Prom 55: 27.08.16 - CBSO/Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla

[johnb]

I don't often post these days so I restrained myself from butting in to comment on some of the distasteful, patronising posts about MG-T so I was relieved that others much more knowledgeable than me responded.

I enjoyed the concert on BBC Four and thought it very refreshing to see a very capable (and beautiful) young woman at the helm of one of our leading orchestras. The Prom was only her second concert with the CBSO as Music Director - a very promising start.

[pastoralguy]

I don't often post these days so I restrained myself from butting in to comment on some of the distasteful, patronising posts about MG-T so I was relieved that others much more knowledgeable than me responded.

I enjoyed the concert on BBC Four and thought it very refreshing to see a very capable (and beautiful) young woman at the helm of one of our leading orchestras. The Prom was only her second concert with the CBSO as Music Director - a very promising start.

[teamsaint]

Remind me again about the musical value of good looks?

too often talented musicians have been shamefully neglected , and had their careers suffer , because they didn't fit somebody else's view of what looks good.

[Richard Tarleton]

Times a paltry 'Bags of musicality'

No shadow of doubt expressed anywhere (don't know about Morrison in The Times as I could only see the first couple of pars).

I've just re-read Morrison's review using my login privileges and can confirm that he was full of praise, reservations concentrated on issues of balance in the Abrahamsen (BH swamped, sang sideways etc.) - issues which (I'm guessing here) might have been down to the RAH as much as anything?

I have recorded the concert, have so far only watched part of it for reasons of time, so am merely passing this on. What I've seen (and listened to) I've enjoyed hugely.

PS great to see you back Throppers, trust you are well and hope to see lots more of you here!

[Zucchini]

As well as her music-making, I much admired the way MGT handled herself.

She already has a high media profile and was faced with the formidable task of performing at a Prom, for 6,000 people in the RAH (which she may never have seen) with a live radio broadcast and TV cameras recording for later transmission. That is not a nice, easy debut for a new music director!

I thought the CBSO worked their socks off for her - very, very sharp indeed.

[Thropplenoggin]

I've just re-read Morrison's review using my login privileges and can confirm that he was full of praise, reservations concentrated on issues of balance in the Abrahamsen (BH swamped, sang sideways etc.) - issues which (I'm guessing here) might have been down to the RAH as much as anything?

I have recorded the concert, have so far only watched part of it for reasons of time, so am merely passing this on. What I've seen (and listened to) I've enjoyed hugely.

PS great to see you back Throppers, trust you are well and hope to see lots more of you here!

Thanks, Richard.

[MrGongGong]

agree totally, looked an absolute novice! Clearly the CBSO have gone for a young attractive person to promote itself, just as the BBC proms TV does with SMP. Its all about "attracting new audiences" with superficial methods.

What a load of utter shite you write
I'm assuming you know about as much about orchestral music as Bagpuss

[jayne lee wilson]

Remind me again about the musical value of good looks?

too often talented musicians have been shamefully neglected , and had their careers suffer , because they didn't fit somebody else's view of what looks good.

Indeed, or someone else's view of what a conductor is supposed to look like....

TEMPORA MUTANTUR, NOS ET MUTAMUR IN ILLIS

[makropulos]

Indeed, or someone else's view of what a conductor is supposed to look like....

TEMPORA MUTANTUR, NOS ET MUTAMUR IN ILLIS

Yes indeed. As you say, and I said a few posts back, and some others here have said, people who claim to love music should be using their ears rather than their eyes to form (allegedly) musical judgements.

[Stanley Stewart]

By their fruits, ye shall know them!

[johnb]

I enjoyed the concert on BBC Four and thought it very refreshing to see a very capable (and beautiful) young woman at the helm of one of our leading orchestras. The Prom was only her second concert with the CBSO as Music Director - a very promising start.

Remind me again about the musical value of good looks?

too often talented musicians have been shamefully neglected , and had their careers suffer , because they didn't fit somebody else's view of what looks good.

Indeed, or someone else's view of what a conductor is supposed to look like....

TEMPORA MUTANTUR, NOS ET MUTAMUR IN ILLIS

When I posted that comment I was dubious about including a reference to the fact that MGT is an attractive woman, knowing that some people would pounce on it. It was intended as an incidental aside (hence the brackets) not as a reason to favour or disfavour MGT in her role as Music Director of the CBSO.

It goes without saying (or perhaps it doesn't? ) that whether MGT is successful in her new position depends on the quality and strength of her music making. Period.

The comments about MGT's podium technique remind me of an interview with Edward Downes that I heard some years ago. In it he said:

Let me tell you the two things that Schechen told me when I left after studying with him for two years. He said “first of all, don’t get married” (he’d been married six times), and the other thing was “if you have the music in your head you can turn round and wave your ass at the orchestra and they will play it”. That is to say, if you have it firmly in your head, if you know exactly what you want to hear - his German word was [word I didn’t catch] which [means] ‘ideal performance’. If you’ve got an ideal performance in your head you will find the gesture. When people talk about technique – you look at some of the most famous, most successful conductors (just think of Furtwangler for example)….

[Richard Barrett]

I was dubious about including a reference to the fact that MGT is an attractive woman, knowing that some people would pounce on it.

But you did it all the same... why?

[teamsaint]

things that have no bearing on ability to do the job, but which can and do affect the chance of getting the job.

Appearance. ( somebody else's preference, and in various ways).
Social Class.
Connections.
Race.
Accent

etc etc etc.

Every time somebody reinforces these factors, it is a step backwards.

Edit: I doubt I am faultless in this, BTW.

[Roslynmuse]

With less than 24 hrs before the radio version goes off iPlayer and only a week of the BBC4 film left, I have just listened to this one. First thing for me to say was how impressed I was by the clearly thought through shape and structure of the Tchaikovsky. I have heard many performances that fail to hang together because tempo changes seem arbitrary; here they felt related in ways that brought out links between the movements beyond the obvious Fate theme. On the micro level, there was some impressive shaping of phrases that can feel rhythmically confusing - clarity again. There were - to my ears - some imaginative and refined moments, particularly from the strings, and the precision of the semiquaver scales in the Finale was most impressive. The brass were perhaps a little less refined and precise, but were certainly engaged; woodwind maybe a touch anonymous? But still some lovely playing. It was certainly one of the best Tchaik 4s I have heard and persuaded my jaded ears that this is a fine piece.