Re Shostakovitch 11, it must be the longest quiet beginning to a symphony followed by some of the loudest passages ever written. I thought the tv coverage excellent with first rate sound. For sheer physical impact it takes some beating but its nature and scale and orchestral requirements - 4 harps, whopping great percussion section, treble this and that means relatively rare performances. The conductor is mighty impressive, there was a memorable Brahms first from him a couple of years ago that some of us thought signalled great potential and it seems that it is being realised with this magnificent orchestra.
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I watched the TV broadcast this evening and felt slightly the opposite in terms of impact - blunted somewhat relative to the live performance, with the occasional technical slips much more noticeable (always the case anything other than live I think). This, I suppose, is a good thing, as it merely reconfirms that it's often worth the effort and considerable expense of attending!
In terms of orchestral resources is DSCH 11 that extreme, as written? There are only 2 harp parts, the doubling is discretionary and I don't recall ever seeing it done before. It's standard full symphony orchestra otherwise with triple woodwind with 3rds doubling on piccolo, bass clarinet, contrabassoon etc. The brass is written as just the standard 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones and tuba. The percussion could be covered by less than the timps +7 used on Monday, and doesn't "officially" include any unusual instruments.
However, the BBCNOW were doing things "properly" for the Proms. Quite rightly so with 5000 paying punters, a TV relay and a profile about as high as it gets. So, there were several bumpers in the brass and the usually ignored harp doubling was in. Doubling with a second bass drum in the massacre section was also a "discretionary" and very effective thing. The impact of the closing bars is so much greater when the recent performance practice of using church bells is followed (and it sounds terribly feeble to me now when it isn't) but as well as the bells themselves this requires hiring at least one extra player for practicality.
Edit: Whoops, I forgot the celeste, but then you can take that more-or-less as a given with Shostakovich!
It seems to be getting a lot more performances in recent years, principally it seems to me, since the fashionable idea than it isn't any good has become... unfashionable. In terms of scoring, it's chamber music compared with the 7th
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Last edited by Simon B; 04-08-13, 22:35.Comment
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Mrs. PG and I watched last night and loved the Shostakovich. I don't think I've ever seen 4 harps on a concert platform before although it didn't really transmit through our tv. I would love to have heard it live. As Simon B says, it was great to hear BBCNOW being taken seriously instead of being treated as the poor relation.
I was less happy with the Prokofiev concerto which really sounded very uncomfortable. The soloist and conductor didn't seem, to me, to be in the same part of the bar at any given time. I wondered if it was the mikes being slightly out of synch.Comment
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Nice to see prominence given to Caliban's Ironmongery store ranged along the back. And the "Bang Gang" (AKA "The Roll and Batter Department") gave us full value in the Symphony. Nuts and Bolts indeed!Originally posted by Petrushka View Post
Four Harps! I thought I was watching the National Youth Orchestra playing Shosta Nº 10, but we never saw or heard the players.
Shame!
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