Prom 18: Katia & Marielle Labèque (31.07.15)

[Norrette]

And now for Shostakovich's Bolero.

But would it go down well in Ibiza?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

But would it go down well in Ibiza?

I'm sure the people of Ibiza have very cultured tastes, apparent once the Brits have gone home.

[bluestateprommer]

But would it go down well in Ibiza?

It obviously didn't with Bartók, pace the fourth movement of his Concerto for Orchestra. Marina Frolova-Walker in the pre-Proms talk (edited for R3) got in a bit of an unfair shot at Bartók when she said something to the effect that "nobody listens to Bartók anymore" on this (I'll re-listen later and extract the exact quote). Plenty of people listen to BB's Concerto for Orchestra now, of course.

Minor bit of trivia that it took me a while to figure out, namely the number of times DSCH repeats the "war theme" ("Boléro" theme): 12. Symbolic interpretations await.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Minor bit of trivia that it took me a while to figure out, namely the number of times DSCH repeats the "war theme" ("Boléro" theme): 12. Symbolic interpretations await.

That's more times than Ravel repeats the full Bolero theme (which is an AABB structure). This is only played 4 times in all. Surprising, but true.

[edashtav]

I've been amongst the naysayers where Shostakovich's Leningrad has been concerned but I must admit that Semyon Bychkov more than sustained my interest through DSCH's Bolero on Mars. Good pacing, bright colours and crisp rhythms kept the whole taut, although the coughers in the RAH may disagree with me. Now it's dusk, I must go (unobserved, I hope) and deal with a pesky wasps' nest. At least, that will inhibit me turning into an instant facsimile of Jayne Lee Wilson but I'm definitely "on the change".

[Norrette]

Minor bit of trivia that it took me a while to figure out, namely the number of times DSCH repeats the "war theme" ("Boléro" theme): 12. Symbolic interpretations await.

Never counted before. Normally I like this piece, but perhaps it's my DAB radio and its variable volume levels, but this version didn't seem to do it for me. Perhaps live is the only way (or perhaps I'm going deaf).

[maestro267]

Wow! What a thrilling performance of Shostakovich 7! The way the "invasion march" raced towards its climax was incredible! Petrenko upped the pace on his RLPO recording, but not that much! Also, probably not to everyone's taste, but I loved how Bychkov slowed down during those final pounding drum strokes. Milking every last drop out of that astonishing climax!

[Flosshilde]

I think your maths is wrong.

It wasn't . My trust in the infallibility of EA was . Which meant that I missed the beginning of the Shostakovich (& then it was dinner time so I missed the end, too).

[Dave2002]

Yup, they just played the last movement of Philip Glass' Four Movements for Two Pianos as an encore, per DM. Prior to that, several borderline near-scrambled movements in the Mozart, though none of that reflected in the BBC SO's accompaniment, of course.

Who or what is DM?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

It wasn't . My trust in the infallibility of EA was . Which meant that I missed the beginning of the Shostakovich (& then it was dinner time so I missed the end, too).

Apologies to all. I can't even make the excuse that I copied it from an inaccurate source, as I've checked and rechecked. They all say 7.00 p.m. or 1900 hrs.

[Ferretfancy]

Who or what is DM?

The Mozart sounded a bit of a mess in the Arena. The orchestral contribution was fine, but the Labeques were often ragged. I must say that I liked them a little more for it, simply because they made mistakes, normally they play like robots.
The BBC SO were in top form for the Shostakovich, Semyon Bychkov directed a fine performance. This is a symphony with some fine moments, but also quite a few longeurs. Although chronologically and musically Shostakovich's war symphony, for me the true war symphony is the far superior No. 8, possibly his finest.

Did listeners at home hear a lot of coughing? So far this season audiences have been good, but last night the barking sea lions were out in force. The beginning of the bolero like march in the first movement was ruined by some oaf in the stalls, and outbreaks occurred throughout the symphony.

[teamsaint]

P

The Mozart sounded a bit of a mess in the Arena. The orchestral contribution was fine, but the Labeques were often ragged. I must say that I liked them a little more for it, simply because they made mistakes, normally they play like robots.
The BBC SO were in top form for the Shostakovich, Semyon Bychkov directed a fine performance. This is a symphony with some fine moments, but also quite a few longeurs. Although chronologically and musically Shostakovich's war symphony, for me the true war symphony is the far superior No. 8, possibly his finest.

Did listeners at home hear a lot of coughing? So far this season audiences have been good, but last night the barking sea lions were out in force. The beginning of the bolero like march in the first movement was ruined by some oaf in the stalls, and outbreaks occurred throughout the symphony.

I thought the first and especially the final movements were really gripping, but less so the two central movements, FF.

Sorry to hear that your evening was affected by the extraneous noises.they certainly came over loud and clear on the Radio,particularly intrusive after the first movement, but actually all the way through.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Apologies to all. I can't even make the excuse that I copied it from an inaccurate source, as I've checked and rechecked. They all say 7.00 p.m. or 1900 hrs.

It must be retirement that causes these problems with numbers. (440/550 )

[EnemyoftheStoat]

The BBC SO were in top form for the Shostakovich, Semyon Bychkov directed a fine performance. This is a symphony with some fine moments, but also quite a few longeurs.

Did listeners at home hear a lot of coughing? So far this season audiences have been good, but last night the barking sea lions were out in force. The beginning of the bolero like march in the first movement was ruined by some oaf in the stalls, and outbreaks occurred throughout the symphony.

I completely agree about the performance and partially about the symphony - more fine moments than longueurs, but the latter are there.

The coughers? Well, just ignorant, I'm afraid. My theory is that they thought the end of the exposition was the end of the first movement. I wouldn't have been surprised if we'd had one of those lukewarm inter-movement rounds of "applause" at that point.

[Ferretfancy]

I completely agree about the performance and partially about the symphony - more fine moments than longueurs, but the latter are there.

The coughers? Well, just ignorant, I'm afraid. My theory is that they thought the end of the exposition was the end of the first movement. I wouldn't have been surprised if we'd had one of those lukewarm inter-movement rounds of "applause" at that point.

Ignorance and inability to concentrate, but then you ask yourself why did they book seats? The tickets were sold out.

There's also the friday night effect, people have finished work for the day and are feeling relaxed and perhaps a bit tired, so they are not very attentive. On the other hand those who are willing to queue and stand for a long work are more likely to be dedicated, but I have to admit that on this occasion one or two coughers were standing near me.