Prom 67 - 3.09.17: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and Pablo Heras-Casado

[Pianorak]

I'd certainly agree it's not a big 'heart on sleeve' performance but it has the virtue, imho, of subtlety. (And speaking as a violinist who has shed much Bow hair, rosin and splinters in this piece it's a virtue not to be ignored!)

Yes, full of subtlety and elegance I agree. - I've never even touched a violin, but the Franck does sound a fiendishly difficult piece to master. Hat off to anybody who plays it.

[pastoralguy]

Yes, full of subtlety and elegance I agree. - I've never even touched a violin, but the Franck does sound a fiendishly difficult piece to master. Hat off to anybody who plays it.

Thank you! Actually, it's great fun to play and a wonderful piece to impress the members of the fairer sex with...

[David-G]

Like Bbm I am surprised that there has been so little comment (almost zero in fact) on this prom. I had been looking forward to this as one of the highlights of the season. This music is much more my thing than Bruckner / Mahler / Shostakovitch of which we have had so much in recent concerts. So with Freiburg Baroque, and the marvellous Isabelle Faust, it was a fixture in my diary. (Especially as I had not been able to come to IF's earlier prom.) By getting up very early I got a place on the rail and was able to enjoy the concert to the full. And very fine it was. A very nicely constructed programme, fine conducting and beautiful playing from the orchestra - and IF's innate musicianship is just so beautiful. I particularly admired the way she would occasionally add just a slight touch of vibrato for particular effect. I do think that Mendelssohn sounds marvellous on period instruments - there is a richness and clarity that somehow seems absent with modern-instrument orchestras. From the rail the acoustics were very fine, though there was a certain feeling of "presence" that was perhaps lacking, a feeling of richness and intimacy that a smaller hall would have provided. But I mustn't grumble, it was a great concert. I decided not to stay for the evening concert, as it would have meant spending the whole day in London from early until late.

There was a curiosity that no one else seems to have remarked on. Right through the concert, in silences or in quiet moments, the distinct whining of a young child could be heard from the far side of the hall. I was surprised when this first happened, and then astonished when nobody seemed to do anything about it. From where I was it was scarcely a disturbance, but for people nearby this would have ruined the concert. I don't know if this was audible to the Radio 3 microphones.

[Bryn]

Thing is, not all the comments are to be found in this thread. Some have, um, turned up in the Gergiev Prom thread. Oh, and the very young child's interjections surprised me too. I thought there was a lower age limit for the Proms. Clearly not for this matinee.

However:

Can I bring children to the Proms?

In consideration of our audience and artists, children under the age of 5 are not allowed in the Royal Albert Hall auditorium for both
audience and artists,with the exception of the Ten Pieces Presents … Proms (Prom 11 and Prom 12) and the Relaxed Prom (Prom 19).

Children between 5 and 18 are positively encouraged and tickets are half price.

Visit our Family Events section for details of the wealth of activities on offer to families at the Proms. For ticket information visit the Proms ticket pages.

[BBMmk2]

David-G, yes, thanks for bringing that up because, both myself and MrsBBM remarked on this. surely the parent/guardian of that child should have taken him/her out of the Hall, and come back at a suitable time? Why bring a child that young to a concert, in the first place?

[jayne lee wilson]

As heard via HDs iplayer at 320 kbps aac, this was a very excellent Mendelssohn program. For anyone familiar with the recent 24/96 HM release of the identical sequence, it was like viewing the same marvellously revitalising performances from the wrong end of the acoustic telescope...where the recording is thrillingly immediate, almost muscular in its climactic impact, yet with great subtlety of colour and micro dynamics, the RAH concert was set very spaciously, the major dynamic impact carried by brass and winds which rang out with resonant splendour in the biggest moments. This did create a slight discrepancy with the rest of the smallish band - which at lower levels sounded relatively distant in the wide open space; but their distinctive tonal beauties were well-resolved, strings most especially. I noticed that Faust used a shade more vibrato live than on the recording (where it is all but absent in playing of remarkable purity).
Sound balancing was very good - I only wish I'd heard it on Concert Sound (which so far as I can tell, doesn't seem likely to continue post-proms, or at least not yet...).

As for the vocalising baby - it didn't bother me much. Perhaps recognising the Parsifal Grail motif from an earlier existence, the spirit of Amfortas awoke within....

***
I love the 5th Symphony dearly, I can never hear it too often. What an extraordinary time it is for Mendelssohnians, with the recent release of Nézet-Séguin's luxuriant COE Cycle (uniquely using the Hogwood edition of the 5th, with the longer interlude between adagio and finale). We have the ongoing Freiburg/Heras-Casado HM series, Potsdam/Manacorda on Sony, and in the last few years exceptional sets from LSO/JEG and - (not nearly as well known as it should be & a personal favourite) the MDG cycle of the Symphonies played by Musikkollegium Winterthur, variously directed by Heinz Holliger (3 & 4), Thomas Zehetmair (1 & 5) and Douglas Boyd (No.2).

The Holliger disc, freshly read & wonderfully recorded, is exceptional in every sense, for it uses the last 1834 revision of No.4. If you know the piece well, you'll be in for a few very pleasurable surprises!