Prom 20: Pekka Kuusisto and the BBC SSO - 3.08.19

[jayne lee wilson]

I am so jealous. That was one of the best Violin Concerto performances I have ever heard. Stunning. And best of all, the SlappyHappyClappers stayed away.

Brief re-recommend for the original 1903-4 Violin Concerto, as aforementioned on the listening thread.... really find it very gripping - more interesting in itself than the somewhat inchoate 1915 5th....among many points of interest it has a "darker, more massive" orchestration, as the BIS notes put it.

The Kavakos/Vanska BIS recording is c/w the familiar version....it's also about 5' longer than 1905, so if you love the piece, five more minutes of bliss just for you...

[Tevot]

Hello there,

Listened to the broadcast today - and found it wonderful. What an intelligent and thought provoking programme!

And wasn't the Original Sibelius 5 something else? I'm reminded of Bernstein's comments about Britten's music - and the metaphor about changing gears and things not quite working or meshing...Certainly with the original 1915 version I could hear this Sibelius 5 being the immediate product of its predecessor - being in turn surprised, shocked, exhilarated by how it differed from Sibelius' revision.

Best Wishes,

Tevot