Prom 53 - 26.08.14: 'Brahms Night', Budapest Festival Orchestra / I. Fischer

[Simon B]

. Poor queue management/understanding of rules by stewards, (along with very little info being given out), relentless requests for arena Prommers to move forward, (in rather brusque language) to move forward into uncomfortably tight spaces, too few staff in arena bars .

Sounds just like most of my experiences on busy nights as an occasional arena day dweller 10+ years ago. Being harangued for failing to "move forward" into a space that didn't exist in any meaningful sense is particularly nostalgia-inducing. It's reassuring that some things don't change!

.Sorry to whinge, but early starts and the longer and longer gap between early and late proms that the organisers seem to need, really aren't that customer focused, IMO.

I presume the Times is suggesting that originally a 6.30 start was scheduled. the early starts are really very unhelpful for most working people.

They are indeed, and were a rarity on weekdays until recently aside from performances of long operas etc. 19.00 starts were relatively common but less problematic (if still not ideal).

I'm surprised that there's been little comment on what seem to me to be various fairly obvious signs of significant cost cutting this year. My theory is that the sudden glut of 6.30 starts are one manifestation. The quick changeover between a main evening and late concert probably requires lots of staff for a short time. The RAH probably charges more, and the BBC probably has to have more staff. A smaller number of people doing the same work more slowly works out cheaper.

Something else that's not received much/any comment is the sudden drastic increase in seat prices or price-code inflation, or both. Examples include the oddities of the 2014 RPO and EUYO concerts being price code B - counterproductively suppressing attendance IMO. Meanwhile, side stalls for the likes of the BPO and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra have gone from £42 to £54 in the space of a year. Ouch.

Then there's the relative dearth of expensive events this year (the Salome and Elektra extravaganza of this weekend being about the limit of them).

Did RW blow the budget for the next 10 years in 2011-2013 in a valedictory spending spree perhaps?

[kernelbogey]

Getting back to the performance of the music...... I've just heard this concert for the first time on iPlayer, and am surprised by some of the less-than-bowled-over comments above. As it happens, these are two favourite symphonies that I have not listened to in a long time (don't ask): I frequently had the sensation in both of hearing them for the first time . The sometimes leisurely pace, commented on by others, for me allowed subtleties and details of the scoring to emerge with great freshness.

The extended chat by SMP with the principal bass and principal oboe was revealing of Fischer's way with the orchestra. One comment that stood out (albeit the speaker's English was not very fluent) was that the relationship between rehearsal and the final performance is unusual; it appears that Fischer is very creative in performance, and the bass said he needs to keep eye contact with the conductor all the time .

I found the flute solo in the passacaglia of the 4th especially moving and the slow tempo perfectly acceptable there. Indeed all the woodwind playing was exceptionally lovely.

Now I'm going to listen to the previous evening's Prom on iPlayer.

[DracoM]

And the singing?

[kernelbogey]

And the singing?

Er, me sir? I found it very moving. Can't really imagine any maestro getting the BBCSO to perform such an encore!

[bluestateprommer]

Getting back to the performance of the music...... I've just heard this concert for the first time on iPlayer, and am surprised by some of the less-than-bowled-over comments above.

Hmm, just speaking for myself, after finally getting to full listening of this Prom (after the partial attempt to listen live - nothing like trying to listen at work and being interrupted by phone calls, or generally being 3+ weeks behind in listening), I'm actually not surprised by the LTBO comments completely. I liked IF's rendering of Brahms 3 much more than Brahms 4, although one has to wonder if the back-stage fracas contributed to the mild distension of the performance of Brahms 4. I thought he stretched things out too often such that I lost the pulse of the work. This was much less of an issue with Brahms 3, where although he did stretch the pace in the first 3 movements, I didn't mind. This made for a nice contrast where he started the finale of Brahms 3 at a cracking pace. Nice trick also to have a choral encore, which was the same case at their Prom the evening before, of course. Hopefully none of this will sour IF on future dates at The Proms with the BFO, especially as the orchestra seems such a hit with the audience.

In retrospect, given the reports of the backstage soap opera about the running time worries, and with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, it would have been better for the RAH and Proms organizers back stage simply to have let the 'Brahms Night' take its course, but then put on a show of looking at their watches anxiously, to give that "will we have time to change the stage for the next Prom?" look, but without actually spelling it out. In the end, of course, the backstage crew got things set up in time for the LvB Missa solemnis Prom, at least AFAICT, since the late night Prom start wasn't delayed that I could tell.