Prom 20 - 1.08.14: BBC SO, Marwood / Brabbins

[Lento]

Found it a rewarding performance of Walton 1 which I like, overall. There are some things about the piece I’m not so sure about, mainly his liking for long pedals and static harmony at times, plus thick orchestration in places. I think he could have chopped a bit off the ending (too late now, alas): it makes the endings of the Enigma Variations and Dvořák’s cello concerto seem models of concision by comparison, imv.

The Sally Beamish accordion concerto, while semi-programmatic, was, for me, much more musically engaging than the violin one by Gabriel Prokofiev. An engaging performer, also, in James Crabb, by the sound of things: he managed to “sell” me some Rameau, no mean feat in my case, I have to say.

I hope Anthony Marwood is able to give a London/Proms premiere of the violin concerto in due course.

[Nick Armstrong]

WOW! Walton 1 - performance of the season so far! Blistering timpani playing, finely detailed woodwind playing and excoriating brass. Brabbins has the measure of this piece and taken as a whole it was a Prom that worked better in reality than

Listening at the moment - totally agreed Pet! And Rob - I love the timps like this.

Everything just seems ... right (in contrast to the Petrenko Elgar 2 which I sampled earlier, where everything seemed subtly but quite wrong, somehow)

[teamsaint]

Found it a rewarding performance of Walton 1 which I like, overall. There are some things about the piece I’m not so sure about, mainly his liking for long pedals and static harmony at times, plus thick orchestration in places. I think he could have chopped a bit off the ending (too late now, alas): it makes the endings of the Enigma Variations and Dvořák’s cello concerto seem models of concision by comparison, imv.

The Sally Beamish accordion concerto, while semi-programmatic, was, for me, much more musically engaging than the violin one by Gabriel Prokofiev. An engaging performer, also, in James Crabb, by the sound of things: he managed to “sell” me some Rameau, no mean feat in my case, I have to say.

I hope Anthony Marwood is able to give a London/Proms premiere of the violin concerto in due course.

Completely agree that the Beamish worked far better, for me, than the Prokofiev. Somehow seemed to create the intended effect in a far more subtle way.

i quite like accordions.

[Bryn]

A decade or so ago Radio 3 broadcast a couple of movements from Messiaen's La Nativité as transcribed for, and played on, the accordion by James Crabb. Quite wonderful they were too. Hearing them led me to seek out and purchase his recording of transcriptions of Petruchka and Pictures from an Exhibition (in duet with Gier Draugsvoll).

[antongould]

Did I hear Brabbins, when he was interviewed, suggest that the UK was where the best symphonies of the 20th century were written??

[EdgeleyRob]

Did I hear Brabbins, when he was interviewed, suggest that the UK was where the best symphonies of the 20th century were written??

I've been saying this for years!!!

[Nick Armstrong]

Lots of your chickens coming home happily to roost this evening, eh Rob?!

[EdgeleyRob]

Lots of your chickens coming home happily to roost this evening, eh Rob?!

[bluestateprommer]

From revisiting this Prom on iPlayer, it becomes all the less fortunate to note this comment by Bernard Hughes in his review at The Arts Desk:

"The only pity was that the concert was so sparsely attended."

I take it that those here who were at the RAH can confirm.

Hearing Gurney's War Elegy again, it is a bit diffuse, but well worth hearing. I don't know if I liked Sally Beamish's The Singing more on a second hearing, but I liked it as much as the first time, and I have greater appreciation for what a fine composer she is. I doubt that The Singing will make its way to the USA any time soon, but I'll have to watch out for it if it does. Plus, if nothing else, I have greater appreciation for James Crabb's artistry. Likewise that of the BBC SO and Brabbins, taking on this work at what must have been incredibly short notice and rehearsal time, but their performance did not show any lack of polish in playing the orchestral part.

Their Walton 1 was very well played indeed, although I noted some moments where Brabbins seemed to stretch out passages in the first movement particularly that seemed to dissipate the dramatic tension a bit. No such reservations in the scherzo. The major blip was the 'happy clapper' phenomenon again between each of the movements of the work, to be honest.

Did I hear Brabbins, when he was interviewed, suggest that the UK was where the best symphonies of the 20th century were written??

The exact phrase was that English composers "surpassed all others for their symphonic writing in the 20th century". Pretty strong statement which kind of ignores 3 major names: Mahler, Sibelius and Shostakovich. Of course, English composers have produced a wonderful series of symphonies in the 20th century, the best of which certainly deserve to be better known outside the UK. But "surpassed all others" might be just a touch hyperbolic. Regardless, a Prom worth catching while it's still available, even as the backlog keeps building up (at least for me).