BaL 08.06.24 - Mozart: Piano concerto 23 in A major, K488

[cloughie]

Well in London it was on at about 5.30? Watched it after school.

if the weekend started at 10.35 pm it would be a lousy one…

Friday evening 10.35 after Youth Club - timing spot on!

[french frank]

[Ein Heldenleben]

…and excellent it was too to my teenage ears -10.35pm on a Friday evening. The Animals ‘House of the Rising Sun’ debuted on that show and was a large influence on the broadening of my musical interest and appreciation.

Well in London it was on at about 5.30? Watched it after school.

if the weekend started at 10.35 pm it would be a lousy one…

[cloughie]

O’ill give it foive was Janice , as you say , on Thank Your Lucky Stars. Ready Steady Go was a live pop programme on ITV presented by Keith Fordyce and Cathy McGowan.

…and excellent it was too to my teenage ears -10.35pm on a Friday evening. The Animals ‘House of the Rising Sun’ debuted on that show and was a large influence on the broadening of my musical interest and appreciation.

[edashtav]

Does anyone understand why she started with Andsnes, seemed to like it and made no critical comment, and then never mentioned it again?

That was odd,indeed.

[Ein Heldenleben]

That was actually the catchphrase of Janice Nicholls on Ready, dteady, Go! - Fridays late evenings on ITV for much of the 60s. I remember it well.

O’ill give it foive was Janice , as you say , on Thank Your Lucky Stars. Ready Steady Go was a live pop programme on ITV presented by Keith Fordyce and Cathy McGowan.

[LMcD]

That was actually the catchphrase of Janice Nicholls on Ready, dteady, Go! - Fridays late evenings on ITV for much of the 60s. I remember it well.

I shall never forget the episode of Juke Box Jury on which one panellist clipped a peg on his nose, saying 'I may have to listen to this song but I don't have to smell it' - unaware that, as sometimes happened, the singer who had recorded the song was behind the scenes waiting to be invited to meet the jury.

[CallMePaul]

I remember enjoying Juke Box Jury as a teenager - Oi'll give it foive.

That was actually the catchphrase of Janice Nicholls on Ready, dteady, Go! - Fridays late evenings on ITV for much of the 60s. I remember it well.

[Barbirollians]

Perahia’s K488 is probably one of the very best of his whole cycle and my first recording of the work so no complaints from me. Sorry that no mention of classics like Kempff,Curzon and Solomon

[LMcD]

I agree with Oliver, and that is one reason why I rarely listen to BaL these days, though I was a regular listener fifty years ago or so. Particularly with a work like K488 one surely needs to acept that there are many different but equally-valid interpretations. My own favourites would fbe Solomon and Gieseking, but I wouldn't expect many to agree.

.I think that they sometimes lose sight of the probability that the programme isn't for people who already have many versions of the work and are looking for a fascinating niche interpretation, but those who are new to it and want one good, clear, safe record of the music . I remember once they did Schoenberg's Pelleas und Melisande and the chosen version for this very richly-scored piece was a historic recording with , to say the least , limited sound, which they chose because they liked the performance.

Perhaps they've fallen between the proverbial 2 stools by trying to please both groups. Most Mozart piano concertos can withstand a pretty wide range of interpretations, so the chances of anybody being disappointed are fairly slim, I would have thought. It so happens that I have the 'winner' in my collection, but most of the performances on the short list were presumably there for a reason.

[rauschwerk]

Agree, but the fly in the ointment is the huge variation in recording quality / sound in this cycle. Ranges from excellent right down to 'rough'. I do find this a distraction, if listening to two or three of the concertos in one session. Maybe that's just me being 'picky' - I don't know.

Agreed. No. 25 sounds as though it was recorded in a swimming bath, and I much prefer Kovacevich/Colin Davis.

[visualnickmos]

.........No complaints about Perahia/ECO as the final choice - theirs would be my first choice Mozart concerto cycle overall.

Agree, but the fly in the ointment is the huge variation in recording quality / sound in this cycle. Ranges from excellent right down to 'rough'. I do find this a distraction, if listening to two or three of the concertos in one session. Maybe that's just me being 'picky' - I don't know.

[Retune]

Also a bit surprised not to hear more of Andsnes (saw him do the slow movement nicely as an encore at the Proms a couple of years ago). I thought Uchida/Tate/ECO, talked about with some enthusiasm, might make the final cut, but no. I see that de Larrocha's recording is yet another pairing with the excellent ECO, who must have worn out their scores by then. No complaints about Perahia/ECO as the final choice - theirs would be my first choice Mozart concerto cycle overall.

[gurnemanz]

I was sitting in the theatre when BaL was on (idiosyncratically updated Cherry Orchard at Donmar).
Having read comments here and already having several good recordings, including Tan/Norrington/LCP, not mentioned, I probably won't catch up.

I would have listened if it been on at its normal time, as I have most of the time over the last 50 years. I am not negative about BaL. The format has obvious potential flaws but I have found that even the weaker, less satisfactory efforts have something to offer for a classical music fan.

My French isn't good enough to make listening to Tribune worthwhile. Any review show is going to have inbuilt limitations, since in most cases not all relevant recordings can possibly be fully considered. Despite limitations these shows can still be informative and entertaining. I remember enjoying Juke Box Jury as a teenager - Oi'll give it foive.

[cloughie]

I agree with Oliver, and that is one reason why I rarely listen to BaL these days, though I was a regular listener fifty years ago or so. Particularly with a work like K488 one surely needs to acept that there are many different but equally-valid interpretations. My own favourites would fbe Solomon and Gieseking, but I wouldn't expect many to agree.

.I think that they sometimes lose sight of the probability that the programme isn't for people who already have many versions of the work and are looking for a fascinating niche interpretation, but those who are new to it and want one good, clear, safe record of the music . I remember once they did Schoenberg's Pelleas und Melisande and the chosen version for this very richly-scored piece was a historic recording with , to say the least , limited sound, which they chose because they liked the performance.

I got they two - proper good they am! …and the 491s on the reverse!