Bournemouth SO/Karabits/Hough from the Colston Hall, Bristol

[salymap]

Bryn, must try to iPlayer some, if not all, of that from St Giles.

TONIGHT LIVE..7.30PM R3 Bournemouth SO/Karabits from the Colston Hall, Bristol.

Musorgsky Prelude Khovanshchina

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no 1, soloist Stephen Hough

Tchaikovsky Symphony no 1, [Winter Daydreams]

ps How many times has the spelling of *Moussorgsky changed from *this in my lifetime??

[Hornspieler]

Bryn, must try to iPlayer some, if not all, of that from St Giles.

TONIGHT LIVE..7.30PM R3 Bournemouth SO/Karabits from the Colston Hall, Bristol.

Musorgsky Prelude Khovanshchina

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no 1, soloist Stephen Hough

Tchaikovsky Symphony no 1, [Winter Daydreams]

I could see no point in bothering to write about the Mussorgsky, except to say that on "Listen Again" most of it was almost inaudible.

Stephen Hough's Rachmaninov was a disappointment to me. By all means well enough played (a couple of minor slips) but something was missing - some extravagence of interpretation which I feel is needed and that this, (my favourite of the Rachmaninov concertos), was not there.

I can remember playing this work with Peter Katin. I wonder what he thought of last night's performance?

I've saved "Winter Daydreams" for tonight. Interesting that I watched the George Ballantyne Ballet yesterday afternoon (Sky Arts 2) and the music from part of this symphony was used for "Diamonds"; the 3rd of his Trilogy called "Jewells",

HS

[Pianorak]

Musorgsky Prelude Khovanshchina

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no 1, soloist Stephen Hough

I only listened to these two items. Loved the Musorgsky which I hadn't heard before. But the Rachmaninoff was a bit of a disappointment. Immediately afterwards I played the Krystian Zimerman and Boston SO with Seiji Ozawa recording - which had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Zimerman in full flight was simply magnificent.

At first I was wondering about the microphone placement for the Bournemouth/Hough concert - everything seemed subdued with the piano lacking brilliance. But at the end I felt orchestra and soloist weren't on the same wavelength - or were perhaps a tad underrehearsed. A pity.

[salymap]

I still haven't heard the Tchaikovsky symphony no 1 either. There's such a lot to catch up with.

[Hornspieler]

Musorgsky Prelude Khovanshchina

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no 1, soloist Stephen Hough

I only listened to these two items. Loved the Musorgsky which I hadn't heard before. But the Rachmaninoff was a bit of a disappointment. Immediately afterwards I played the Krystian Zimerman and Boston SO with Seiji Ozawa recording - which had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Zimerman in full flight was simply magnificent.

At first I was wondering about the microphone placement for the Bournemouth/Hough concert - everything seemed subdued with the piano lacking brilliance. But at the end I felt orchestra and soloist weren't on the same wavelength - or were perhaps a tad underrehearsed. A pity.

I calculate that I have played more than 65 concerts in the Colston Hall and I can say with certainty that it presents a problem for horn players:

The stage has very steep risers, so there is a very large area of wood behind the horn section. I presume that there is space behind that panelling, which would add to the effect of creating an echo box. No problem for the trumpets and trombones, sitting on the same level, because their instruments face outwards towards the audience, but for the horns it creates on the one hand, a resistance to the sound emanating from the bell and at the same time, reflects the sound out to the audience louder than the player intends.

The BSO have a very good horn section at the present time and their recently appointed principal is a very good player, but I believe that, not being as used to the Colston Hall, (they play there much less frequently than in the past) there is a way to reduce the problem:

1) Hold the instrument up and away from the body (a la Dennis Brain)
2) Angle one's seated position so as to direct the sound more to the side of the hall and away from the staging.

In the 1st movement of the symphony, the horns were far to loud - much louder than the rest of the brass section. Not a problem with the big unison horn tune in the 2nd movement - that was fine. More settled after that because the horns have less to do.

So, to talk about the Tchaikowsky Symphony Nº 1:

As regards the overall performance by the orchestra, I thought they were a bit slow to get going. They seemed to be picking their way through. But the Scherzo was lively and the Finale was absolutely magnificent!

I suspect that a lot of KK's rehearsal time was spent on those string and woodwind passages and the result was a triumphant conclusion to the concert.

As I wrote in a previous post, the Musorgsky did not make a good opener for the concert (IMO) and I was disappointed by Stephen Hough's Rachmaninov; but the concert improved piece by piece and movement by movement and ended with a finale that any orchestra would have been proud to produce.

HS

[salymap]

Thanks HS and Good Morning. I rather liked the Musorgsky but certainly not very loud, even with headphones, on iPlayer.

must listen to the Tchaikovsky later - interesting to hear about the problems over the platform.

[amateur51]

I calculate that I have played more than 65 concerts in the Colston Hall and I can say with certainty that it presents a problem for horn players:

The stage has very steep risers, so there is a very large area of wood behind the horn section. I presume that there is space behind that panelling, which would add to the effect of creating an echo box. No problem for the trumpets and trombones, sitting on the same level, because their instruments face outwards towards the audience, but for the horns it creates on the one hand, a resistance to the sound emanating from the bell and at the same time, reflects the sound out to the audience louder than the player intends.

The BSO have a very good horn section at the present time and their recently appointed principal is a very good player, but I believe that, not being as used to the Colston Hall, (they play there much less frequently than in the past) there is a way to reduce the problem:

1) Hold the instrument up and away from the body (a la Dennis Brain)
2) Angle one's seated position so as to direct the sound more to the side of the hall and away from the staging.

In the 1st movement of the symphony, the horns were far to loud - much louder than the rest of the brass section. Not a problem with the big unison horn tune in the 2nd movement - that was fine. More settled after that because the horns have less to do.

So, to talk about the Tchaikowsky Symphony Nº 1:

As regards the overall performance by the orchestra, I thought they were a bit slow to get going. They seemed to be picking their way through. But the Scherzo was lively and the Finale was absolutely magnificent!

I suspect that a lot of KK's rehearsal time was spent on those string and woodwind passages and the result was a triumphant conclusion to the concert.

HS

Many thanks for your professional insider's comments HS - they're really useful & appreciated

[salymap]

I caught up with the Tchaikovsky Symphony no 1 on iPlayer at last - I hardly know it but enjoyed it a lot. Must look out for it again, not often done.

[Sir Monty Golfear]

I could see no point in bothering to write about the Mussorgsky, except to say that on "Listen Again" most of it was almost inaudible.

Stephen Hough's Rachmaninov was a disappointment to me. By all means well enough played (a couple of minor slips) but something was missing - some extravagence of interpretation which I feel is needed and that this, (my favourite of the Rachmaninov concertos), was not there.

I can remember playing this work with Peter Katin. I wonder what he thought of last night's performance?

I've saved "Winter Daydreams" for tonight. Interesting that I watched the George Ballantyne Ballet yesterday afternoon (Sky Arts 2) and the music from part of this symphony was used for "Diamonds"; the 3rd of his Trilogy called "Jewells",

HS

Shame about Stephen Houghs performance. Something wasn't happening. He is usualy really on the ball with the Rachmaninov.
Peter katin with Boult and the LPO is still available , it is coupled with Rachmaninovs 3rd piano Concerto , with Alicia de Larrocha , Previn and the LSO . A pretty decent disc for a fiver!.

My benchmark recording is still Earl Wild , Jascha Horenstein and the RPO.....the performance is electric, and the recording still holds up today against a lot of the modern versions in my opinion.

[Flay]

I caught up with the Tchaikovsky Symphony no 1 on iPlayer at last - I hardly know it but enjoyed it a lot. Must look out for it again, not often done.

I adore the second movement. Lovely tunes.