Prom 53 (28.08.20) Live performance; Eroica Symphony

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the first live Prom of the 2020 season. Beethoven’s epic 3rd Symphony sits alongside Copland’s Quiet City and a Basquiat-inspired world premiere from Hannah Kendall. The BBC Singers perform Eric Whitacre's Sleep.

Live from the Royal Albert Hall


Hannah Kendall: Tuxedo: Vasco ‘de’ Gama (BBC commission: world premiere)
Eric Whitacre: Sleep*
Aaron Copland: Quiet City
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, ‘Eroica’

BBC Singers*
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo (conductor)

Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra kick off this season’s live offering with a specially-commissioned work by English composer Hannah Kendall. Tuxedo: Vasco ‘de’ Gama takes as its title a quote from American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat’s matrix of hieroglyphs, symbols and words, and it launches a voyage across the Atlantic that takes us via Eric Whitacre’s tender Sleep, sung by the BBC Singers, to the expansive, desolate sound-world of Copland’s Quiet City.

For the concert’s climax we plunge into the stormy waters of Beethoven’s revolutionary ‘Eroica’ Symphony, noted by one early reviewer for its ‘strange modulations and violent transitions’ – a passionate musical vision of heroism.

[bluestateprommer]

Thread bump, for the first 'live' Prom (the "real First Night?"). BTW, on-line program note that Petroc alluded to:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/extra/yniu61x8bV/Beethovens-Eroica

Hearing Hannah Kendall's new work, it put me in mind of her work The Spark Catchers a few years back, in sounding extremely reminiscent, to put it one way, of the earlier piece, if my memory doesn't play false.

BTW, if anyone needs the text to 'Sleep', c/o Hyperion Records (page 8 of the pdf):

https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/notes/67543-B.pdf

[Alison]

Oh dear, I normally respond to Sakari Oramo as a conductor but that seemed an ever so slightly boring Eroica.

Something undefinably effeminate about it; little symphonic thrust.

[Bryn]

Somewhat 'plodding', I would concur. However, I was too distracted by the inept camera direction on BBC Two. Someone clearly does not have a grasp of the score.

[bluestateprommer]

Oh dear, I normally respond to Sakari Oramo as a conductor but that seemed an ever so slightly boring Eroica.

Something undefinably effeminate about it; little symphonic thrust.

While I see your POV, I'm more inclined to be a lot more forgiving and factoring in of the circumstances that probably fed into the interpretation. SO mentioned to Petroc several important points:

* Only one player per music stand, which is especially an issue for the strings
* Social distancing among the players, which makes it that much more difficult for the players to hear each other

Perhaps there's even plexiglass barriers between the players. I obviously can't watch the video from this side of the pond, of course, but others can confirm or deny if there were such shields on stage. As well, Petroc mentioned that there were only about 40 players on stage. Plus, the RAH is virtually empty, and the reverberation is clearly different, and longer, when you don't have ~6000 biped bags of electrolytes to absorb the sound. Even further, the orchestra haven't been together in months.

Under these circumstances, IMHO, Oramo did what he could to "play the hall" into his reading. Keeping in all these factors, it's quite understandable that this wasn't a John Eliot Gardiner-style 'lean, mean, fighting machine' interpretation of Beethoven 3. The pacing put me more in mind of Otto Klemperer, or at least my hazy memories of his 1961 HMV Philharmonia 'Eroica'. I accepted this for what it was, and it was fine. I did hear some traces of the HIPP school in slightly trimmed vibrato, as well as the silencing of the trumpet theme towards the end of the first movement. 1st movement repeat taken; much thanks . Hopefully in the future, Oramo will have a chance to deliver his Beethoven 3 under more 'normal' circumstances, as it's easy to surmise that he would not have conducted in the same way as this evening had there been a packed RAH, an orchestra of maybe 70 or so, and no worries about social distancing of the musicians.

The BBC Singers did fine with the Eric Whitacre, granted that it's Eric Whitacre (lushly romantic, audience-friendly, not highly memorable, yada-yada). The Copland went well, with Philip Cobb in the solo spotlight early in his new BBC SO post, and Alison Teale doing very nicely on cor anglais.

I have in mind the quip that "the perfect is the enemy of the good" (especially relevant in another context in this country now, but never mind) here. Certainly not perfect, but it was good. Most importantly, it was truly live and in the moment. I'll take that, with gratitude.

[gradus]

Live - I found it moving to hear live music again. All the pieces were right for the occasion imv.

[Lordgeous]

Regret I have to agree. First movement should be blazing, not comfortable. It improved as it went on but scherzo hardly a scherzo with some unnecessary rit.s I thought. Could lack of electricity be down to lack of audience? On the plus side I thought the sound was excellent - more ambient than usual without audience perhaps?

(This should have followed Bryn's post!)

PS I LOVED the empty hall's acoustic! I belive the BBC sometimes add reverb to sweeten the sound when the hall is full.

[LeMartinPecheur]

We watched the TV broadcast only. Info please: was this broadcast absolutely 100% as one would have heard it if standing in the hall at 7.30? Or did it run differently (longer) on R3? I sensed editing in the jumps between Derham + guests and the hall, and didn't believe at all that the switch from BBCSO to BBC Singers and back could have been managed in the time it took on TV. But Mrs LMP felt that as the Radio Times said 'live', it would be a cheat if it was edited.

It occurred to me that some of the string players might be turning their own scores (parts?) tonight for the first time for ages. Oh, the indignity!

And did the numbers of strings get anywhere close to what Beethoven got at the FP or later performances? The balance sounded good to me: would Oramo have told his strings to play up a fair bit over usual for balance against the modern woodwind and brass?

[LeMartinPecheur]

Regret I have to agree. First movement should be blazing, not comfortable. It improved as it went on but scherzo hardly a scherzo with some unnecessary rit.s I thought. Could lack of electricity be down eo lack of audience? On the plus side I thought the sound was excellent - more ambient than usual without audience perhaps?

Oh yes, I thought the absence of the damping properties of an audience was very noticeable, particularly after final chords.

The presence of a good slice of fluffy, fuzzy HMG might perhaps have improved the sound

[Bryn]

We watched the TV broadcast only. Info please: was this broadcast absolutely 100% as one would have heard it if standing in the hall at 7.30? Or did it run differently (longer) on R3? I sensed editing in the jumps between Derham + guests and the hall, and didn't believe at all that the switch from BBCSO to BBC Singers and back could have been managed in the time it took on TV. But Mrs LMP felt that as the Radio Times said 'live', it would be a cheat if it was edited.

It occurred to me that some of the string players might be turning their own scores (parts?) tonight for the first time for ages. Oh, the indignity!

And did the numbers of strings get anywhere close to what Beethoven got at the FP or later performances? The balance sounded good to me: would Oramo have told his strings to play up a fair bit over usual for balance against the modern woodwind and brass?

The BBC Two broadcast was not live. It started half an hour after the Radio 3 option. The audio will pretty certainly have been dynamically compressed for television. Transparent screens were much in evidence. As to the string complement, I would guess it was, if anything, somewhat larger than that at the premier. However, the acousitc of the RAH is very different to that of the Theater an der Wien.

[jonfan]

This was just the right programme to edge into live performances from the new, the mysterious, the desolate and finishing with the defiant. Sleep must have sounded otherworldly in the hall and it came over beautifully, as did the Copland. I’ve always enjoyed S O’s Eroica and this was so uplifting to hear the obvious enjoyment and relief for players to be back performing live. Great stuff!

[antongould]

This was just the right programme to edge into live performances from the new, the mysterious, the desolate and finishing with the defiant. Sleep must have sounded otherworldly in the hall and it came over beautifully, as did the Copland. I’ve always enjoyed S O’s Eroica and this was so uplifting to hear the obvious enjoyment and relief for players to be back performing live. Great stuff!

I agree - interesting that one of the BBC2 experts who, IIRC, has written books on classical music, had never heard Quiet City, but no harm done KD had .....

[edashtav]

While I see your POV, I'm more inclined to be a lot more forgiving and factoring in of the circumstances that probably fed into the interpretation. SO mentioned to Petroc several important points:

* Only one player per music stand, which is especially an issue for the strings
* Social distancing among the players, which makes it that much more difficult for the players to hear each other

Perhaps there's even plexiglass barriers between the players. I obviously can't watch the video from this side of the pond, of course, but others can confirm or deny if there were such shields on stage. As well, Petroc mentioned that there were only about 40 players on stage. Plus, the RAH is virtually empty, and the reverberation is clearly different, and longer, when you don't have ~6000 biped bags of electrolytes to absorb the sound. Even further, the orchestra haven't been together in months.

Under these circumstances, IMHO, Oramo did what he could to "play the hall" into his reading. Keeping in all these factors, it's quite understandable that this wasn't a John Eliot Gardiner-style 'lean, mean, fighting machine' interpretation of Beethoven 3. The pacing put me more in mind of Otto Klemperer, or at least my hazy memories of his 1961 HMV Philharmonia 'Eroica'. I accepted this for what it was, and it was fine. I did hear some traces of the HIPP school in slightly trimmed vibrato, as well as the silencing of the trumpet theme towards the end of the first movement. 1st movement repeat taken; much thanks . Hopefully in the future, Oramo will have a chance to deliver his Beethoven 3 under more 'normal' circumstances, as it's easy to surmise that he would not have conducted in the same way as this evening had there been a packed RAH, an orchestra of maybe 70 or so, and no worries about social distancing of the musicians.

The BBC Singers did fine with the Eric Whitacre, granted that it's Eric Whitacre (lushly romantic, audience-friendly, not highly memorable, yada-yada). The Copland went well, with Philip Cobb in the solo spotlight early in his new BBC SO post, and Alison Teale doing very nicely on cor anglais.

I have in mind the quip that "the perfect is the enemy of the good" (especially relevant in another context in this country now, but never mind) here. Certainly not perfect, but it was good. Most importantly, it was truly live and in the moment. I'll take that, with gratitude.

That's a fair and sympathetic summary.

I was disappointed by the new work - short, unoriginal and unmemorable.
Chording was a problem, particularly in the first movement of the Eroica. At times, it was akin to a 19th century pianist playing left hand first, at others chords sounded as if played on a 'squeezebox'. The extra reverberation caused the timpani to become aural fog. Balance issues caused the heroic horns to dominate as if they were essaying Schumann's Concert Piece for horns and orchestra. But, all those observations were caused by the performing circumstances. There were measures and solos to treasure even if the whole was necessarily flawed.

Quiet City was splendid and Whitacre's 'Sleep' was terrific .

A warm welcome for live music!

[Pulcinella]

I am no fan of either Beethoven or the BBC Singers, and ordinarily this would have been a concert I would have skipped, but I watched on BBC2 and found it a very moving experience. I was even able to cope with the 'lot of flannel from assorted talking heads between items' (Richard Morrison in today's Times).
(Stephen Fry clearly didn't know that the BBCS HAD in fact given us a recent Choral Evensong; nor did he seem to have heard Quiet City before. )

[Bryn]

I am no fan of either Beethoven or the BBC Singers, and ordinarily this would have been a concert I would have skipped, but I watched on BBC2 and found it a very moving experience. I was even able to cope with the 'lot of flannel from assorted talking heads between items' (Richard Morrison in today's Times).
(Stephen Fry clearly didn't know that the BBCS HAD in fact given us a recent Choral Evensong; nor did he seem to have heard Quiet City before. )

Re Fry, neither the content of CE nor Quiet City are by Wagner.