Proms 38 & 39: West Side Story 11.08.18

[Bryn]

I shall always be grateful to my mother for taking me to West End production around Christmas 1958. She hated it, but I loved every minute.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Agreed, and why can't this orchestra loosen up and ease off the beat a bit more? Also, why are Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal not mentioned until the this Interval feature?

Dunno . It's such a complex score in places - difficult to really make it swing and a lot of it isn't really jazz is it ? The John Wilson orch drummer is such a phenomenal jazz / swing drummer the idea of some one like him being 'conducted' always strikes me as a bit weird. With the great big bands the rhythm section -with Basie and Duke at the core laid done the basic swing - they didn't need a conductor. If I had the teensiest criticism of JW as a conductor is that he is a bit four square if you know what I mean.

[Bryn]

This, by the way, was the first recording of music from West Side Story I ever bought, in 1962:

[Ein Heldenleben]

Have to say that was one of the best sung Marias I've ever heard but dear me so many dialogue cuts...amazed the copyright holders agreed to them.

[cloughie]

The Tony and Maria sound very good but one of two of the cast sound a bit too operatic for my tastes including surprisingly the jets ensemble ....

The Officer Krupke scene sounded very poor to me.

[Lordgeous]

Nothing will ever beat the original cast recording for me but I found the wonderful JW's performace most enjoyable, and moving, though the R3 balance was a bit bizarre at times. Does anyone know if it was recorded for TV?

[edashtav]

Dunno . It's such a complex score in places - difficult to really make it swing and a lot of it isn't really jazz is it ? The John Wilson orch drummer is such a phenomenal jazz / swing drummer the idea of some one like him being 'conducted' always strikes me as a bit weird. With the great big bands the rhythm section -with Basie and Duke at the core laid done the basic swing - they didn't need a conductor. If I had the teensiest criticism of JW as a conductor is that he is a bit four square if you know what I mean.

The performance had its moments but it wasn’t consistently idiomatic, or, perhaps, I mean there was lack of consistency, an absence of a sense that the conductor had laid down a firm line , a style sheet if you like, to his orchestra and the principals. It was Work in Progress not a finished, bedded down, sink-tested Show.
It was too loosely collegiate for my taste.

[Beef Oven!]

The performance had its moments but it wasn’t consistently idiomatic, or, perhaps, I mean there was lack of consistency, an absence of a sense that the conductor had laid down a firm line , a style sheet if you like, to his orchestra and the principals. It was Work in Progress not a finished, bedded down, sink-tested Show.
It was too loosely collegiate for my taste.

Try to enjoy it

[Bryn]

Nothing will ever beat the original cast recording for me but I found the wonderful JW's performace most enjoyable, and moving, though the R3 balance was a bit bizarre at times. Does anyone know if it was recorded for TV?

It appears not. However, On the Town is scheduled for television broadcast Saturday 25th, on BBC FOUR.

[Bryn]

Try to enjoy it

One should not need to try.

[Beef Oven!]

One should not need to try.

Indeed, and most people don't need to

[cloughie]

Indeed, and most people don't need to

But it’s not always that easy!

[Bryn]

Indeed, and most people don't need to

To be kind, I would say I found tonight's performance a bit of a curate's egg. Mikaela Bennett was indeed very good indeed. There was a bit too much operatic vibrato and portamento in some of the other soloists' contributions. I do not have access to the score but doubt such is called for in it.

[Beef Oven!]

To be kind, I would say I found tonight's performance a bit of a curate's egg. Mikaela Bennett was indeed very good indeed. There was a bit too much operatic vibrato and portamento in some of the other soloists' contributions. I do not have access to the score but doubt such is called for in it.

I wonder how many in the audience said to one another on the way out after the show "yeah, it was alright, but bit of a curate's egg. Should've brought the score with me, then I could say for certain"

[Beef Oven!]

I wonder how many people view boards like this in order to get a better grasp of these sorts of concerts and are put off by the anal perspective that we put across about these shows? My worry is that it might be a significant number and they might not realise that we're just weirdos and they will think there's something wrong with the music that they don't understand and think it's something to do with them.