Prom 54 - 25.08.17: Orchestra of La Scala, Milan, and Riccardo Chailly

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

18:30 Friday 25 August 2017
Royal Albert Hall

Johannes Brahms : Violin Concerto in D major
Ottorino Respighi: Fountains of Rome
Ottorino Respighi: Pines of Rome

Leonidas Kavakos violin
Filarmonica della Scala
Riccardo Chailly conductor

Riccardo Chailly returns to the Proms, this time as Music Director of the Filarmonica della Scala (Orchestra of La Scala, Milan), which makes its Proms debut. They bring with them a little piece of Italy in two of Respighi's Rome-inspired tone-poems. Richly vivid in orchestral colour, these works delight in the kind of huge sonorities that come into their own in the Royal Albert Hall. The concert opens with one of the great violin concertos - Brahms's joyous, virtuosic musical homage to his friend and mentor, the virtuoso violinist Joseph Joachim.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Does this orchestra often come out of the pit? Are they the Vienna Philharmonic of Italy in that respect?

[Pulcinella]

Is Devon in a time warp, Alpie?
Check your month and year!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Is Devon in a time warp, Alpie?
Check your month and year!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Does this orchestra often come out of the pit? Are they the Vienna Philharmonic of Italy in that respect?

Just as the Vienna Phil are the Orchestra of Opera North of Austria, perhaps?

(I still wish OON had kept the "Northern Philharmonia" title.)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

(I still wish OON had kept the "Northern Philharmonia" title.)

Yes, I do too.

[BBMmk2]

Be rather interesting to hear this orchestra, "out of the pit", especially with Riccardo Chailly, at the helm!

[jayne lee wilson]

Does this orchestra often come out of the pit? Are they the Vienna Philharmonic of Italy in that respect?

Yes, as they do here....

http://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/search?q=chailly+la+scala+preludes&i=boutique

They sound really lovely in that first item, sweet, warm, woody, "provincial" in the best sense..they do bounce along well too! I only wish they'd brought some of the more unusual preludes and intermezzi to play here, instead of good old Respighi... still their sound should be well suited to the Brahms.

This recent Preludes Overtures & Intermezzi album is gorgeous & reviewed very well....I didn't buy it, but it's just great for streaming - very diverting in a classy classics-for-pleasure style...

[doversoul1]

Early start; 6.30pm -

[bluestateprommer]

Early start; 6.30pm -

Caught out here by the early start time. However, in turn, it seems everyone was caught out by delayed transport of instruments and such from Stansted Airport, according to Martin Handley, who said that the rehearsal didn't finish until 6:15 PM (!!). From what I heard, most of the first movement and all the rest, the stress didn't show.

[Darkbloom]

Caught out here by the early start time. However, in turn, it seems everyone was caught out by delayed transport of instruments and such from Stansted Airport, according to Martin Handley, who said that the rehearsal didn't finish until 6:15 PM (!!). From what I heard, most of the first movement and all the rest, the stress didn't show.

Reminds of the time I went to see the VPO and Haitink do Bruckner 5. There was an announcement that due to an accident on the Ringstrasse there was a delay getting instruments to the hall. In the end I think the concert was nearly an hour late starting. I don't like these early starts, but I can't quite put my finger on why, it just seems slightly unsatisfactory somehow.

[BBMmk2]

Great debut prom, for this orchestra!

[mrbouffant]

Enjoyed this. I must say it was weird to take our seats and watch the tail end of the rehearsal (a bit of Respighi and then some top-and-tailing of the Brahms). Bravo for the professionalism of all concerned to then dash off, get changed, and appear to give a super concert.

I had to leave immediately after the Respighi. Do we know if there was an encore?

[Simon B]

No, no encores despite much stamping etc and music on the stands. BBC request following the late start? Not much isn't a damp squib after Pines anyway.

Overall (reaffirmed) conclusion: Kavakos is the genuine article. Not a bad orchestra either!

[bluestateprommer]

Just caught up with the rest of this Prom right after the iPlayer archive went up. Well done to all concerned, especially given the time crunch, as others have noted. An encore after Pini di Roma would indeed have been superfluous. The sound via iPlayer didn't quite have the full blend of other broadcasts, feeling slightly tubby in the middle, if that makes sense. Given the relatively short running time of the concert, or perhaps to give the orchestra a bit more room to breathe, RC took Fontane di Roma at a more spacious pace, IMHO, and also the 'Pines of the Appian Way' at a slightly more stretched-out tempo. In the latter, I actually prefer that, since it builds up the scary juggernaut quality more effectively than if it goes too quickly.

Reminds of the time I went to see the VPO and Haitink do Bruckner 5. There was an announcement that due to an accident on the Ringstrasse there was a delay getting instruments to the hall. In the end I think the concert was nearly an hour late starting. I don't like these early starts, but I can't quite put my finger on why, it just seems slightly unsatisfactory somehow.

At a guess, in the context of this particular start time (or would-be start time), 6:30 PM, I wonder if it's because at that time of day, one is generally at home for dinner, or on a Friday evening, at happy hour with colleagues and friends. Some US orchestras have tried to do "rush-hour" concerts around 6 PM - 6:30 PM or so, like the Chicago Symphony (their old "Afterwork Masterworks" series; RF can speak to that better than me) and the New York Philharmonic, for example. Neither of those does that anymore, though. Granted, given the Late Night Prom, some sort of earlier start time was inevitable.

For those who can get to Edinburgh this weekend, you get 2 chances to hear RC and the La Scala Philharmonic at the Usher Hall:

Saturday: https://www.eif.co.uk/2017/fds1#.WaCoqdhOmUl

Sunday: https://www.eif.co.uk/2017/fds2#.WaCkKthOmUk