Prom 42: Monday 15th August at 7.30 p.m.(Swan Lake)

[amateur51]

Brilliant VH!

You'll be on Radio 4 reading these, VH.

'That programme was produced for the BBC by FF Radio Enterprises'

[Petrushka]

This was a massive disappointment and I feel that the Proms Guide was misleading in not stating that we were to be offered the mutilated 1895 Drigo version. I was not aware that Gergiev's recording was of this laughable and damaging confection otherwise I would have saved my hard-earned cash and stayed at home. To make matters worse, the music was, as others have said, hard-driven and brass heavy to boot.

A Prom that utterly failed.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Yes. Following the very successful Proms Sleeping Beauty a couple of years ago, hopes were high for this one. What a disappointment.

[Petrushka]

There is surely no need for this dreadful Drigo version to ever see the light of day again. It is not as if Tchaikovky's music was not available or had to be reconstructed or anything. It should be consigned to the dustbin of musical history.

David Nice's programme note could hardly have been more dismissive and it's the first time I've read one like that that could summon up precious little enthusiasm for what we were about to hear. It was enough in itself to make me wish I'd stayed at home before a note had been played. As one who remembers the wonderful 1976 Haitink highlights Prom this was a serious let-down.

[jayne lee wilson]

Surprised how negative most people are on this one; with the reservations I already mentioned, listening at home was very enjoyable, the richness, power and precision of ensemble very impressive - impressively distinctive too, warm, rich and, well, very Russian in character. Again, one may lament the Drigo edition but don't forget that performing it IS a tradition in Russia. I don't personally follow the plot moment-to-moment, just the broad sweep, so wasn't too disturbed by the interpolations, with the exception of the little dance just before the finale - a divertissement too far!
Perhaps the broadcast balance was a better way to listen than in-hall? (Its the only way I CAN listen anyway, so...) And the final brass and percussion led climax was pretty overwhelming - but still well-balanced overall. Various newspaper reviews appear quite positive, some very enthusiastic indeed.

This was a massive disappointment and I feel that the Proms Guide was misleading in not stating that we were to be offered the mutilated 1895 Drigo version. I was not aware that Gergiev's recording was of this laughable and damaging confection otherwise I would have saved my hard-earned cash and stayed at home. To make matters worse, the music was, as others have said, hard-driven and brass heavy to boot.

A Prom that utterly failed.

[Petrushka]

Surprised how negative most people are on this one; with the reservations I already mentioned, listening at home was very enjoyable, the richness, power and precision of ensemble very impressive - impressively distinctive too, warm, rich and, well, very Russian in character. Again, one may lament the Drigo edition but don't forget that performing it IS a tradition in Russia. I don't personally follow the plot moment-to-moment, just the broad sweep, so wasn't too disturbed by the interpolations, with the exception of the little dance just before the finale - a divertissement too far!
Perhaps the broadcast balance was a better way to listen than in-hall? (Its the only way I CAN listen anyway, so...) And the final brass and percussion led climax was pretty overwhelming - but still well-balanced overall. Various newspaper reviews appear quite positive, some very enthusiastic indeed.

Hi Jayne, sorry to be so negative but you may not have realised that over 2000 bars of Tchaikovsky's music disappeared in this version. That silly little interpolation near the end typifies all that is so wrong with the Drigo version. The great symphonic, even operatic, sweep of the score was destroyed in an instant and while the brass and percussion led ending was indeed overwhelming it wasn't enough to quell the bitter disappointment. It was as if someone had stuck an Irish jig into the middle of Brunnhilde's Immolation in Gotterdammerung.

By the way, I see that we seem to be in disagreement on most threads where we have responded to each other! Apologies for that. Actually, I find your posts always excellent and knowledgeable and enjoy reading them.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

It was as if someone had stuck an Irish jig into the middle of Brunnhilde's Immolation in Gotterdammerung.

That's a very apt way of putting it. I thought the Drigo edition had been consigned to the dustbin many years ago.

[Petrushka]

My favourite recording of Swan Lake is the Rozhdestvensky/Moscow Radio SO which has to heard to be believed. Sensational is the right word, I think. The 1970 Soviet sonics may not be to everyone's taste but it is the most blisteringly dramatic account of this famous score you are ever likely to hear. It's going for a completely idiotic price on Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_...ky&sprefix=swa but if it should reappear don't hesitate. I snapped it up when it first came out since when it has gone from the lists again.

[jayne lee wilson]

Now here I can agree with you , Petrushka! I've not heard that Swan Lake, but it may well still be available (to the adventurous and those prepared to pay customs charges...) at HMV Japan for less than daft 2ndhand prices, possibly on the russian-sourced Venezia Label. I just went to check but the site is closed for maintenance till tomorrow! Everything I've had from that source has been extraordinary, the complete Bruckner Symphonies (every version except 1887 8th) with Rozh most of all. The recent Melodiya Sibelius cycle is amazing too. Sometimes that Melodiya sound, especially in recent remasterings, can really inspire a response. Call it de-familiarisation.
After your comments I'll try to find that Swan Lake, Venezia usually remaster them well.

Yes, the Drigo thing is a shame (reminds me of conductors who always play the awful 1889 Bruckner 3rd) but I simply relished that Russian sound in Tchaikovsky once again. Thank god it's still there in the global orchestral sound-world.

My favourite recording of Swan Lake is the Rozhdestvensky/Moscow Radio SO which has to heard to be believed. Sensational is the right word, I think. The 1970 Soviet sonics may not be to everyone's taste but it is the most blisteringly dramatic account of this famous score you are ever likely to hear. It's going for a completely idiotic price on Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_...ky&sprefix=swa but if it should reappear don't hesitate. I snapped it up when it first came out since when it has gone from the lists again.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Ah yes, the Rozhdestvensky Swan Lake. I have it on LP and it is truly magnificent. Even though the players must have performed it many times, it sounds so fresh, as though they were discovering it for the first time. And the sound isn't bad at all, unlike some Melodiya issues at the time, which could be so challenging to the listener that is surely damaged EMI's reputation - that company virtually stopped recording Russian music themselves for a few years while they were issuing Melodiya recordings, though that all changed when Previn's versions of the Tchaikovsky ballets came along.

[NickWraight]

Leaving aside the small matter (!) of the "version" played last night, from the front Arena the strong feeling I gained was that Gergiev and the orchestra were on autopilot and just playing the notes with very little awareness for musical structure and drama. The conductor gave the impression that he would rather be anywhere else but in the RAH, which communicated itself to the orchestra - he did arrive at the Hall in good time but obviously did not have sufficient a period to correct the technical/interpretational "errors" that in his opinion had crept in during the run of performances at the ROH.

While the instrumental sounds were fascinating (plangent woodwind; trumpets/trombones that did not dominate; an overworked cymbal player (!); a tympanist who was alternately inaudible or deafening...) the dynamic range barely crept into the quieter range all evening. The conductor's wish to press on the whole time leaving no space between sections, or between Act 1 Sc 1 and 2 (Acts 1 and 2 in the original), squashed any dramatic sense and rather made the whole into a suite of totally unrelated movements.

Swan Lake was designed to be watched and heard: if there is no dancing the music needs to stand on its own and at the same time make up for the loss of acting/dancing. Sadly, this did not happen.

[Ferretfancy]

My friends in the hall were amazed when I decided to leave after Act I, so it comes as a bit of a relief to me that I'm not alone in my dislike of the performance. Is the marvellous apotheosis at the end missing completely in the Drigo version?
I completely agree about the stunning Rozhdestvensky set, which I only have on LP. let's hope it appears on CD if it hasn't already done so.
His LP set of Sleeping Beauty with the BBC SO is also pretty good, but his 1979 RFH performance is even better.

[amateur51]

Ein Alpensinfonie,

I am sorry, but Matthew Bourne's all male Swan Lake was not devised by him to make a point or seek personal attention, he had already achieved that with his talent. It may not have been to everybody's taste, but it was witty and skilful, and the male swans came across as rather sinister figures, which underlined the drama rather well. I have seen it twice, and in its later revival it has suffered a little from unnecessary changes. The main charge held against it is that there's not enough pure dance and too much mime.
There's a good DVD if you would like to revise your opinion.

I saw it 8 times in all in its original production at Sadler's Wells and then at The Piccadilly Theatre, Ferret, and I always had damp eyes and wet cheeks It worked whoever was dancing the Swan, Adam Cooper, Will Kemp or several others.

On one occasion, Mikhail Baryshnikov was sitting just in front of me

[Mahlerei]

I'm not surprised to hear that Gergiev's swan couldn't get airborne; that's pretty much the case on his Mariinsky DVD/BD.

As for Bourne's Swan Lake I've seen it on stage and I own the DVD; it's heart-rending and it always cuts me to the quick. Indeed, it's hard to watch the 'conventional' version any more. His Nutcracker and Car Man are much less appealing, imo.

[Alison]

For my first time ever, I left a Prom at the interval. It seems to me there are two ways of doing Swan Lake, whatever the performing version used. One is to see the work as a symphonic drama, the other is to play it at dance tempi and rhythm. Tonight's performance was neither one thing or the other. Gergiev tended to bash his way through the vigorous sections with little or no regard for dynamic shading, while allowing the orchestra more leeway in the gentle sections. The famous Act I solo violin was almost comical in its lack of panache, nearly grinding to a halt.

!

Well done Ferret, an excellent summation.

Poor Petrushka, what a long way to travel for such a let down. Where indeed were the sweep, majesty, nuance and sheer tensions of the 1976 BBCSO account ??!!