Prom 21 - 30.07.17: Beethoven – Symphony No. 9, ‘Choral’

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Eine Alpensinfonie
    Host
    • Nov 2010
    • 20569

    Prom 21 - 30.07.17: Beethoven – Symphony No. 9, ‘Choral’

    19:00 Sunday 30 July 2017 ON TV
    Royal Albert Hall

    Sir James MacMillan: A European Requiem European première
    Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No 9 in D minor, 'Choral'

    Erin Wall soprano
    Sonia Prina mezzo-soprano
    Iestyn Davies counter-tenor
    Simon O'Neill tenor
    Jacques Imbrailo baritone
    Alexander Vinogradov bass
    CBSO Chorus
    BBC National Chorus of Wales
    BBC National Orchestra of Wales
    Xian Zhang conductor

    Freedom, hope and brotherhood are the notions that underpin both Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Sir James MacMillan's new choral work A European Requiem - a plea for unity in a troubled world. Xian Zhang and the BBC NOW perform this European premiere.
    Last edited by Eine Alpensinfonie; 27-07-17, 12:28.
  • Eine Alpensinfonie
    Host
    • Nov 2010
    • 20569

    #2
    Please stick to the music!


    Re Beethoven 9 - how long is it since the "tradition" of having it on the Penultimate Night was dropped?

    Comment

    • BBMmk2
      Late Member
      • Nov 2010
      • 20908

      #3
      I hope there won't be any!
      Don’t cry for me
      I go where music was born

      J S Bach 1685-1750

      Comment

      • ferneyhoughgeliebte
        Gone fishin'
        • Sep 2011
        • 30163

        #4
        Originally posted by Eine Alpensinfonie View Post
        Please stick to the music!
        Originally posted by Brassbandmaestro View Post
        I hope there won't be any!
        ????
        [FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]

        Comment

        • Pulcinella
          Host
          • Feb 2014
          • 10877

          #5
          Originally posted by ferneyhoughgeliebte View Post
          ????
          You got in first!
          I thought that it was only the last movement that (some) people (me included!) had problems with.

          Comment

          • Petrushka
            Full Member
            • Nov 2010
            • 12232

            #6
            Originally posted by Eine Alpensinfonie View Post
            Please stick to the music!


            Re Beethoven 9 - how long is it since the "tradition" of having it on the Penultimate Night was dropped?
            The first time the Choral didn't appear on the penultimate night (at least in modern times) was, as far as I know, in 1982 when Solti conducted the Missa Solemnis instead. I was there and will never forget it. The 9th has appeared on the penultimate night since but is now much more of a moveable feast.

            I've heard some incandescent Prom Chorals over the years but also one or two deadly dull ones which, for whatever reason never took wing.
            "The sound is the handwriting of the conductor" - Bernard Haitink

            Comment

            • Darkbloom
              Full Member
              • Feb 2015
              • 706

              #7
              Originally posted by Petrushka View Post
              The first time the Choral didn't appear on the penultimate night (at least in modern times) was, as far as I know, in 1982 when Solti conducted the Missa Solemnis instead. I was there and will never forget it. The 9th has appeared on the penultimate night since but is now much more of a moveable feast.

              I've heard some incandescent Prom Chorals over the years but also one or two deadly dull ones which, for whatever reason never took wing.
              My memories of Colin Davis live were usually always positive, but his Ninth with the LSO in the 90s was not one of his best. Very routine. I think Brendel played Mozart in the first half so perhaps more time was spent in rehearsal on that.

              Comment

              • Petrushka
                Full Member
                • Nov 2010
                • 12232

                #8
                Originally posted by Darkbloom View Post
                My memories of Colin Davis live were usually always positive, but his Ninth with the LSO in the 90s was not one of his best. Very routine. I think Brendel played Mozart in the first half so perhaps more time was spent in rehearsal on that.
                Yes, that was one of those I had in mind!
                "The sound is the handwriting of the conductor" - Bernard Haitink

                Comment

                • Petrushka
                  Full Member
                  • Nov 2010
                  • 12232

                  #9
                  There are two truly great Prom LvB 9's that come to mind: VPO/Abbado in 1987, the very night after Bernstein's unforgettable Mahler 5, and Solti and the Chicago SO in 1996.

                  Another duff one was Ferdinand Leitner and the LSO (again!) in 1983.
                  "The sound is the handwriting of the conductor" - Bernard Haitink

                  Comment

                  • Darkbloom
                    Full Member
                    • Feb 2015
                    • 706

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Petrushka View Post
                    There are two truly great Prom LvB 9's that come to mind: VPO/Abbado in 1987, the very night after Bernstein's unforgettable Mahler 5, and Solti and the Chicago SO in 1996.

                    Another duff one was Ferdinand Leitner and the LSO (again!) in 1983.
                    Haitink's Ninth with the BBCSO was another misfire. There is often a fine line with BH where it all sounds accomplished, but if he's off his game it is a little flat and disengaged. I mainly remember it for the leader getting something in his eye and having to stop and wipe it with a hanky mid-performance.

                    Comment

                    • Bryn
                      Banned
                      • Mar 2007
                      • 24688

                      #11
                      Just a quick mention that this is one of the Proms included in the binaural Taster project.

                      Comment

                      • EdgeleyRob
                        Guest
                        • Nov 2010
                        • 12180

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Pulcinella View Post
                        I thought that it was only the last movement that (some) people (me included!) had problems with.
                        For years I thought it was just me until I joined this forum.

                        Comment

                        • pastoralguy
                          Full Member
                          • Nov 2010
                          • 7737

                          #13
                          Does the 'problems' with the last movement of Beethoven's 9th mean the whole or just the vocal bits? I have to say that I LOVE listening and playing the big fugue in the middle. Great fun!

                          Comment

                          • jayne lee wilson
                            Banned
                            • Jul 2011
                            • 10711

                            #14
                            Originally posted by pastoralguy View Post
                            Does the 'problems' with the last movement of Beethoven's 9th mean the whole or just the vocal bits? I have to say that I LOVE listening and playing the big fugue in the middle. Great fun!
                            You'll have to ask someone who doesn't love and admire it as much as I do...!

                            (Pity that my local taxi-service uses the first two phrases of the 9th's scherzo as its driver-callsign... but at least it didn't happen today, serenaded down to Sainsburys by Steve Miller and Gerry Rafferty.. ..oh, ​you know the ones....)
                            Last edited by jayne lee wilson; 27-07-17, 21:47.

                            Comment

                            • Alison
                              Full Member
                              • Nov 2010
                              • 6455

                              #15
                              Originally posted by Darkbloom View Post
                              Haitink's Ninth with the BBCSO was another misfire. There is often a fine line with BH where it all sounds accomplished, but if he's off his game it is a little flat and disengaged. I mainly remember it for the leader getting something in his eye and having to stop and wipe it with a hanky mid-performance.
                              Symphony of Psalms in first half?

                              Yes mediocre by BH standards thought not as dire as the Davis. I think the BBC orchestra were a crusty bunch especially towards the end of a season.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X