Prom 63 - 4.09.14: BBC SO, McAllister / Alsop

[Ferretfancy]

Just as expected, the comments here on last night's Prom have either centred on the TV presentation, moustaches etc. etc. or discussion of the correct or incorrect tempi found in the performances of various Mahler conductors. Why do so many people's brains turn to jelly where the great composer is concerned?

I rather like Mahler's 1st, it has some jolly tunes and a nice noisy finale, and if Ms Alsop moved it along a bit, so much the better.

[Lento]

Re: Mahler's cuckoo (marked in the score): do cuckoo's do perfect 4ths?

[Zucchini]

We need Skelly on the telly!

Laura moves so beautifully with the music.

Hosting Strictly Come Mahler?
(God knows what she's rabbiting about)

[Hornspieler]

We are discussing a concert performance given by a British Orchestra under the guest conductorship of an American maestro.

Not surprisingly she is anxious to promote the compositions of a fellow American and, also not surprisingly, the BBCSO is unlikely to be familiar with the works of John Adams.

So I would expect that the complicated score of the Saxophone concerto would have taken up a very large portion of the allocated rehearsal time. I felt that the result was well worth it.

But maybe therefore, the amount available for Mahler 1st symphony must have been a lot less than one would expect for a work lasting over an hour which cannot be considered an everyday part of any orchestra's repertoire.

It is also tiring to play. So I think that our criticisms should take account of the task presented to both orchestra and conductor by what I consider to be a very unwise choice of programming.

So if there were failings in the second part of the concert, maybe it is the choice of work that was the problem.

HS

[gedsmk]

When the Budapest Festival Orchestra performed Mahler 1 a few years ago, not only did all the horns stand up for their tune at the end, but the woodwind did too!

[Hornspieler]

I shall be fascinated to know what you think of the Mahler performance, HS. I'm afraid that from my inadequate judging position in front of the telly

... I thought it mediocre - someone else mentioned nasty woodwind tuning: I agree, that poisoned the opening for me; and there was some strange brass tuning from time to time, ditto I thought from the solo bassist in the slow movement. It seemed an accident-prone performance in a few departments. And yes, I didn't like how the last movement tempi came over on TV; perhaps this 'worked' in the hall, where the various imperfections were probably also less apparent. I've already deleted it from the hard drive. Not a keeper.

Well, I've finally caught up with the Mahler, Cali.

Which is more than the orchestra did with the conductor until the final triumphant strains.

I had a vision of a fox (well, a Vixen in this case) dashing across the fields, pursued by a pack of hounds who sometimes got close, but not close enough.

Ms Alsop spoke during the interval about the varying changes of mood in Mahler's symphony. I was not really aware of them during this performance. Particularly, there was no tenderness as one has come to expect in a Mahler symphony and my feeling is that Maris Alsop is more at home with the less heart rending composers, such as Bartok, Stravinsky or Scriabin. (My view only, I'm sure)

Regarding poor intonation in the woodwind, I was not aware of it, but I was aware of a terrible discrepancy between the pitch of the timpanist and the entry of the double bass soloist at the beginning of the third movement I'm sure the bassist was right but it took about four bars before the drum beats were adjusted to the tune.

Yes, many imperfections. A case, I think, of the wrong work, in the wrong venue, with the wrong conductor.

HS

[Serial_Apologist]

I had a vision of a fox (well, a Vixen in this case) dashing across the fields, pursued by a pack of hounds who sometimes got close, but not close enough.

I think I shall call you Hunting Hornspieler from now on.

[BBMmk2]

I had the that the John Adams piece had more rehearsal time and the Mahler suffered, as a result. Perhaps another American composer, Thompson, Diamond perhaps, or Copland, even. Having heard the Saxophone(second time round), I rather thought it be very good work, although may take getting used to?