Prom 49: Rattle conducts Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony (24.08.22)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

19:00 Wednesday 24 August 2022 ON TV
Royal Albert Hall

Harrison Birtwistle: Donut Simoni MMXVIII
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor, ‘Resurrection’

Louise Alder soprano
Dame Sarah Connolly mezzo-soprano
CBSO Chorus
London Symphony Chorus
London Symphony Orchestra
Sir Simon Rattle conductor

The end has come, and in the silence after the Last Trumpet, a solitary bird is the only sound heard on Earth. The ambition of Gustav Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony staggers the imagination – an emotional odyssey on a cosmic scale that embraces tenderness, rage, dark humour and – yes – the end of the world itself. Sir Simon Rattle was still a teenager when he conducted his first performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony, and it’s been a personal touchstone at every stage of his career. Now, as he prepares to step down as Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra, he pairs it with a short (but very personal) tribute from the late Harrison Birtwistle, one of Britain’s most distinguished recent composers.

[Prommer]

Now THIS could be good!

[Pulcinella]

Now THIS could be good!

Dare one tempt fate and say 'This SHOULD be good!'?
Fingers crossed!

[Petrushka]

My first Prom since Haitink's farewell in September 2019 and it will be a big moment for me to be back in the Royal Albert Hall again. By chance, it's also the eighth anniversary of my mother's death so there's plenty of feeling behind this one!

Looking forward to it!

[Prommer]

Same here...

[cloughie]

My first Prom since Haitink's farewell in September 2019 and it will be a big moment for me to be back in the Royal Albert Hall again. By chance, it's also the eighth anniversary of my mother's death so there's plenty of feeling behind this one!

Looking forward to it!

I hope it’s a good one for you, Pet. His CBSO recording is special, though on first hearing I thought a little different from other recordings (my previous top choice CSO Abbado) on further listening thought got deep into the heart of the work.

[Petrushka]

I hope it’s a good one for you, Pet. His CBSO recording is special, though on first hearing I thought a little different from other recordings (my previous top choice CSO Abbado) on further listening thought got deep into the heart of the work.

This will be my fourth live Mahler 2 with Rattle. Easily the best one was his final CBSO performance 24 years ago in 1998, an unforgettable evening. Hoping for a mighty contribution from the organ in those final pages on Wednesday night.

[Simon B]

In response to the first and hopefully last chamber-like Proms Mahler 2 (Jansons/BRSO Mahler 2 in 2013 - 9 years?! ) I recall writing:

"LSO conducted by... who, next time please. (...) While not a huge Rattle enthusiast overall, he does a good line in Mahler 2 IMO. And get the LSO, BBCSO and CBSO choruses together. Then we'll be getting somewhere!"

So, finally, in the mostly disappointing history of Proms Mahler 2s over the last 25 years (IMO obviously), on paper this one has all the right ingredients:

i) The right orchestra for the job, usually ultra confident and given to projecting an exceptionally big sound and punchy attack even in this cavernous space;
ii) A suitably massive chorus comprising groups with plenty of history with the piece and conductor;
iii) Excellent soloists;
iv) Tuning to 440Hz so we are spared the farce of a feeble electronic organ which couldn't blow a feather over at the end and should instead have the fabric of the building shaken, if only briefly;
v) A conductor whose recorded history with the piece suggests the barn should be suitably stormed.

So, what will go wrong this time I wonder?

[Keraulophone]

So, what will go wrong this time I wonder?

Travelling up by train from Cornwall to hear this, so, for me, only the possibility of mixing up the train strike dates!

Looking forward to a night to remember, including Spem in alium from The Sixteen later on.
.

[Alison]

David Nice used to have a theory that the LSO played less convincingly away from the Barbican.

[Ein Heldenleben]

In response to the first and hopefully last chamber-like Proms Mahler 2 (Jansons/BRSO Mahler 2 in 2013 - 9 years?! ) I recall writing:

"LSO conducted by... who, next time please. (...) While not a huge Rattle enthusiast overall, he does a good line in Mahler 2 IMO. And get the LSO, BBCSO and CBSO choruses together. Then we'll be getting somewhere!"

So, finally, in the mostly disappointing history of Proms Mahler 2s over the last 25 years (IMO obviously), on paper this one has all the right ingredients:

i) The right orchestra for the job, usually ultra confident and given to projecting an exceptionally big sound and punchy attack even in this cavernous space;
ii) A suitably massive chorus comprising groups with plenty of history with the piece and conductor;
iii) Excellent soloists;
iv) Tuning to 440Hz so we are spared the farce of a feeble electronic organ which couldn't blow a feather over at the end and should instead have the fabric of the building shaken, if only briefly;
v) A conductor whose recorded history with the piece suggests the barn should be suitably stormed.

So, what will go wrong this time I wonder?

Well- I will have the amp set to 11 and I have warned the neighbours.

[Dave2002]

iv) Tuning to 440Hz so we are spared the farce of a feeble electronic organ which couldn't blow a feather over at the end and should instead have the fabric of the building shaken, if only briefly;

Seriously? Do other orchestras not tune to the same intonation as the near permanent fixture?

[Simon B]

Seriously? Do other orchestras not tune to the same intonation as the near permanent fixture?

Yep. It is a regular occurrence for visiting orchestras (Proms performances of this very work by the Bavarian RSO/Jansons & Berlin PO/Abbado being cases in point) to not use the RAH organ because they tune to a sufficiently different A. 445Hz if I recall correctly for the Berlin Phil. The difference is enough to sound quite jangly if you just ignore it and plough on regardless with 440 and 445 together.

It is not as simple as getting everyone to tune down to 440 for the day. The theory goes that the string instruments have had the accustomed tuning baked into their fabric over time, wind instruments will not take kindly to being forced down by 1% etc. How much of that is pseudo-mystical woo is left as an exercise for the reader. Also, at least part of the distinctive sound of the BPO and their like comes from this perceptibly brighter tuning and they aren't going to be keen to mess about with that...

[RichardB]

445Hz if I recall correctly for the Berlin Phil. The difference is enough to sound quite jangly if you just ignore it and plough on regardless with 440 and 445 together.

Apparently the Berliners have slipped back to 443 (same as the Vienna Philharmonic currently). It must be somewhat treacherous for international string, wind and vocal soloists to have to rethink their tuning for the different orchestras they perform with. On the other hand, creating a strict worldwide standard would just increase the degree of homogenisation that already exists in the the orchestral world, compared with 50-60 years ago.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Yep. It is a regular occurrence for visiting orchestras (Proms performances of this very work by the Bavarian RSO/Jansons & Berlin PO/Abbado being cases in point) to not use the RAH organ because they tune to a sufficiently different A. 445Hz if I recall correctly for the Berlin Phil. The difference is enough to sound quite jangly if you just ignore it and plough on regardless with 440 and 445 together.

It is not as simple as getting everyone to tune down to 440 for the day. The theory goes that the string instruments have had the accustomed tuning baked into their fabric over time, wind instruments will not take kindly to being forced down by 1% etc. How much of that is pseudo-mystical woo is left as an exercise for the reader. Also, at least part of the distinctive sound of the BPO and their like comes from this perceptibly brighter tuning and they aren't going to be keen to mess about with that...

The fact that organs also go sharp when it’s warm only complicates matters. This US firm tunes to 440.

https://buzardorgans.com/organ-tuning-and-maintenance/

As Richard implies the “baked in tuning” idea surely fails when virtuoso with a strad turns up. They must be constantly tuning to a different A. He is also right : singing a top c in some German opera houses now is a different thing from doing so in Italy in the days of Verdi,
I’m not too worried about the organ being slightly out of tune for the end of the symphony tonight as the RAH Steinways are nearly always out of tune by the third movement of being bashed about - even worse on a hot night when the reeds are usually out of whack with the piano as well . We are so used to recordings wheee they retune between movements or just stop if a note goes out.