Prom 34: West–Eastern Divan Orchestra - 12.08.19

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

19:30 Monday 12 August 2019
Royal Albert Hall

Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B minor, ‘Unfinished’
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor
Witold Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra

Martha Argerich piano
West–Eastern Divan Orchestra
Daniel Barenboim conductor

Daniel Barenboim and his West–Eastern Divan Orchestra return to the Proms with a programme of emotion and sensation.

Legendary Argentine pianist Martha Argerich is the soloist in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 – an outpouring of Romantic intensity sustained from the arresting opening chords right through to the thrilling finale.

Polish folk dances pulse through Lutosławski’s vibrant Concerto for Orchestra, with its echoes of Stravinsky and Bartok. Its bracing rhythmic energy and reticent beauty offer the perfect foil to the melodic richness of Tchaikovsky’s concerto.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Wow! What a concert! I never thought I'd be so excited about a performance of Tchaik PC1 - but Argerich...

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Wow! What a concert! I never thought I'd be so excited about a performance of Tchaik PC1 - but Argerich...

The bad news is that Barenboim's playing and she's conducting.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The bad news is that Barenboim's playing and she's conducting.

[Darkbloom]

Wow! What a concert! I never thought I'd be so excited about a performance of Tchaik PC1 - but Argerich...

I'll believe it when I see it. She must be up there with Michelangeli when it comes to cancelling concerts. I recall one of her last Proms appearances, with Dutoit, where she was animatedly expressing her displeasure with the NHK orchestra between movements.

[Zucchini]

I'll believe it when I see it. She must be up there with Michelangeli when it comes to cancelling concerts. I recall one of her last Proms appearances, with Dutoit, where she was animatedly expressing her displeasure with the NHK orchestra between movements.

She'll turn up for her fellow Argie. Always does. And she won't argue with him. Betcha

[kernelbogey]

What time would one have to arrive at the Arena queue to stand a chance of getting in ? (it's sold out.)

[bluestateprommer]

What time would one have to arrive at the Arena queue to stand a chance of getting in ? (it's sold out.)

You might want to look again, quickly: https://tickets.royalalberthall.com/...formance/66463

[kernelbogey]

You might want to look again, quickly: https://tickets.royalalberthall.com/...formance/66463

Thanks BSP: I did, but £67 is too much atm.

[Bryn]

Thanks BSP: I did, but £67 is too much atm.

If you attend Prom 33, queueing straight after it should get you near the front of the queue. Then, at 9.00 a.m. on Monday morning you can collect you 'cloakroom ticket' confirming you place in the queue and go off to get some rest before returning to the queue a little before an hour prior to the start of Prom 34. Simples!

[Darkbloom]

I got my ticket at about 1pm and the number was close to 400 already! Safe to say this will be popular. There are pros and cons to not having to queue all day, the major con being that people can show up early when they know they don't have to stick around.

[BBMmk2]

I hope there not a fracas this evening, like there was recently.

[kernelbogey]

I didn't like the Schubert. How to say this? The phrasing sounded mannered. The tempo of the second movement too fast to allow the woodwind soloists space.

[bluestateprommer]

Nice old-school reading of Schubert 8 (or 7, depending on how you number it) from WEDO and DB, which sounded rather "big band" in sound to me. No 1st movement exposition repeat, but given the upcoming concerto, that is an understandable decision. I did like how DB did not linger at the end of the 2nd movement, as if to say "you mean there isn't more?", as opposed to trying to make the two movements sound complete on their own.

She'll turn up for her fellow Argie. Always does. And she won't argue with him. Betcha

If anything, I'd think that the reverse would be true, that he won't argue with her. That aside, just did a tally of her past Prom apperances:

1966: Prokofiev 3
1992: Prokofiev 3
2000: Schumann
2001: Prokofiev 3
2002: Ravel G major
2009: Ravel G major
2016: Liszt 1

I also wonder if she is willing to honor this engagement not just because of Barenboim, but also because of this particular orchestra. I was in London when she bailed in July 2011, where that orchestra was "just another standard group" (if a very good one, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, if memory serves). WEDO is definitely not "just another standard group". And here she strolls on....

[Bert Coules]

This is emphatically not a criticism, merely a personal observation, but try as I might I really can't see what the fuss is all about with Barenboim. I have the greatest admiration for some of the things he's achieved but my word, his conducting (right across the board) leaves me completely cold. The Schubert was a good example: I'm afraid I found it bland, uninspired and uninspiring.

My loss, of course.