Prom 34: Barber, Britten & Copland – 8.08.18

[Suffolkcoastal]

I was at last night's concert. The Hall was pretty full c90% I would say.

I liked the pacing of the Walton, plenty of detail came across along with good rhythmic vigour. The performance of Copland's Connotations was superb, l loved the overall pacing that Mena gave to the work, keeping control of the structure allowing the details to come through & giving the music the sharp steely edge that it requires. The precision of the playing really stood out & full marks to the large percussion section.

The strings were excellent in Les Illuminations, but I didn't take too much to Sally Matthews' interpretation & French diction. I think her voice would have been much more idiomatic in 'Our Hunting Fathers'.

If I didn't take to Sally Matthews in the Britten, her performance in the two scenes from Antony & Cleopatra was outstanding & I really think she should be persuaded to play the part of Cleopatra in a recording & production of this grossly underrated opera. The BBC Phil were again on great form, Barber's skillful orchestration given the exact amount of resonance it needs.

Like others I do think you need to programme the Passacaglia alongside the Sea Interludes. Again a good performance to round off a concert that was well worth going down to London to hear.

[edashtav]

Jayne’s Book of Fighting Ships

What was my breakfast?

Humble Pie !

Last evening, I accused Juanjo Mena of dangerous driving to the point of almost forcing the BBC Phil. over a Hampshire cliff.

Actually, Maestro Mena was the very embodiment of Willy Walton.

A typical Walton performance of Portsmouth Point has been clocked at 5’ 21”

Last night, Mena pipped him on the post, shaving just one second from Willy’s timing!

Listening again to both performances this morning, Mena’s is crisp on the outside (percussion) but warm and accurate in the middle (strings). Walton’s was surprisingly similar given that he was not a brilliant conductor, maybe the Philharmonia knew best!

Sorry, Jayne, for giving you a night on Portsmouth Point duty.
You got it right, and I was a dozy Old man on a push bike.
Respect!

[Pulcinella]

I hated the singer!

Similar reaction here at Casa Pulcinella (in both things she sang); the prospect of her as the Countess in Figaro at Covent Garden filled us with horror!
Admittedly it can all sound different in the hall (and on different equipment at home) but she was not to our elderly snowflake ears' taste. I shall dig out my CD of Leontyne Price in the Barber extracts for later listening, and perhaps even my favoured Heather Harper Les Illuminations for the aural equivalent of cleansing my palate.
I can see why the concert wanted to end in a storm () but agree that the Passacaglia should be integral to performances of the Sea Interludes.
An enjoyable concert, though, and certainly good to hear Connotations instead of more frequently played Copland.

[teamsaint]

Similar reaction here at Casa Pulcinella (in both things she sang); the prospect of her as the Countess in Figaro at Covent Garden filled us with horror!
Admittedly it can all sound different in the hall (and on different equipment at home) but she was not to our elderly snowflake ears' taste. I shall dig out my CD of Leontyne Price in the Barber extracts for later listening, and perhaps even my favoured Heather Harper Les Illuminations for the aural equivalent of cleansing my palate.
I can see why the concert wanted to end in a storm () but agree that the Passacaglia should be integral to performances of the Sea Interludes.
An enjoyable concert, though, and certainly good to hear Connotations instead of more frequently played Copland.

I find my enjoyment of Sally Matthews( from quite limited experience) to be a bit mixed. She can be wonderful, and other times I find her style doesn't always work for me. But I'd always have a listen to her.

[BBMmk2]

I enjoyed the concert as a whole, but I found Sally Matthews rather offf.

[Nick Armstrong]

I hated the singer!

I made a mental note long ago to give her performances a very wide berth. Not the sort of voice I can stand. ("I'd be equally as willing for a dentist to be drilling...")

[teamsaint]

I made a mental note long ago to give her performances a very wide berth. Not the sort of voice I can stand. ("I'd be equally as willing for a dentist to be drilling...")

Her CD of Schubert , Strauss and Poulenc songs is one of the things of hers I have enjoyed.
Hope this helps !!

[Nick Armstrong]

Her CD of Schubert , Strauss and Poulenc songs is one of the things of hers I have enjoyed.
Hope this helps !!

You're a saint, team!

[BBMmk2]

You're a saint, team!

A bit like the joke I put up earlier, I taught my dog the trumpet, from barking to tooting in ten minutes!

[jayne lee wilson]

What was my breakfast?

Humble Pie !

Last evening, I accused Juanjo Mena of dangerous driving to the point of almost forcing the BBC Phil. over a Hampshire cliff.

Actually, Maestro Mena was the very embodiment of Willy Walton.

A typical Walton performance of Portsmouth Point has been clocked at 5’ 21”

Last night, Mena pipped him on the post, shaving just one second from Willy’s timing!

Listening again to both performances this morning, Mena’s is crisp on the outside (percussion) but warm and accurate in the middle (strings). Walton’s was surprisingly similar given that he was not a brilliant conductor, maybe the Philharmonia knew best!

Sorry, Jayne, for giving you a night on Portsmouth Point duty.
You got it right, and I was a dozy Old man on a push bike.
Respect!

But it's the wonderful thing about the Proms, and threads like this one Ed, that it sent me back to listen to Portsmouth Point, again and again, and to Previn's LSO classic too (which I wouldn't have done otherwise), and after that to those Hindemith Variations which I would have loved to see included, this time with Szell and those remarkable Clevelanders....I'll try to cram more orchestral Walton in later - but what a shame there's so little of it.

Never stop fighting till the fight is done!

[edashtav]

But it's the wonderful thing about the Proms, and threads like this one Ed, that it sent me back to listen to Portsmouth Point, again and again, and to Previn's LSO classic too (which I wouldn't have done otherwise), and after that to those Hindemith Variations which I would have loved to see included, this time with Szell and those remarkable Clevelanders....I'll try to cram more orchestral Walton in later - but what a shame there's so little of it.

Never stop fighting till the fight is done!

My first reaction to your suggestion of including the Walton Hindemith Variations was wrong: I had forgotten that Bernstein conducted Hindemith well, and had spoken warmly of his talent in TV lectures, as I result of my ignorance I thought that Lenny might have turned in his grave, whereas it would have been a double tribute and included one of my favourite Walton works that’s based on a gorgeous Hindemith tune from a sadly neglected work. Williy’s reputation has survived better than Paul’s but there are many pieces that I love in the German’s oeuvre and wish to hear freshly interpreted.
As for George Szell, he saved Walton's reputation when it was at its nadir, around the time of the Cello Concerto and 2nd Symphony. Both works were derided for lacking the vim and vigour that made such an impact when works from Walton’s first period, e.g. last night’s Portsmouth Point, were first played. Actually, Willy’s later works were full of subtleties and made great demands on orchestral players. I first heard the 2nd symphony live, played by a provincial orchestra... it fell flat and, sadly, I joined the naysayers. Then, along came the Clevelanders’ account: some of us ate our words, humble conductors, such as Charles Groves, drilled their bands, and little by little, Walton’s prestige was restored.
Paul Hindemith’s music needs less scrubbing and more polishing: he, too, was a fine and inventive orchestrator.

[Lat-Literal]

Ooh, I loved the shiny, grimy, industrial Copland: it was played with bright, pseudo- American confidence and belief. This was Aaron reacting against the cosy, pastoral, dare I say, “cowpat” idiom of Appalachian Spring & etc., giving us an unvarnished, rust-belt and all, throbbing account of the USA, as a 20th century Industrial giant. One wobble apart, I loved this, and rated it the best performance of Connotations that I’ve ever heard : hard-driven, unvarnished, and intense. Well done!

Hello Ed. We could really do on this forum with the sort of smiley face that waves. The one that can be read in several ways. I was intrigued to read your anti-Appalachian praise of Copland and wondered if you had thoughts of other American composers in what could broadly be called the RVW period - as I don't recall many of them being included on your list.

[edashtav]

Hello Ed. We could really do on this forum with the sort of smiley face that waves. The one that can be read in several ways. I was intrigued to read your anti-Appalachian praise of Copland and wondered if you had thoughts of other American composers in what could broadly be called the RVW period - as I don't recall many of them being included on your list.

I suppose the most “home-spun”:was Roy Harris, L-L. V.Thomson could mimic cowpats in his Film Music e.g. Louisiana Story, but with him, it may have been an affectation like wearing old jeans.

[Lat-Literal]

I suppose the most “home-spun”:was Roy Harris, L-L. V.Thomson could mimic cowpats in his Film Music e.g. Louisiana Story, but with him, it may have been an affectation like wearing old jeans.

Do you not feel, ed, that Harris 11 is to 60s culture what that Copland piece is to industrialism? The underbelly of Glass, albeit more aligned with Piston etc, or does it not frack enough?