Prom 1 (13.7.12): First Night of the Proms

[Barbirollians]

I turned on Radio 3 this afternoon forgetting that they would be repeating this concert and my immediate thought was what a dreary performance of Cockaigne - sounded like a lazy run through at a rehearsal before a conductor started working on it ! Then discovered it was Norrington last Friday . Mediocre sums it up to my ears .

[Caliban]

I turned on Radio 3 this afternoon forgetting that they would be repeating this concert and my immediate thought was what a dreary performance of Cockaigne - sounded like a lazy run through at a rehearsal before a conductor started working on it ! Then discovered it was Norrington last Friday . Mediocre sums it up to my ears .

That was precisely how it struck me at the time. "Lazy" is the word I've used about the performance in a number of conversations over the weekend.

[amateur51]

That was precisely how it struck me at the time. "Lazy" is the word I've used about the performance in a number of conversations over the weekend.

Was it 2010 that the much-missed Sir Charles Mackerras conducted Cockaigne with the Philharmonia at the Proms?

That was a performance of a very different stripe

[Simon B]

Was it 2010 that the much-missed Sir Charles Mackerras conducted Cockaigne with the Philharmonia at the Proms?

That was a performance of a very different stripe

It was 2009 and the BBC Philharmonic, the whole concert played with absolute commitment. I think everyone already knew it might be his last Proms season, and sadly so it turned out...

In the hall, I thought Cockaigne (my favourite piece of Elgar that isn't a symphony or oratorio) was ok on Fri, though Norrington did nearly lose the orchestra at least twice...

Not a patch on Mackerras though (swagger, wistful nostalgia and those trombones!). CM also beat those 3 empty beats at the start. IIRC
he was interviewed before the concert giving the pragmatic explanation that (paraphrasing) it's a bit of a pig to start and the first few bars are a good test of whether a conductor is any good!

In fact I don't think I've ever seen a performance in which the conductor *didn't* give the empty beats...

[Northender]

I thought 'Cockaigne' was the best thing on the programme - not that there was much competition. If the word 'longueurs' didn't exist, it would have been necessary to invent it for the 'Coronation Ode'.

[Pabmusic]

[1] I'm wondering how 3 beats can be "scrupulously notated" ??

"Heath was right" hummmmmmm

[2] I'm not an orchestral musician but friends who are haven't been as enthusiastic

[1] These were not my words, of course, but let me guess - perhaps a minim rest and a crotchet rest (in Boosey's confusing old house style of backward quaver rests).

[2] Despite the lack of enthusiasm of your friends, I suspect one could find a few conductors who share my view. True, many might not. But Norrington did on Saturday, as did Boult in the clip I posted, and I know from personal experience that del Mar did. It's a conducting point, and there will be different opinions among conductors, but Elgar gave a very good clue as to his intentions by writing the rests.

Cockaigne isn't the only piece that opens with silent beats. Berlioz's King Lear and Sullivan's Overture di Ballo do similar things (there's a Schumann overture, too - Manfred perhaps?).

[bluestateprommer]

Late to the party, as usual. In brief:

1. Turnage: sort of typical Turnage note-spinning, at least for me, but at least it was just 3 minutes. When the future BBC Music Magazine CD arrives with the M-AT work, though, I'll give it another listen.

2. Elgar: I'm far from a Norrington groupie (his brazenly wrong misstatement on Mahler 9 and the Johann Strauss II quote last season still sticks in the memory), but unlike most here, I sort of enjoyed the more mellow (some would say slack or lazy) interpretation here. Even on iPlayer, I got the sense that he trimmed the orchestra's sails regarding vibrato, though not to the point of a total ban. I accepted his interpretation for what it was, but it helps that the work is fun to hear.

3. Delius: by far the highlight of the evening. I sensed a bit of strain in Terfel's voice, though I'm not sure whether it was genuine strain or an affection of interpretation of the words. In any sense, he was deeply engrossed in bringing the narrative to life, with SME, the BBC SO and Symphony Chorus with him all the way.

4. Tippett: not Martyn Brabbins' finest 15 minutes on the RAH stage, although that may reflect that I'm used to the punchier start of Colin Davis' classic recording. However, he did seem to pick up once past the opening movement.

5. Elgar: I'd never actually heard the Coronation Ode in any form before. Now I can sort of understand why. Everyone there gave it their best, but it is pretty sub-par, although I'd lay the blame at the text, as I think a better text would have inspired Elgar much more. But we can't go back.

So perhaps not a completely successful experiment, but as anyone who works in a science lab can tell you, not all experiments work completely successfully. And you can always learn something from even a "meh" experiment .