Prom 5 - 17.07.17: Sibelius, Rachmaninov and Shostakovich

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Dvorak's Cello Concerto, the American Quartet, and his last three symphonies are definitely Premier League ! As are Kreisleriana , Kinderszenen and the Piano Concerto .

Nah! Those tuneful pleasantries are knocked off the pitch by any of the Bach two-part Inventions.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

But, actually, you're right - if Chopin's harmony lets him in, then Schumann's rhythmic invention should also let him on the coach (standing room only) to be put on the Suns' bench.

[EdgeleyRob]

Dvorak's Cello Concerto, the American Quartet, and his last three symphonies are definitely Premier League ! As are Kreisleriana , Kinderszenen and the Piano Concerto .

The two quartets that followed the American are finer works IMO,definitely worth a cup run.

[jayne lee wilson]

Yes indeed, but Andrew Morris's opinion diverges somewhat from that of the majority of boarders who have posted thus far, & who found BBCNOW/Søndergård's Sibelius 7 a little lacklustre & underpowered, while fulsomely praising their Shosta 10, & he rates the concert with a niggardly (?) 3 stars. Recognising that it'd be a boring old world if we all agreed... etc,etc, I still can't accept the notion that late Sibelius conforms to a "passive-contemplative" ideal in the face of cold/impersonal/majestic/Darwinian or whatever "Nature" one presumes to specify. Like Ed, I suspect, I hear a ruggedly confrontational aspect in Sibelius 7 & other late pieces -- "Man vs. Nature" (maybe his own ?). Must dash to catch tonight's....

I'm not sure the Sibelius 6 has anything "confrontational" about it, or where one might locate that in Tapiola either....nor do I register conflict or confrontation in the 7th, more a counterpoint of evolutionary energies existing side-by-side; the human presence (the strings' extended chorale in the first section, the strong, serene voice in the trombone) seems observational (in every sense) of the natural, earthly and cosmic forces swirling around it (yet sensing a kinship within them). When the final climaxes arrive they seem more of a letting go - an exulting surrender to the glories of nature, in our very lack of "dominion" over Earth, or the Universe, of all those awesome, overwhelming forces we cannot control; a reconciliation to our true, un-Godlike character; and the philosophical joy in that reconciliation, that acceptance, that wisdom.

[Barbirollians]

Nah! Those tuneful pleasantries are knocked off the pitch by any of the Bach two-part Inventions.

" Tuneful pleasantries " There is the odd composer of tuneless unpleasantries in your list ....

[edashtav]

Sorry Ed,forgot the link

cheers, ER! I' off to hear the work at the Barbican plus Finzi's final, tragic masterpiece next February, and am busy getting DSCH fit!

[Maclintick]

I'm not sure the Sibelius 6 has anything "confrontational" about it, or where one might locate that in Tapiola either....nor do I register conflict or confrontation in the 7th, more a counterpoint of evolutionary energies existing side-by-side; the human presence (the strings' extended chorale in the first section, the strong, serene voice in the trombone) seems observational (in every sense) of the natural, earthly and cosmic forces swirling around it (yet sensing a kinship within them). When the final climaxes arrive they seem more of a letting go - an exulting surrender to the glories of nature, in our very lack of "dominion" over Earth, or the Universe, of all those awesome, overwhelming forces we cannot control; a reconciliation to our true, un-Godlike character; and the philosophical joy in that reconciliation, that acceptance, that wisdom.

Beautifully put, as ever JLW - & I do "get" all that , and essentially agree with this view of the Seventh, (the 6th & Tapiola are kindred but very different creations) but if, for example we took Sibelius's own river analogy, there's an element of struggle (better than "confrontation", perhaps) with these "natural, earthly and cosmic forces", particularly, of course, at the second appearance of the trombone theme. Up to this point Sibelius has been paddling serenely & enjoying the view in reposeful "passive-contemplation", but gradually a powerful undercurrent of swelling & ebbing chromaticism in the strings threaten to overturn the kayak (fig. L). Perhaps at the end, having very much been an active participant in the landscape, he's on the bank, glad to have escaped the fate of his craft as it plunged over the rapids, but in awe of the power of the river & reconciled, as the horns play a valedictory echo of the trombone theme....Here I back-paddle (?), of course, because I'm not suggesting for a moment that one should approach this symphony as a Straussian tone poem with literal depictions as above, but I could have done with more oomph in the playing generally, & specifically at those points I mentioned in a previous post. After all, Sibelius peppers his score with careful dynamic markings, & Søndergard ignored or smoothed-over many of them.

[Bryn]

cheers, ER! I' off to hear the work at the Barbican plus Finzi's final, tragic masterpiece next February, and am busy getting DSCH fit!

When it comes to YouTube, go for the upload with the Robert Crocker/Noonan/Zumbühl/Tressell banner as illustration: