Klik på en miniature for at gå til Google Books
Indlæser... BBC Proms 2021 : Prom 05 : Ryan Bancroft conducts the BBC National Orchestra of Wales [sound recording]af BBC Radio 3, Ryan Bancroft (Conductor), BBC National Orchestra of Wales (Orchestra), Johannes Brahms (Komponist), Elizabeth Ogonek (Komponist) — 2 mere, Henry Purcell (Komponist), Camille Saint‐Saëns (Komponist)
Ingen Indlæser...
Bliv medlem af LibraryThing for at finde ud af, om du vil kunne lide denne bog. Der er ingen diskussionstråde på Snak om denne bog. Ingen anmeldelser
No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsIngen
Google Books — Indlæser... GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)780.7842132The arts Music Music Education, research, performances Performances (concerts and recitals) Concerts in Europe Concerts in England & Wales Concerts in London West London Westminster CityVurderingGennemsnit: Ingen vurdering.Er det dig?Bliv LibraryThing-forfatter. |
Even when provided with helpful notes in programme books, reviewers have a habit of looking for guiding threads and thematic continuity. This concert was billed as “guilt-free inspiration from the past while fashioning the new”. I’m not persuaded that this made a great deal of sense apart from references to musical forms such as the chaconne and passacaglia, glimpses of which were on display in the evening’s symphony as well as in the world premiere of Elizabeth Ogonek’s Cloudline. She derived some of her ideas from watching the BBC’s Killing Eve, but in the music itself there was little or no hint of the violence with which this drama series became synonymous. Instead, the piece edged its way along with the help of tonal clusters, oboe and flute figurations, fluttering trumpets and an aurally interesting marimba contribution before returning to the darkness with which it started.
Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto no. 1 in A minor, Op.33 sat uneasily in this programme. If there was an inspiration, it surely had to be Mozart, who for Saint-Saëns was an abiding example of melodic inventiveness, old-fashioned charm and gracefulness. Johnston chose to emphasise the elegant and rhapsodic sections of the score in a lean and intimate realisation, at his best in the gentle musings of the slow movement. What I missed, however, were the contrasts: the start was languorous rather than explosive, and in the Finale the conductor’s attempts to inject galvanising energy into the accompaniment were not reciprocated by the soloist. In a hall this size there needed to be a much greater projection of the solo part.
Having watched a good number of online concerts with socially distanced players (as here), I have frequently been troubled by two things. One is the absence of needle-sharp precision in the ensemble. Given that there is no longer a legal requirement to practise social distancing, I wonder why players are still spaced out so liberally, thus restricting the number of strings. The other is the ensuing imbalance between orchestral sections. Fielding just four double-basses, the BBC NOW sounded underpowered in its string section, not helped by the serried ranks of woodwind and brass whose individual and collective contributions drowned out much else. It might be argued that Bancroft’s way with Brahms’ Symphony no. 4 in E minor, Op.98 removed the “stodge” which this composer is sometimes accused of having written. There was a great deal of transparency to be sure, but when the trombones dominate the orchestral textures from the start of the Finale, as happened here, there is inevitably a law of diminishing returns. There is so much rewarding inner string detail in this symphony, not least in the slow movement where the deeper and darker colours so essential to Brahms should infuse the sound with a glowing quality. When this is absent, emotional depth is lost. The Scherzo too was on the verge of goose-stepping mode, Marziale rather than the Giocoso indicated, with trumpets (Bancroft’s own instrument) given particular prominence.