Prom 1 (30.07.21) - First Night of the Proms 2021

[Maclintick]

Also kind of droll, if a jolt, to hear the "happy clappers" after the 1st movement of the Sibelius. They figured it out by the time of the end of the 2nd movement, though. With Dalia S., the "Sibelius problem" with Finnish conductors (i.e. every Finnish conductor gets asked to conduct Sibelius) has special resonance, since she is related to Sibelius by marriage, as her husband is Sibelius' great-grandson.

Not sure what you mean here, B-SP. Do you mean that the applause at the end of the first movt. was a kind of collective aberration, corrected in favour of greater decorum later on..or what ? Whatever, I really loved the Sibelius, was OK with the RVW except for soprano wobblesomeness, but thought the McMillan really thin -- a sub-Britten re-hash...The Poulenc was glorious.

[Cockney Sparrow]

. ........Sir James’ piece just right for the occasion, not a wasted note.....

Found a programme note here:

https://www.boosey.com/cr/music/James-MacMillan-When-Soft-Voices-Die/108462

(More information than that provided to broadcast viewers by the BBC via Sounds, iPlayer or BBC Proms websites).

[Ein Heldenleben]

Not sure what you mean here, B-SP. Do you mean that the applause at the end of the first movt. was a kind of collective aberration, corrected in favour of greater decorum later on..or what ? Whatever, I really loved the Sibelius, was OK with the RVW except for soprano wobblesomeness, but thought the McMillan really thin -- a sub-Britten re-hash...The Poulenc was glorious.

You are so right about the Brittenesque touches …

[jayne lee wilson]

SIBELIUS 2.....

It wasn't bad was it?

A brisk and urgent Sibelius 2, very dramatic, keenly shaped toward the conclusions of first and last movements, strings' phrasing firm and clear, maintaining tension through all those tricky repetitions with the final peroration very well-prepared, powerful yet controlled with no excess rhetoric or grandiosity. Stasevska had a sharp, fresh, strongly-profiled vision of the work and brought it out vividly on the orchestra.

Still some annoying level manipulation especially in (ii) and (iii), where a degree of bass-boominess (db pizz. and timps) slightly spoiled otherwise good balances, but the dynamic range was (thankfully) more settled into the finale, where the brasses were impressive in the large acoustic space.

[Bryn]

Not sure what you mean here, B-SP. Do you mean that the applause at the end of the first movt. was a kind of collective aberration, corrected in favour of greater decorum later on..or what ? Whatever, I really loved the Sibelius, was OK with the RVW except for soprano wobblesomeness, but thought the McMillan really thin -- a sub-Britten re-hash...The Poulenc was glorious.

I'll drink to that.

[edashtav]

SIBELIUS 2.....

It wasn't bad was it?

A brisk and urgent Sibelius 2, very dramatic, keenly shaped toward the conclusions of first and last movements, strings' phrasing firm and clear, maintaining tension through all those tricky repetitions with the final peroration very well-prepared, powerful yet controlled with no excess rhetoric or grandiosity. Stasevska had a sharp, fresh, strongly-profiled vision of the work and brought it out vividly on the orchestra.

Still some annoying level manipulation especially in (ii) and (iii), where a degree of bass-boominess (db pizz. and timps) slightly spoiled otherwise good balances, but the dynamic range was (thankfully) more settled into the finale, where the brasses were impressive in the large acoustic space.

Spot on, Jayne: both your comments about DS’s interpretation of Sibelius’s ‘Italian Symphony’ and those re the inept level controls from the engineers chime with my observations.

I agree with Maclintick’s views on Jimmy Mac’s thin-sub-Brittenesque gruel. Typical commissioned fayre written to be comprehensible to the Commissionaire

The Poulenc for me was a curate’s egg: wonderful JSB flourishes with a pinch of Buxtehude on top but the two slower sections found Daniel wanting both in choice of registration and melodic shaping.
P.S. Daniel: it’s a piece written to be played by a Princess in her Salon not a warhorse to be bigged up on the RAH’s turgid mammoth. Less is more in Poulenc.

[King_Ouf_I]

These are my thoughts from the hall: my seat was RIGHT at the back of the stalls, next to the Door K exit.

An imperfect but enjoyable concert! In the ‘Serenade’, from my seat right at the back, the soloists were remarkably clear of tone, if not of words. The choir of 16, however, did not have the necessary power: it all sounded too distant. I enjoyed the Poulenc very much: it had the necessary incense of the church, cigarette smoke of the night club and periodic waft of Lefebure-Wely! Strangely, the Macmillan piece was the least Macmillanish piece of his I’ve heard, but it was effective. The soloists were again strong enough to balance well with the orchestra, and what they had to sing was comfortable for their voices. It remains to be seen how often a 10 minute work for orchestra and four soloists will get performed.

Perhaps working with Sakari Oramo has infused the BBCSO with a good dose of Finnish twang, and Stasevska added her own native piquancy, so the end result was a very interesting, nay unusual reading of the Sibelius. Tempi were quite swift at times, but in the second movement there was an expansiveness that just failed to degrade into a lack of continuity. Stasevska allowed the edges of the sound to remain sharp and as well-focussed as the RAH acoustic will allow: perhaps (repeat visits may confirm) the much more central position of the spread-out orchestra within the building tames the resonance somewhat. The finale was warm, tempi natural and perhaps more fluid than customary, though there was a bit of dodgy tuning from the horns. I was also not sure about the amount of vibrato the 1st trumpet allowed himself, if only occasionally: that may not have been his own choice, of course. All in all, though, a very exciting and emotional return to the Proms.

[LMcD]

One must, of course, not fear innovative interpretations of a favourite work - I would merely add that, to my untrained ears and possibly because of my 'skinflint' equipment, the Sibelius sounded muddy at times despite the on-stage social distancing, and I'm happy to give credit to the Guardian's critic for summing up in a few words what I felt too often when (s)he, suggests that it was perhaps too 'breathlessly driven'. That said, we should of course all rejoice that the Proms are back to something approaching normal!
Update: I've now watched the other works. I thought the Vaughan Williams was beautifully sung and imaginatively staged, and a perfect start to what was a very well balanced programme. I quite enjoyed the Macmillan - a great improvement on some previous First Night commissions, especially that awful Telegrams thing. Brittenesque at times, as has been pointed out, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, and I thought the ending was quite magical.

[Alison]

Yes, a clarion call, rather than an expresssion of glory.

[EnemyoftheStoat]

I was also not sure about the amount of vibrato the 1st trumpet allowed himself, if only occasionally: that may not have been his own choice, of course.

Quite likely. From where I was (telly sound only) he was actually quite restrained; the new - or should I say latest - BBCSO principal trumpet is Philip Cobb, formerly of the LSO, where he carried on that band's tradition of brass band cornet-style vibrato - not the BBCSO sound we've been used to. He comes from a line of distinguished Salvation Army cornettists. However, I'm not sure his dad or grandad ever wore an alice-band on TV!

[ARBurton]

Guess whose DVD/HD recorder decided to record the R3 transmission NOT the BBC2/4 relay.... and I know it`s on the Iplayer but I can`t record from that!!!!!

[marvin]

Incidentally, has the Wokeness of the BBC also infiltrated its orchestras as well? I think the male musicians were almost in a minority here but it was difficult to do a head count.

[BBMmk2]

I rather enjoyed last night’s first night. The piéce de résistance for me was the Poulenc. I lived everything else but the Poulenc was particularly well performed and interpretation was well thought out too.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Quite likely. From where I was (telly sound only) he was actually quite restrained; the new - or should I say latest - BBCSO principal trumpet is Philip Cobb, formerly of the LSO, where he carried on that band's tradition of brass band cornet-style vibrato - not the BBCSO sound we've been used to. He comes from a line of distinguished Salvation Army cornettists. However, I'm not sure his dad or grandad ever wore an alice-band on TV!

I was thinking what a superb job the 1st trumpet did last night both as lead trumpet and leader of a socially distanced sub-band . I like that sweeter slight vibrato. Didn’t the great Maurice Murphy also come from a cornet background (Black Dyke) ? His Star Wars performance must be the most listened to trumpet solo in music history. I did notice the conductor smiling “encouragingly at the brass “ in contradiction of Strauss’s dictum . Seemed to do the trick though.

[Constantbee]

I liked the running order of the programme this year, like not opening with a new commission, and enjoyed the first half very much Wasn’t sure how well an organ concerto would blend in a first night programme as it’s still quite a niche instrument and tends to appear either on Sunday mornings or much later in the season. Needn’t have worried as the piece was gorgeous and beautifully played as far as I could tell The Sibelius was a bit of a disappointment for me. I suspect Finnish conductors do indeed come under pressure to pull the rabbit out of the hat with it.