Prom 35: Yuja Wang with the Oslo Philharmonic and Klaus Mäkelä 12.08.22)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

19:30 Friday 12 August 2022 ON TV
Royal Albert Hall

Jean Sibelius: Tapiola
Franz Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major
Richard Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

Yuja Wang piano
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Klaus Mäkelä conductor

No prizes for identifying the real hero of Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben. With its swashbuckling self-confidence and self-mocking humour, this ‘Hero’s Life’ is very much the world according to Richard Strauss – an exuberant, off-the-scale showpiece for the Oslo Philharmonic, making its first Proms appearance under its recently appointed and widely acclaimed Chief Conductor Klaus Makëlä. Joining them, in Liszt’s First Piano Concerto, is the phenomenal Yuja Wang, who’s said that she ‘feels like a rock star’ when playing at the Proms. Sibelius’s awe-inspiring panorama of the Finnish forests opens a high-octane evening with one of Europe’s great orchestras, and two of the most talked-about classical musicians in the world today.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

BBC blurb writer - please reveal your CV.

[Ein Heldenleben]

19:30 Friday 12 August 2022 ON TV
Royal Albert Hall

Jean Sibelius: Tapiola
Franz Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major
Richard Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

Yuja Wang piano
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Klaus Mäkelä conductor

No prizes for identifying the real hero of Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben. With its swashbuckling self-confidence and self-mocking humour, this ‘Hero’s Life’ is very much the world according to Richard Strauss – an exuberant, off-the-scale showpiece for the Oslo Philharmonic, making its first Proms appearance under its recently appointed and widely acclaimed Chief Conductor Klaus Makëlä. Joining them, in Liszt’s First Piano Concerto, is the phenomenal Yuja Wang, who’s said that she ‘feels like a rock star’ when playing at the Proms. Sibelius’s awe-inspiring panorama of the Finnish forests opens a high-octane evening with one of Europe’s great orchestras, and two of the most talked-about classical musicians in the world today.

I suppose off-the-scale is a fairly accurate description of my piano practice.
“Awe-inspiring” - come on guys we can do better than that ….
“High-octane” …no we can’t …

[bluestateprommer]

Very fine, solid reading of Tapiola from Klaus M. and the Oslo PO to start things off today. Perhaps a bit silly to say that there's more vim in this live reading than in their studio recording in their new Decca Classics cycle, but then performance live with an audience does seem to generate more electricity by default, compared to a studio recording.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Yuja Wang doing her own version of the Horowitz Carmen Fantasy or is it Volodos ?

[bluestateprommer]

Yuja Wang doing her own version of the Horowitz Carmen Fantasy or is it Volodos ?

Can't say, but whichever way, definitely a crowd-pleaser :) , and very smart of her to dial it down with the second encore, and to stop at 2 encores, especially with a much calmer work just before the interval. (Will listen again to MH's mention of the arranger to archive the information in the Forum Calendar on the two encores.) Likewise, obviously good clean fun with Liszt 1 from YW, KM and the Oslo PO, with YW mentioning her opinion to Martin Handley that people could use some humor now.

[seabright]

It's not often you see a woman playing Liszt's 1st Piano Concerto wearing a bathing costume. Maybe she'll nip over to the Serpentine for a quick dip in the interval.

[Ein Heldenleben]

It's not often you see a woman playing Liszt's 1st Piano Concerto wearing a bathing costume. Maybe she'll nip over to the Serpentine for a quick dip in the interval.

Just flicked over to BBC Four .You’re not exaggerating…

[gedsmk]

Elise Båtnes in the Strauss. Stunning solo violin.

[kernelbogey]

I think her technique and musicianship were more strking than what she wore....

[Ein Heldenleben]

I think her technique and musicianship were more strking than what she wore....

I was listening on R3 and didn’t have that distraction. I agree she has a phenomenal technique but for me either the piece or her playing just sounded too tinkly- too much fussing around above the ledger line. I enjoyed her second encore most.

[Nick Armstrong]

I was listening on R3 and didn’t have that distraction. I agree she has a phenomenal technique but for me either the piece or her playing just sounded too tinkly- too much fussing around above the ledger line. I enjoyed her second encore most.

I’m allergic to Liszt (especially the concertos) but shall be listening to / watching the Sibelius & Strauss with interest, I’ve been sampling Mäkelä’s recent Sibelius Symphony recordings (plus live Sibelius 6 & 7 on TTN) with great pleasure.

[jonfan]

Elise Båtnes in the Strauss. Stunning solo violin.

Yes, one of the best I’ve heard. A thrilling performance from the whole orchestra, detail and with a sense of progression through the piece.

[bluestateprommer]

Interesting to hear KM mention how the opening of Ein Heldenleben shouldn't necessarily be "traditionally 'heavy'", per the indication in the score. He did try to "lighten it up" at the start, although my tin ear may have a momentary ensemble scramble at the start. If so, then things settled down quickly. Excellent work from Elise Båtnes in the solo hot seat, as others have noted. Very good choice of encore from "the other Strauss" (thought I missed tambourines, but will have to double-check). Anyone in the RAH who may not have known who KM was will know who he is now, as he seems to have won himself a lot of new friends in the audience.

(Sidebar question: is it actually quite rare to get a female solo violinist in Ein Heldenleben? Seems that way on this side of the pond., which perhaps speaks more to the relative % of female concertmasters / leaders of orchestras.)

BTW, nice of Netherlands Radio 4 to get in on the broadcasting act for this Prom, for obvious reasons related to 2027:

https://www.nporadio4.nl/uitzendingen/zomeravondconcert/6de17808-85a7-4bdf-99d5-48846f74e322/2022-08-12-zomeravondconcert-bbc-proms

[edashtav]

Interesting to hear KM mention how the opening of Ein Heldenleben shouldn't necessarily be "traditionally 'heavy'", per the indication in the score. He did try to "lighten it up" at the start, although my tin ear may have a momentary ensemble scramble at the start. If so, then things settled down quickly. Excellent work from Elise Båtnes in the solo hot seat, as others have noted. Very good choice of encore from "the other Strauss" (thought I missed tambourines, but will have to double-check). Anyone in the RAH who may not have known who KM was will know who he is now, as he seems to have won himself a lot of new friends in the audience.

(Sidebar question: is it actually quite rare to get a female solo violinist in Ein Heldenleben? Seems that way on this side of the pond., which perhaps speaks more to the relative % of female concertmasters / leaders of orchestras.)

BTW, nice of Netherlands Radio 4 to get in on the broadcasting act for this Prom, for obvious reasons related to 2027:

https://www.nporadio4.nl/uitzendinge...cert-bbc-proms

Mäkelä’ s interpretation of Ein Heldenleben was a thing of great beauty: he allowed the work to breathe, reduced its bombast quotient, allowed significant detail to surface, and produced a rounded portrait of the composer. For once, I could believe that Richard loved and cherished Mozart’s music. Like others on this thread, I thought Elise Båtnes was superb and full of flair.

A wonderful performance that will linger long in memory.

Here’s a teaser: what theme has connected Proms 31, 33, and 35?