Prom 64: 2.09.16 - Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle – Boulez and Mahler

[jonfan]

Tangentially to this, it's worth recalling that when Rattle was invited to perform and record some Bartok with the Berlin Phil in 1990, invited back after his extraordinary debut with Mahler 6 in 1987, he became suspicious during the setting-up that the principal players in the recording sessions were not the same as those who had played in the preceding concerts. So he cancelled the recording....
(see Nicholas Kenyon: "Simon Rattle: From Birmingham to Berlin", pp. 31-2).

SR had the knack of dealing with pro orchestras from an early age. As part of the prize of winning the conductor's competition he performed the Faure Requiem and Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms with the Huddersfield Choral and the BBC Northern. The joint choir/orchestra call was the evening before the concert night with band only in the afternoon of the concert. In the Stravinsky the Northern were as truculent and awkward as they could be when they thought they could get away with it. (Don't confuse this with today's BBC Phil by the way). After the rehearsal SR said, 'Ladies and gentlemen I won't be rehearsing the Stravinsky again tomorrow.' They all went into corners of the hall and practised in their own time. A most tricky ensemble piece for the wind. Game set and match to Rattle!

[bluestateprommer]

I had a fantastic seat in 'O' stalls to savour this performance and the virtuosity of the BPO is staggering to behold. No less staggering was to see a close up phenomenal display of conducting virtuosity from Rattle completely without a score and bringing out detail I've never heard before.

Glad that you enjoyed this Prom from your spot in the hall. Literally, the only tiny blip that I detected was one slight sliding entrance from the 3rd horn player at the start of movement 2. But otherwise, they amply proved with their playing why people queued very early to try to get into the hall.

Of the relatively few times that I've heard the Berlin Phil with SSR live (now 5 as of this post, counting the 2 Proms this weekend), this was probably the best of the bunch. PB's Éclat was admittedly a curious opener (I'd never heard it before live), but given the use of percussion, guitar & mandolin both there and in Mahler 7, the pairing made sense in retrospect. The select group of musicians played it very well, of course.

Reading some of the dissenting comments in the overall high marks for this Prom, perhaps what might have been a factor could be encapsulated in a quote from David Murray, then of EMI, in an old issue of BBC Music Magazine, just after SSR's selection as the BPO's new boss:

"He can give a very gifted performance, and at the same time stand back and evaluate it."

Or words to that effect. That might grate in some works, but given that (IMHO) 7 is the most mosaic-like of the Mahler symphonies, that paid dividends here. In particular, the finale can be a really bipolar mess in the wrong hands. Not the case here, even without trying to smooth out any sharp discontinuities. One very nice touch at the very end was how he let the penultimate bar stretch and diminuendo as long as possible, before the final slam dunk of the last chord. Haitink did the same thing in his Kerstmatinee performance from the mid 1980s.

One trivial point of amusement was the sight of SSR partaking of bottled water between several movements of the Mahler. I've never seen any conductor do that. Singers, yes, but never a conductor, until last Friday night.

[jonfan]

[/QUOTE]One trivial point of amusement was the sight of SSR partaking of bottled water between several movements of the Mahler. I've never seen any conductor do that. Singers, yes, but never a conductor, until last Friday night.[/QUOTE]

Lorin Maazel, conducting the VPO in Bruckner 8 in his last prom concert, had a bottle of water and a glass on his conductor's stand instead of a score. SSR would have have been advised to do the same instead of the mountaineering he had to do between movements. If I was one of the players I would be dead jealous of the conductor's privilege in slaking his thirst between movements in a long symphony.

[Tevot]

Hello there,

This Summer was odd and we spent the entirety of the school holidays here in Sanya rather than the usual journey to the UK to see family and friends. Net result? Spent almost no time listening to the Proms this season or tbh engaging with the outside world for that matter ...and only now just playing catch-up on the i-player to some of the latter Proms concerts...

Caught Mahler 7 and Éclat on Wednesday afternoon - and totally bowled over by both. Really envy those in the RAH on the night - the music felt vibrant - a contrast imho with the worthy yet ultimately unengaging WEDO "Wagner Symphony" I heard a relay of the week before.

I loved the juxtaposition of the new and the (comparatively) more established work... A quick look at the Proms archive reveals 13 outings for the Seventh (the first being in 1969!!) as opposed to Éclat that has featured twice... and indeed this pattern was repeated by SSR's next Prom with the Dvorak and Brahms following the premiere of the Julian Anderson piece...

I thought both outings highly enjoyable... and I shall endeavour to listen again in the remaining time available.

Kind Regards,

Tevot

[Hornspieler]

The BPO Horn Quartet, playing on Thursday's In Tune, claimed that travelling was more tiring than the stress on the chops of Mahler 7. Perhaps slightly tongue in cheek response but perhaps only the Americans would dare tackle such a big blow without a bumper?.

Well I played Mahler 7 on three consecutive nights - Bristol(?), Bournemouth and RFH under Sergiu Comissiona in 1965.

Bumper? We even had to hire 3rd and 4th Wagner Tuba Players, (Harry Watson and Andrew Fiske) from the BBC Symphony Orchestra's horn section. I sat next to my friend from boyhood; that fantastic trumpet player Rodney Senior.
... and he didn't have a bumper either!

It's an affectation - a symbol of prestige; to demand an "assistant principal"

Dennis Brain never had a bumper-up throughout his playing career and "What's good enough for the King is good enough ... &c.

HS