Prom 1: First Night of the Proms (17.07.15)

[antongould]

At last Simon and Gafunkel .......

[Alison]

The engineering seems pretty decent tonight. The RAH acoustic is frequently maddening but good to hear it again nonetheless!

[edashtav]

Just heard GC's Dadaville, which is definitely in an "audience-friendly" idiom overall, and initially surprised me by being mainly in slower and moderate tempi from the outset. For some reason, I was subliminally biased to expect more like a "fast-slow-fast" curtain raiser. It was nice to hear him speak to Petroc in the pre-recorded chat about the idea of the notes "D" and "A" as being an anchor of the work, which in retrospect I could have guessed beforehand. The "flourish with fireworks" at the end might limit future performances, but overall, it's good clean fun and a nice curtain raiser. GC is speaking with Petroc as I type this.

SO's interpretation of Nielsen's Maskarade Overture was solid, perhaps nothing exceptional, but again, a good solid start. Waiting for the "heave-ho" and such.....

Post-"heave-ho": in the Mozart, I thought that Lars Vogt rather underplayed the darkness of the first movement in particular. Points to him, though, for evidently coming up with his own cadenza. He also took the slow movement at a fair lick. (Warning; there was audience applause after the 1st movement, but the artists launched fairly promptly into the finale, to forestall a repeat between 2 & 3. You might just need to get used to it the rest of the season, on concerto evenings.)

bluestateprommer's instant post caught the flavour of the first half of this concert pretty well. In particular, I agreed with his assessment of the Maskarade Overture,although I was tempted to insert a "t" into his characterisation of "solid". I thought the BBC SO played with confidence and some of the tender moments were played with grace and elegance. I was a tad disappointed with Lars Vogt in the Mozart concerto: well-oiled but lacking individuality and flair.

To the Carpenter. Not a disappointment in the sense that I expected little more from my previous knowledge of Gary's work. Fluent, middle of the road but lacking in real individuality. Gary can conjure the jazz idiom but he lacks the plangency that a more original composer such as M-A Turnage can command. Too much note-spinning: Gary's sauce needs reducing to achieve memorability and piquancy.

Sibelius's Belshazzar has good stretches and I enjoyed how Oramo interpreted its opening movement. Later my concentration, like that of some coughers in the RAH, faltered. The piece is on a par with Holst's Beni Mora but isn't top drawer material. It was a warm,humid night and I heard some ill-tuned notes from the lower woodwind.

I'd like to commend the BBC engineers for the wonderful job they made of Walton's masterpiece. The balance between soli, choir orchestra and bands was superb and the combination of clarity and a warm ambience was winning. Not everything was perfect - there was one over-excited choral singer who came in with "Praise" a full beat early. Christopher Maltman sang expressively and in fine style. Was I being unfair in wishing for a little more bass character in his lower register, I wonder. The interpretation was neither the most visceral nor the most exciting that I've experienced - in fact I found the quieter, lyrical moments convinced me most and some of the dance rhythms possessed an infectious "swing" with a "Hallelujah" chorus that could not have been bettered.

A warm welcome back to the Proms!

[bluestateprommer]

The engineering seems pretty decent tonight. The RAH acoustic is frequently maddening but good to hear it again nonetheless!

Agreed about the sound engineering; it was good enough that I thought that I heard a small kid wailing in the background.

This seems to have been a Prom of two halves. While the 1st half was solid, the second half kicked it up several notches, but then with Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, it could hardly be otherwise. One momentary brass smudge in the heat of the moment, but nothing to stress about. Christopher Maltman in this outing was infinitely better than Jonathan Lemalu in the 2012 BBC NOW performance from the Proms (and I say this hoping that JL is doing better with rebuilding his voice, as I once met him after a concert here in the US and liked him), with the choirs well on fire and the BBC SO playing out of their skins. The Sibelius made a splendidly atmospheric start to the second half, although I would perhaps argue with Oramo's assertion about Sibelius' best ideas going into his theater music. But on balance, a good start to the season.

[Beef Oven!]

Just finished watching on TV. Marvellous stuff, wish I'd gone!

[wenotsoira]

Pretty good second half.

Mixed first half. Mozart not very good.

[EdgeleyRob]

Just finished watching on TV. Marvellous stuff, wish I'd gone!

I only saw BF which sounded triffic.
Thought I heard a baby cry during a quiet moment,did I imagine that ?

[Beef Oven!]

I only saw BF which sounded triffic.
Thought I heard a baby cry during a quiet moment,did I imagine that ?

I thought I heard an ice-cream van. Maybe I imagined it.

P.S. The Sibelius was delightful, but as bluestateprommer says, the second half stepped it up a bit. And I agree with wenotsoira about the Mozart.

[wenotsoira]

It might have been Willy Walton?

[jean]

I think the golf migrated to BBC4, displacing Carole King and Rock'n'Roll America

[mrbouffant]

Definitely a mewling child. Seemed to be in Choir West above the chorus.

That aside, a thoroughly enjoyable concert.

[cheesehoven]

I found it a very enjoyable concert. The first two pieces were rather inconsequential and the Dada piece was more undermined than enhanced by Tom Service's typical annoyingness. I greatly enjoyed the Mozart too and also the Sibelius. The first movement sounded a bit like average film music but it improved. I agree that the Walton was well done too.

[maestro267]

Great start to the season. Mozart and Sibelius works were tame but enjoyable nonetheless. The Nielsen, Carpenter and Walton added some oomph to the proceedings.

[Nick Armstrong]

I thought that I heard a small kid wailing in the background.

You certainly did - loud and clear on the TV transmission - and the kid has a future in music, the wail was perfectly timed to cue (and accompany) the choral passage "Yea, we wept" after the first bass solo

But fancy taking a baby to the concert ... (unless the Walton induced an unexpected premature birth...).

Christopher Maltman in this outing was infinitely better than Jonathan Lemalu in the 2012 BBC NOW performance from the Proms (and I say this hoping that JL is doing better with rebuilding his voice, as I once met him after a concert here in the US and liked him), with the choirs well on fire and the BBC SO playing out of their skins.

Totally agreed. I was there for the 2012 concert, poor JL was all over the place in the Walton and the preceding Ireland. Embarrassing. Maltman delivered and the choral contributions were electrifying as was much of the playing.

I've only really watched the Walton, save for a glimpse of Vogt emoting all over the shop to little effect, it struck me (and as others confirm).

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Great concert. Balanced programme. No gimmicks.