Prom 68: Berlin Philharmonic & Kirill Petrenko (II) – 2.09.18

[BBMmk2]

Brilliant, Keraulophone!

[Petrushka]

Superb photo! As it happens I was directly behind you there in the dreaded loggia box, Absolutely scandalous that the RAH offer these seats at near top prices. I've just listened to the Strauss first part and I'm so disappointed that I missed out on the real thrill of these performances and didn't just move down into the Arena.

[Roslynmuse]

Just caught up with this. A wonderful, super-detailed Don Juan, an absolutely single-minded trajectory from first note to last. I often think back to my first experiences getting to know the Strauss tone poems and wonder why they no longer excite me as they did - and then a performance like this comes along! Death and Transfiguration was slightly less compelling - more Toscanini (the early 1940s Philadelphia performance) than Karajan in its forward drive. Hearing the Beethoven just now was like hearing it for the first time. I don't think I could take it like this every time I heard it but it was pretty unforgettable, especially (as everyone, almost) is saying, the finale. But, for me the most revealing thing was realising how much of the finale of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique is a reworking of the 1st mt of Beethoven 7. The pp diminished 7th in the upper strings with creepy cellos and basses, and so much else - Hector must have studied this score closely!

[bluestateprommer]

If I get a seat I usually end up regretting it, no matter where it is.

I think that I've commented the following elsewhere on the Forum, but IMHO, the one exception to this rule of thumb for a seat in the RAH is in Rausing Circle, the back center, just below the center of the Gallery. The sound is a touch distant, but clear and well-balanced. My experiences of the RAH are admittedly a bit limited, though, to 4 Proms season visits over the years. Again, another thread revival to mention here the 3rd Proms Repeat for the holiday season of the 2nd BPO/KP Prom:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001s6r

[Keraulophone]

In the Philharmonie on 24 August 2018:

https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/concert/51834

In the rain outside the Berlin Palace on 25 August 2018:

https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/concert/51891

[Barbirollians]

Heard this on the Christmas repeat - loved the Strauss performances but I thought that the Beethoven 7 was all over the place. Didn't like it at all .

[seabright]

There's a 3-minute excerpt of Elgar's 2nd on YouTube with the BPO and KP which is just a brief taster for an absolutely marvellous reading of the whole work. I do hope they bring it to London sometime soon ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aftq_Yrudv8