Prom 69 - 3.09.13: Beethoven & Bruckner

[arthroceph]

Just to note that I IS LISTENING live-y-o on Spanish Radio. Not that I'm a poet or anything ....
I'm not a fan of any of the works, but it's cool to be live, no doubt about that.
Petrenko and Liverpool*, I suppose they're playing pretty tight. What's the big deal though, were they really loose before? Onwards with the listen!

EDIT: *when they _do_ play, of course, right now It's the Oslo of course. Don't think I was caught out, Me: never knowingly caught out.

[Alison]

Let's hope 'Tavie turned on. Not many more Proms left for him to review now.

So Vasily says there are religious influences in the Fourth and delivers a fleet of foot account while Roddy says ecclesiastical means slow.

These generalisations about Bruckner performance never get us too far. Wasn't Jochum head of the school of Brucknerian spirituality ? And how fast did he go ?

[jayne lee wilson]

I think we were just told in the interval talk that Norrington performs a very different edition, so direct time-comparisons could be misleading.

Norrington SWR Stuttgart CD is the 1874 original edition, for me (and many others) the least satisfactory edition of any Bruckner symphony...VERY different from the familiar 1878/80 versions.
But a Fantastic concert tonight! And...human and other animals to look after... back soon.

[Petrushka]

I couldn't have been more wrong about Petrenko's Bruckner 4 (see above). This was mightily impressive, no doubt about it. No sign of any young man's impatience here, no irritating gear changes as per Salonen. It was as good a Bruckner 4 as any I've heard and I've heard a good few both live and recorded over the past 40 years. The principal horn deserved his ovation at the end while the woodwind playing was a constant delight. My only gripe was that I could have done with more emphatic timps.

As the old guard of Bruckner interpreters gradually pass away I must admit to trepidation over the future of Bruckner conducting but a performance like tonight's gives one cause for hope.

[Alison]

A fresh reading of no little perception. Not easily slotted into any interpretive pigeon hole. I rather hope VP takes his time and doesn't rush to perform the later greater works.

[Petrushka]

I rather hope VP takes his time and doesn't rush to perform the later greater works.

This thought struck me as well. However, I think that Petrenko's reading tonight of the 4th displayed a maturity beyond his years. I was afraid, as I put above, of 'a young man's impatience' but there was little or no sign of that and I thought it a most skilfully controlled reading.

[edashtav]

{...}
As the old guard of Bruckner interpreters gradually pass away I must admit to trepidation over the future of Bruckner conducting but a performance like tonight's gives one cause for hope.

Hear, hear, Petruskha.

Sadly , I must defer discussing tonight's Bruckner - I heard the Beethoven and the delightful but off-putting interval talk ( it seemed to recommend a version NOT being performed tonight - rather perverse!) and then, dinner was served. I returned for most of the finale... more of that later, once I've completed the course on iPlayer.

Firstly, to a few thoughts on Christian Ihle Hadland. I really enjoyed his confident, cheeky, playing in Beethoven's earliest piano concerto. Beethoven was a young man when he wrote the piece and Christian caught its irreverent tone of youthful iconoclasm. He didn't treat it as Mozart's 28th but as something fresh, vibrant and urgent. The orchestra and Petrenko joined in. They had fun and so did I!

The Byrd encore was played, also, as if new and freshly minted by Bird Ades.

This pianist has guts - I like him!

[Dave2002]

The Byrd encore was played, also, as if new and freshly minted by Bird Ades.

This pianist has guts - I like him!

Ah - you've identified the encore. What was it?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

So Vasily says there are religious influences in the Fourth and delivers a fleet of foot account while Roddy says ecclesiastical means slow.

"Roddy"?

These generalisations about Bruckner performance never get us too far. Wasn't Jochum head of the school of Brucknerian spirituality ? And how fast did he go ?

Hamburg PO (1939): 64mins (16'57"; 17'18"; 9'34"; 19'25")
Bavarian RSO (1950s): 65'30" (17'39"; 16'50"; 10'30"; 20'30")
BPO (1960s): 64'24" (17'35"; 16'40"; 10'02"; 20'04")
Dresden (1970s): 65mins (17'53"; 16'44"; 10'05"; 20'20")

[jean]

The Byrd encore...

The announcer said Couperin...but I don't think so!!!

[LeMartinPecheur]

Norrington SWR Stuttgart CD is the 1874 original edition, for me (and many others) the least satisfactory edition of any Bruckner symphony...VERY different from the familiar 1878/80 versions.
But a Fantastic concert tonight! And...human and other animals to look after... back soon.

Jayne: I have a slight acquaintance with Tintner's 1878 'Volksfest' finale, the filler for his version of '00'. Can't say it did anything for me on one or two listens. Is that the major change in this version?

Must confess that I have little enough time for proper listening to a good edition of each Bruckner symphony so am not rushing to hear the, um, less good/ 'least satisfactory' ones!

[edashtav]

The announcer said Couperin...but I don't think so!!!

He later corrected himself to say it was "Byrd" - but I didn't think,so Jean!

[jean]

I missed that - but it did sound like Byrd.

[edashtav]

I missed that - but it did sound like Byrd.

That must be right, Jean, but I thought it was played in a modern style. Couperin had no part in the piece, for sure.

[jean]

It was played as though it had been written for the piano.