another interesting concert.

[jayne lee wilson]

Fascinating Colin Matthews piece, with several changes of pace and sonority (more than one turning point, perhaps...), especially impressive passage for full, static strings against metallic percussion.., as so often with this composer, a music more concerned with processes rather than goals or conclusions.
Top of my playlist later for when the owls come out.

In Prokofiev's 2nd Violin Concerto, Daniel Hope's dazzling contribution was rather spotlighted (to put it mildly) at first, which led to a certain textural confusion with the orchestra on the webcast; settled down later to a performance of much expressive light and shade, with keep-you-listening, vivid changes of pace; but I felt the orchestra was too restrained - I would have liked more sheer orchestral presence, virtuosity & volatility.

(Dear Katie D... after Turning Point, gabbled something about platform layout, "with not only 1st and 2nd violins but also 3rds"... leaving you thinking - sorry, what, where, er...? It's almost becoming endearing.)

[amateur51]

Fascinating Colin Matthews piece, with several changes of pace and sonority (more than one turning point, perhaps...), especially impressive passage for full, static strings against metallic percussion.., as so often with this composer, a music more with processes rather than conclusions.
Top of my playlist later for when the owls come out.

In Prokofiev's 2nd Violin Concerto, Daniel Hope's dazzling contribution was rather spotlighted (to put it mildly) at first, which led to a certain textural confusion with the orchestra on the webcast; settled down later to a performance of much expressive light and shade, with keep-you-listening, vivid changes of pace; but I felt the orchestra was too restrained - I would have liked more sheer orchestral presence, virtuosity & volatility.

I completely agree jlw. The Matthews was a good first listen & I hope to catch it again on iplayer. Daniel Hope was much too far forwards in the mix but his virtuosity soon won me over and my ears coped well

[edashtav]

Fascinating Colin Matthews piece, with several changes of pace and sonority (more than one turning point, perhaps...), especially impressive passage for full, static strings against metallic percussion.., as so often with this composer, a music more concerned with processes rather than goals or conclusions.
Top of my playlist later for when the owls come out.

In Prokofiev's 2nd Violin Concerto, Daniel Hope's dazzling contribution was rather spotlighted (to put it mildly) at first, which led to a certain textural confusion with the orchestra on the webcast; settled down later to a performance of much expressive light and shade, with keep-you-listening, vivid changes of pace; but I felt the orchestra was too restrained - I would have liked more sheer orchestral presence, virtuosity & volatility.

(Dear Katie D... after Turning Point, gabbled something about platform layout, "with not only 1st and 2nd violins but also 3rds"... leaving you thinking - sorry, what, where, er...? It's almost becoming endearing.)

Very Perspicacious jlw, as AM51 has implied within his endorsement. I love Prokofiev's 2nd concerto and I felt that Daniel Hope spun the singing line violin solo with shape, sweetness and elegance.

I was neither impressed with the balance nor with the orchestra's rather four-square accompaniment.

Like you, I felt the Matthews had direction, purpose and thrust. A good choice and a piece I'm determined to "hear again".

[jayne lee wilson]

DSCH 11...heavens, is everyone alright? Heart, spirit and ears need a rest after THAT....

[edashtav]

DSCH 11...heavens, is everyone alright? Heart, spirit and ears need a rest after THAT....

I can see why you wrote that, jlw: the focus, the energy, the total commitment of the orchestra in the Shostakovich was mightily impressive - just what I missed in its pastel-shaded Prokofiev. It's taken a time for DSCH's 11th to attain the position long occupied by no 10. It doesn't play itself. The BBC NOW under Thomas Søndergård played out of their skins as if lives depended on the success of their performance. A compelling, visceral success!

[Simon B]

Tension, desolation and grinding fury aplenty in the Shostakovich. Sonically sensational too - visceral work from the nearby percussion. Just the antidote needed after 16 hours of Wagner! The Shostakovich seemed almost absurdly brief and condensed by comparison.

[edashtav]

Sonically sensational too -

Yes, the sound-stage was vivid, "in yer face" you could say.

[Simon B]

Yes, the sound-stage was vivid, "in yer face" you could say.

Very much so from my (not properly attached to the floor - it wasn't me guv!) seat in stalls H not far from the perc!

[DracoM]

I can see why you wrote that, jlw: the focus, the energy, the total commitment of the orchestra in the Shostakovich was mightily impressive - just what I missed in its pastel-shaded Prokofiev. It's taken a time for DSCH's 11th to attain the position long occupied by no 10. It doesn't play itself. The BBC NOW under Thomas Søndergård played out of their skins as if lives depended on the success of their performance. A compelling, visceral success!

Absolutely endorse every syllable of that.

[Petrushka]

Very much so from my (not properly attached to the floor - it wasn't me guv!) seat in stalls H not far from the perc!

I too was in H stalls and also loved the 'in yer face' percussion. The young chap sitting next to me seemed less excited as he slept throughout.

I do wish that recordings could capture the percussion like this.

Pity about those blasted coughs though.

[mercia]

[re: Shostakovich Symphony 11]

It doesn't play itself.

if I was really clever I would understand exactly what that meant

meantime .................

[edashtav]

[re: Shostakovich Symphony 11]



if I was really clever I would understand exactly what that meant

meantime .................

I'm sorry for my terminological inexactitude, mercia. In a manner of speaking, music can "play itself" these days: type the score into "Sibelius" and press PLAY. But... the result is brittle, exact, but free of love and passion. Furthermore, Shostakovich's 11th symphony looks, maybe is, quite ordinary on paper. It's the type of piece that needs an understanding of and a sympathy for, not particularly of the events of 1905, but of the life and brutal times of its composer.

Where this performance scored - very highly in my opinion - was in the profound depth of understanding of the world and its horrors. That world wasn't sketched, it was drawn in indelible ink and parts seemed steeped in blood. String notes blazed for their full length. I found the intensity relentless and... exhausting. I felt as if I was living during Stalin's rule of terror. Sometimes, performances of the 11th have resembled a walk through a dark wood. Dark, gloomy and discomforting, but not unendurable agony. Last night, my soul was seared.

[mercia]

Thanks.