Prom 58 - 27.08.17: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Louis Langrée

[BBMmk2]

Anyone know why The Prommers don't make witty remarks, anymore?

[vinteuil]

Anyone know why The Prommers don't make witty remarks, anymore?

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... did they ever?

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[Stanfordian]

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... did they ever?

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Right, I agree! I'm not sure they were ever witty!

[PhilipT]

Right, I agree! I'm not sure they were ever witty!

Yes, they were, but it is true that since the introduction of the Charities shout there haven't been many good shouts, except possibly at Last Nights. The days of "Put another shilling in the meter!" when the electricity failed, "Arena to Choir: Do you know the a cappella version?" when the orchestra were late coming on for Mahler 2, "Arena to Gallery: That was a Baroque 'heave'!" (which elicited the reply "Ho! ho! ho!") and so on are long gone. I miss them.

[Darkbloom]

Yes, they were, but it is true that since the introduction of the Charities shout there haven't been many good shouts, except possibly at Last Nights. The days of "Put another shilling in the meter!" when the electricity failed, "Arena to Choir: Do you know the a cappella version?" when the orchestra were late coming on for Mahler 2, "Arena to Gallery: That was a Baroque 'heave'!" (which elicited the reply "Ho! ho! ho!") and so on are long gone. I miss them.

I remember one where the arena shouted up to the gallery something like, 'let's play a game. Ping!', to which the gallery replied 'Pong!'. Then came the response, 'why do you always pong?'

[vinteuil]

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... I rest my case.


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[pastoralguy]

I've been listening to this concert on Afternoon on 3. Very fine playing from this Orchestra. It's amazing how much more one hears on the radio than in the live concert. Of course, all that's lacking is the sheer wallop of a mighty symphony orchestra playing at full pelt when heard on the steam radio.

[Darkbloom]

I've been listening to this concert on Afternoon on 3. Very fine playing from this Orchestra. It's amazing how much more one hears on the radio than in the live concert. Of course, all that's lacking is the sheer wallop of a mighty symphony orchestra playing at full pelt when heard on the steam radio.

I know what you mean about missing some things in live performance, but you also get an instinctive feeling when something 'works' that you might not get on the radio. I felt that way with the Nelsons Mahler 6 two years ago. People who listened on the radio seemed to enjoy it but it felt oddly inert in the Hall. Also, the first time I heard the VPO live and got the heavy brass smacking me in the face is not something I will soon forget.

[Maclintick]

Right, I agree! I'm not sure they were ever witty!

I quite liked "Would Mr Bluebeard please go to door number 5 where his wife is waiting for him" . Admittedly, my recollection of historical "Prommers' Witticisms" is sketchy....

[VodkaDilc]

As you were in the audience perhaps you could clarify something from the Candide? There are a couple of sections which have what I can only describes as 'chirruping' violins. Sitting at home it sounded as if the successive repetitions were passed through the desks(ie fewer players each time), so that not only did they get quieter but also sounded further away - a kind of aural mexican wave.
As with the No5, it was good to hear the Candide in something other than the(to me) rather ho-hum renditions that I have heard, and again I found myself listening properly to it.

I was not aware of the effect you mentioned in Candide. I recorded the afternoon repeat this week, so will listen again to see if I hear anything on the radio.

One thing I wondered about was the off-stage horn solo in the first half. I saw her go and I saw her come back - but I wondered where the magical distant solo was played. Did anyone spot where she went?

[bluestateprommer]

I've been listening to this concert on Afternoon on 3. Very fine playing from this Orchestra. It's amazing how much more one hears on the radio than in the live concert. Of course, all that's lacking is the sheer wallop of a mighty symphony orchestra playing at full pelt when heard on the steam radio.

Just caught this Prom on iPlayer right before the 30-day deadline. Agree with pg about the quality of playing from the Cincinnati SO. Their sound is certainly a bit brasher compared to European ensembles, and for comparison with the other US ensemble at The Proms this season, the Cincinnati sound isn't as "warm" as the Pittsburgh SO level. Getting perhaps into the orchestral version of national stereotypes, that does pit the French influence (Langree) vs. the Austro-German influence (Honeck). On their own terms, Cincinnati did very well in its own right.

I'd read some criticisms of Charles Dance's narration in Lincoln Portrait from the Edinburgh performance reviews. But overall, IMHO, he did OK. His American accent was reasonable, with just a tinge of Southern (ironically enough). Tchaik 5 had a few mild distensions and stretchings of tempo, in some of the slower moments, to be sure, but nothing outlandishly surprising there. Terrific solo horn work from Elizabeth Freimuth in both the Bernstein and Tchaikovsky. Martin Handley got caught out early when he misidentified the orchestra's concertmaster as Timothy Lees, as TL had to bow out because of repetitive-stress injury issues:

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2017/07/14/cincinnati-symphony-orchestras-timothy-lees-bows-out-european-tour/479238001/

The Saint Louis Symphony concertmaster, David Halen, took the first chair in TL's place. MH corrected himself by the end, mentioning Halen. (One other tiny slip was when MH accidentally credited the On the Waterfront suite as Langree walked on stage to "Louis Bernstein". But, eminently forgivable in the heat of the moment, and no harm done.)

BTW, regarding the article above, you might want to spare a thought for the author, Janelle Gelfand. She was just let go from the Cincinnati Enquirer, the last of the newspaper's arts writers:

http://wvxu.org/post/enquirer-cuts-last-arts-writer#stream/0