Prom 22: 31.07.16 - Ravel, Lera Auerbach and Debussy

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

19:30 Sunday 31 Jul 2016
Royal Albert Hall

Maurice Ravel: Mother Goose – suite
Lera Auerbach: The Infant Minstrel and His Peculiar Menagerie (BBC co-commission: UK premiere)
Claude Debussy: King Lear – Fanfare d'ouverture; Le sommeil de Lear
Claude Debussy: La mer

Vadim Gluzman violin
Crouch End Festival Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Edward Gardner conductor

Russian-American composer Lera Auerbach's The Infant Minstrel and His Peculiar Menagerie is a symphonic fantasy for solo violin, vocal soloists, choir and orchestra. Violinist Vadim Gluzman is the travelling musical storyteller who introduces a collection of wondrous tales by the mysterious author Erroneous Anonymous and Lera Auerbach herself. This voyage of imagination is inspired by the tradition of 'nonsense' poems, and has characters such as the Common Corporant, the Moon-Rider, and the Flying Pig, who enjoys sitting on a cloud watching the crowd.

There's also Ravel's shimmering fairy-tale suite, Debussy's glinting portrait of the sea and - in this Shakespeare anniversary year - Debussy's aborted incidental music for King Lear.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07m56vs

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Just as an aside, some 15 or so years ago, I went to a Prom that included La Mer, with Ashkenazy conducting the Czech Philharmonic. I would have expected it to have been well attended, but the hall was half empty.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Just moving tonight's concert to the top of the pile.

[Serial_Apologist]

19:30 Sunday 31 Jul 2016
Royal Albert Hall

Maurice Ravel: Mother Goose – suite
Lera Auerbach: The Infant Minstrel and His Peculiar Menagerie (BBC co-commission: UK premiere)
Claude Debussy: King Lear – Fanfare d'ouverture; Le sommeil de Lear
Claude Debussy: La mer

Vadim Gluzman violin
Crouch End Festival Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Edward Gardner conductor

Russian-American composer Lera Auerbach's The Infant Minstrel and His Peculiar Menagerie is a symphonic fantasy for solo violin, vocal soloists, choir and orchestra. Violinist Vadim Gluzman is the travelling musical storyteller who introduces a collection of wondrous tales by the mysterious author Erroneous Anonymous and Lera Auerbach herself. This voyage of imagination is inspired by the tradition of 'nonsense' poems, and has characters such as the Common Corporant, the Moon-Rider, and the Flying Pig, who enjoys sitting on a cloud watching the crowd.

There's also Ravel's shimmering fairy-tale suite, Debussy's glinting portrait of the sea and - in this Shakespeare anniversary year - Debussy's aborted incidental music for King Lear.

Four minutes of previously unheard Debussy is as gold dust to me - I listened to it on youtube yesterday evening.

[bluestateprommer]

Just from a first hearing of the new Lera Auerbach work, the very high-level summary is that it certainly falls into the spirit of the "audience-friendly" commissions for The Proms so far this season. But beyond that, what struck me is the sense of fun and energy that permeates much of the work, not sentiments that many might associate with new concert hall music. Here, LA seems to have the trick of writing contemporary 'tonal' music that doesn't talk down or over-simplify to audiences. It is admittedly a huge disadvantage not to have the texts on hand, although I did catch a reference to the appalling and treasonous Republican Presidential candidate on this side of the pond (which Ian Skelly confirmed in his post-performance comments) and I thought I heard the line "oops, I did it again" at one point. LA wrote well for all forces, solo violin, chorus, musical saw, orchestra and all, never against the performers. Full marks to all the musicians for their work here, and it's rather impressive that the Crouch End Festival Chorus managed to sound like a youth choir, where called for, without sounding artificial about it.

The Ravel at the start went well also, with EG smart enough to let the orchestra play and letting the music flow, without trying to micromanage that I could tell. Solid 1st half start to this Prom.

[edashtav]

Just from a first hearing of the new Lera Auerbach work, the very high-level summary is that it certainly falls into the spirit of the "audience-friendly" commissions for The Proms so far this season. But beyond that, what struck me is the sense of fun and energy that permeates much of the work, not sentiments that many might associate with new concert hall music. Here, LA seems to have the trick of writing contemporary 'tonal' music that doesn't talk down or over-simplify to audiences. [...].

Fair and helpful comments, bluestateprommer.

This is the first work by Auerbach that I’ve heard. Such a difficult work to classify: a symphony that could be a cantata, a violin concerto, a fantastic fairytale and etc.It lacks neither colour nor accessibility but does it add up to more than a rich box of tricks? Despite complex textures, handled with panache and insight, the work delights in innocence, awe and wonder. It connects directly and in the manner of Rimsky’s Scheherazade and delights in bizarre and nonsensical humour like Nali Gruber’s Pandemonium Frankenstein!!. It’s not a criticism but an observation that the rich forces used by Lera: solo violin, musical saw, a handful of vocalists, full chorus and symphony orchestra may reduce it to an occasional piece: ideal for the Proms. I did find it entertaining: full of fun, froth and frolics. Did I find it musically significant? NO.

[Tetrachord]

Very much enjoying the Prom broadcasts on Radio 3!!!

[Serial_Apologist]

Very much enjoying the Prom broadcasts on Radio 3!!!

Where else?