Proms 2017 - Retrospective Reviews - Part 1/4
This year I've saved all my Proms thoughts until after the season has finished and they have vanished from the airwaves.
Prom 1 - First Night - see full review http://mindpoke.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/proms-2017-week-1-prom-1.html
First piece was a 6 minute joust by Tom Coults (b. 1988) called St John's Dance - based on the medieval idea of dancing to the point of collapse, choreomania. I enjoyed the verve of the piece, there's a sneaky boisterous quality to it too. It was a grand opening - energetic, dazzlingly scored and just a little bit manic. The Beethoven Concerto is in C minor and probably dates from around 1800 but was first performed in 1803 with the composer as soloist. Gardner's approach took some hints from history and his rhythms were tightly sprung and lines taut but the wide dynamics were probably needed in the RAH. The Proms soloist was Igor Levitt: always beautifully crafted and tempered the RAH audience were rightly rapt. But I find his extremes of focus sometimes lose contact with the grander sweep. Finally combined choirs who were brigaded under the banner of the BBC Proms Youth Choir and the BBC Symphony Chorus together 300 souls, and a 100+ strong BBC Symphony Orchestra, gave a compelling and visceral reading of John Adam's Harmonium. It is a great piece and I haven't heard it done better. Gardner's zeal reaped massive rewards in terms of instrumental detail and eruptive energy. It was great to hear something big and modern in the first concert but....Harmonium had its world premiere in San Francisco in April 1981 - 36 years ago...
Prom 2: Elgar 1 - as the first climax of Elgar 1 hoves into view it's clear that even for this of us allergic to Elgar there's something special about the Berlin Staatskapelle tackling this work under Barenboim's watch, The tuba shines through - Thomas Keller if I'm not much mistaken. Thereafter it's all a bit of a dead loss musically of me but it brought the house down. I'm in my post Elgar period and have been since about 1990. The Sibelius Violin Concerto soloist was Lisa Batiashvilli who, I would say, recorded the also most perfect interpretation with Barenboim - and pretty much replicated it in the RAH. What some great works need are great advocates - violinist and composer seem to be as one - moreover Barenboim - in his third recording of the work is a master accompanist. A classs act. Barenboim's choice of Pomp and Circumstance No 1 as an encore did nothing to re-engage me.
Prom 3: Haitink - Bernard Haitink is still a magician with an orchestra - though the fires that used to a erupt now are a strong radiant heat. His Mozart in this prom was supremely poised there's such subtle ebb and flow in it as to appear almost beyond direction. The symphony in the safest of hands was never in danger of appearing out of it's time or place, like a delicate time piece. So to the Violin Concerto where conductor matched the glorious finesse of Isabelle Faust (though she lifts the music beyond the norm through use of Andreas Staier’s magical cadenzas) - it was a class partnership. After the interval the same measured detailed approach feared less well with Schumann's Second Symphony which never sounded as "other" as it can be.
Prom 4: Birtwistle: Deep Time Speaking geological terms in a pre-concert interview, the composer spoke of his previous pieces in this vain and aligned them with the processes of rock formation and reformation. His suggestion here was of the forces of transformation and our witness of twisted rocks in a snapshot of a process which produces rock and by which rock is produced. It is a viewpoint of a giant in scale and time. The work premiered by Barenboim and his orchestra has settled in somewhat and was delivered with a kind of glacial patience and unbounded sense of the scale music can deliver in terms of altering our perception of time and scale but by the range of sound and it's amalgamated inertia. This is music to consider which can be enjoyed as a colourful landscape of abstraction ideas with recurring moods. More likely though for the Birtwistle aficionado this is further chapter in a tale of examination from viewpoint beyond are usual reckoner of history or geography. Geological time observed across the forces and materials at work yields more drama than man can muster even with our world destroying capability. Its a piece to savour for a man who is telling us to look beyond are usual framework. Barenboim and orchestra delivered it with flare, patience and gravity. I await a recording or a second performance.
Prom 7: Dusapin Cello Concerto"Outscape" - A brother and sister on the Proms platform is a rarity and these two both come with a pedigree - conductor Joshua as a rising favourite with the BBCSO and Alicia as a favourite in the concert hall (Barenboim's chosen successor to Du Pre in his recording of Elgar's Cello concerto no less). The concert began with a raging torrent of Baroque splendour the vision of Chaos by French composer Rebel: the rafters shock with its elegant primeval shaking. Dusapin's new cello concerto Outscape written especially for Alicia Willenstein was something of a modern marvel of so many moods and colours and yet an complex tussle to exchange of roles between soloist and orchestra. It had much to commend it and I hope it finds it's way to disc and more concerts. It fits Weilstein like a glove. The cute encore for brother and sister - a Bartok Duo - was well done. Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique needs a rest from the Proms. The interpretation didn't tell us much new and Joshua - full of the right intent until the dying bars when his musicianship got the better of his reckless abandon - a bit of Rebel's chaos at the end would have worked better I think.
Prom 10: Aurora Orchestra play from memory: I like the idea of dissecting symphony with musical examples before a performance and the excellent performances from this orchestra under Nicholas Collon: I used to read Tovey then plunge into a symphony with a much clearer idea of what's going on. The main thing I'd like to say here is that when the developing story which is more about the feat of memory than it is about the music then I think we have a problem. It can only end in one place - a downright disaster. What's lost in all this awe of musicians choose to play music from memory is any reference to all the others who choose in various genres. Some musicians don't have a choice through genre e.g. opera singers and choruses and of course there are musicians who can't see music even if they want to see them. Whether though choice or not some of these are also in ensembles too. The real issue is how much is this detracting from the development of a very fine orchestra?
Malcolm Sargent Prom 13: it only hit me in the last piece Britten's YPGTTO how influential Sargent was on the generation of music makers for whom he became a sponsor, an advocate and a glittering performer. Sir Andrew Davies was eloquent in interviews and in his words to the hall - the Proms in particular owe a lot to Sargent. So do we - the deep roots he set down are still bearing fruit.
Prom 14: RVW 9 and Holst, Planets -John Wilson should be a powerhouse in these pieces but on this occasion neither came off very well. The Vaughan Williams subdued - none of the glory of his new horizons was evident in this performance, despite a memory for me of Wilson's previous outing with the piece. The Planets had bite and wider sonic vistas but was not arresting, too often I wondered if Wilson was actually in front of the orchestra at all. Shame because both pieces simply ooze mysticism.
To be continued...
Prom 1 - First Night - see full review http://mindpoke.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/proms-2017-week-1-prom-1.html
First piece was a 6 minute joust by Tom Coults (b. 1988) called St John's Dance - based on the medieval idea of dancing to the point of collapse, choreomania. I enjoyed the verve of the piece, there's a sneaky boisterous quality to it too. It was a grand opening - energetic, dazzlingly scored and just a little bit manic. The Beethoven Concerto is in C minor and probably dates from around 1800 but was first performed in 1803 with the composer as soloist. Gardner's approach took some hints from history and his rhythms were tightly sprung and lines taut but the wide dynamics were probably needed in the RAH. The Proms soloist was Igor Levitt: always beautifully crafted and tempered the RAH audience were rightly rapt. But I find his extremes of focus sometimes lose contact with the grander sweep. Finally combined choirs who were brigaded under the banner of the BBC Proms Youth Choir and the BBC Symphony Chorus together 300 souls, and a 100+ strong BBC Symphony Orchestra, gave a compelling and visceral reading of John Adam's Harmonium. It is a great piece and I haven't heard it done better. Gardner's zeal reaped massive rewards in terms of instrumental detail and eruptive energy. It was great to hear something big and modern in the first concert but....Harmonium had its world premiere in San Francisco in April 1981 - 36 years ago...
Prom 2: Elgar 1 - as the first climax of Elgar 1 hoves into view it's clear that even for this of us allergic to Elgar there's something special about the Berlin Staatskapelle tackling this work under Barenboim's watch, The tuba shines through - Thomas Keller if I'm not much mistaken. Thereafter it's all a bit of a dead loss musically of me but it brought the house down. I'm in my post Elgar period and have been since about 1990. The Sibelius Violin Concerto soloist was Lisa Batiashvilli who, I would say, recorded the also most perfect interpretation with Barenboim - and pretty much replicated it in the RAH. What some great works need are great advocates - violinist and composer seem to be as one - moreover Barenboim - in his third recording of the work is a master accompanist. A classs act. Barenboim's choice of Pomp and Circumstance No 1 as an encore did nothing to re-engage me.
Prom 3: Haitink - Bernard Haitink is still a magician with an orchestra - though the fires that used to a erupt now are a strong radiant heat. His Mozart in this prom was supremely poised there's such subtle ebb and flow in it as to appear almost beyond direction. The symphony in the safest of hands was never in danger of appearing out of it's time or place, like a delicate time piece. So to the Violin Concerto where conductor matched the glorious finesse of Isabelle Faust (though she lifts the music beyond the norm through use of Andreas Staier’s magical cadenzas) - it was a class partnership. After the interval the same measured detailed approach feared less well with Schumann's Second Symphony which never sounded as "other" as it can be.
Prom 4: Birtwistle: Deep Time Speaking geological terms in a pre-concert interview, the composer spoke of his previous pieces in this vain and aligned them with the processes of rock formation and reformation. His suggestion here was of the forces of transformation and our witness of twisted rocks in a snapshot of a process which produces rock and by which rock is produced. It is a viewpoint of a giant in scale and time. The work premiered by Barenboim and his orchestra has settled in somewhat and was delivered with a kind of glacial patience and unbounded sense of the scale music can deliver in terms of altering our perception of time and scale but by the range of sound and it's amalgamated inertia. This is music to consider which can be enjoyed as a colourful landscape of abstraction ideas with recurring moods. More likely though for the Birtwistle aficionado this is further chapter in a tale of examination from viewpoint beyond are usual reckoner of history or geography. Geological time observed across the forces and materials at work yields more drama than man can muster even with our world destroying capability. Its a piece to savour for a man who is telling us to look beyond are usual framework. Barenboim and orchestra delivered it with flare, patience and gravity. I await a recording or a second performance.
Prom 7: Dusapin Cello Concerto"Outscape" - A brother and sister on the Proms platform is a rarity and these two both come with a pedigree - conductor Joshua as a rising favourite with the BBCSO and Alicia as a favourite in the concert hall (Barenboim's chosen successor to Du Pre in his recording of Elgar's Cello concerto no less). The concert began with a raging torrent of Baroque splendour the vision of Chaos by French composer Rebel: the rafters shock with its elegant primeval shaking. Dusapin's new cello concerto Outscape written especially for Alicia Willenstein was something of a modern marvel of so many moods and colours and yet an complex tussle to exchange of roles between soloist and orchestra. It had much to commend it and I hope it finds it's way to disc and more concerts. It fits Weilstein like a glove. The cute encore for brother and sister - a Bartok Duo - was well done. Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique needs a rest from the Proms. The interpretation didn't tell us much new and Joshua - full of the right intent until the dying bars when his musicianship got the better of his reckless abandon - a bit of Rebel's chaos at the end would have worked better I think.
Prom 10: Aurora Orchestra play from memory: I like the idea of dissecting symphony with musical examples before a performance and the excellent performances from this orchestra under Nicholas Collon: I used to read Tovey then plunge into a symphony with a much clearer idea of what's going on. The main thing I'd like to say here is that when the developing story which is more about the feat of memory than it is about the music then I think we have a problem. It can only end in one place - a downright disaster. What's lost in all this awe of musicians choose to play music from memory is any reference to all the others who choose in various genres. Some musicians don't have a choice through genre e.g. opera singers and choruses and of course there are musicians who can't see music even if they want to see them. Whether though choice or not some of these are also in ensembles too. The real issue is how much is this detracting from the development of a very fine orchestra?
Malcolm Sargent Prom 13: it only hit me in the last piece Britten's YPGTTO how influential Sargent was on the generation of music makers for whom he became a sponsor, an advocate and a glittering performer. Sir Andrew Davies was eloquent in interviews and in his words to the hall - the Proms in particular owe a lot to Sargent. So do we - the deep roots he set down are still bearing fruit.
Prom 14: RVW 9 and Holst, Planets -John Wilson should be a powerhouse in these pieces but on this occasion neither came off very well. The Vaughan Williams subdued - none of the glory of his new horizons was evident in this performance, despite a memory for me of Wilson's previous outing with the piece. The Planets had bite and wider sonic vistas but was not arresting, too often I wondered if Wilson was actually in front of the orchestra at all. Shame because both pieces simply ooze mysticism.
To be continued...
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