Post by hiredfox August 31, 2015 (1 of 27)
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The SFSO are in London town now performing at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. We were fortunate and privileged to have been able to attend one of their concerts last evening which just happened to be the much beloved "Titan".
Michael Tilson Thomas and his orchestra were in scintillating form, producing the singularly most impassioned and exhilarating live concert performance that I have ever witnessed in my whole concert going lifetime. The performance was impeccable, not a note missed or a timing smeared. It is too simplistic to say that this is a work they know inside out so their performance should be good. No, this performance came from the heart and from the complete dedication and concentration of every single player. The soundscape that washed though the old Hall last evening was so joyous in its spirituality that many in the audience were brought close to tears.
MTT is no stranger to our capital city and he was visibly relaxed throughout the evening obviously enjoying the whole occasion. His timings were slow and thoughtful, best described as laconic but then again nobody was in any hurry to go anywhere else. The silky smooth sounds of the strings, the sharp staccato thwack of drums and timpani and the soulful rasp of brass will be forever etched in the memories of all who attended. This was a performance of considerable stature that received a 15 min standing ovation and repeated calls for the maestro to return to the rostrum. Wisely he resisted calls for an encore after such an unforgettable performance. We do not need the critics responses in the serious press this morning to affirm that we had just witnessed something rather special.
Right now the best orchestra in the world? European critics might not concede as much but you'd better start believing it!
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hiredfox said:
The SFSO are in London town now performing at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. ... this performance came from the heart and from the complete dedication and concentration of every single player.
hiredfox:
As a San Franciscan, I can only agree wholeheartedly with your assessment.
I've heard the SFS many times, under MTT and and guest conductors. The Mahler SACDs don't really do justice to the orchestra's mastery of those symphonies; I attended performances of the M5 and M9 several years after the SACDs were recorded that showed developments in interpretation. The orchestra's range extends beyond Mahler. Last year, the Symphony and SFS Chorus presented a semi-staged performance of Britten's "Peter Grimes" that received widespread critical praise.
How did you like the Henry Cowell Piano Concerto? MTT has been a steadfast promoter of 20th century American composers; good to see that he's sharing some of those works with the Proms audience.
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Post by hiredfox August 31, 2015 (3 of 27)
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undertone said:
hiredfox:
As a San Franciscan, I can only agree wholeheartedly with your assessment.
I've heard the SFS many times, under MTT and and guest conductors. The Mahler SACDs don't really do justice to the orchestra's mastery of those symphonies; I attended performances of the M5 and M9 several years after the SACDs were recorded that showed developments in interpretation. The orchestra's range extends beyond Mahler. Last year, the Symphony and SFS Chorus presented a semi-staged performance of Britten's "Peter Grimes" that received widespread critical praise.
How did you like the Henry Cowell Piano Concerto? MTT has been a steadfast promoter of 20th century American composers; good to see that he's sharing some of those works with the Proms audience.
Henry Cowell's Piano Concerto is a fiercely demanding work for both soloist and audience. It was the first time it had been played at the Proms and my first exposure to it. At opening I was totally pre-occupied with the technicalities of Jeremy Denk's playing of Cowell's mesmerising repeated ricocheting clusters, simply fascinating to behold as there is little else like it in the repertory. I guess Denk is one of a very small group of pianist who have this work in their own repertoire, and not surprisingly so bearing in mind the very special playing technique required to perfect the clusters. The final movement's "Counter Rythym" battle of soloist against brass with unconventional rhythmic accenting was spellbinding and for me the highlight of the work.
Many of the audience found the piece uncomfortable and their restlessness was evident even if restrained but perhaps this was to be expected from a work that has been aired but rarely in its 85 year lifetime. Concentration was the key and brought its own reward.
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Post by Iain August 31, 2015 (4 of 27)
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hiredfox said:
Henry Cowell's Piano Concerto is a fiercely demanding work for both soloist and audience. It was the first time it had been played at the Proms and my first exposure to it. At opening I was totally pre-occupied with the technicalities of Jeremy Denk's playing of Cowell's mesmerising repeated ricocheting clusters, simply fascinating to behold as there is little else like it in the repertory. I guess Denk is one of a very small group of pianist who have this work in their own repertoire, and not surprisingly so bearing in mind the very special playing technique required to perfect the clusters. The final movement's "Counter Rythym" battle of soloist against brass with unconventional rhythmic accenting was spellbinding and for me the highlight of the work.
Many of the audience found the piece uncomfortable and their restlessness was evident even if restrained but perhaps this was to be expected from a work that has been aired but rarely in its 85 year lifetime. Concentration was the key and brought its own reward.
Indeed!!!!
This is one of my top 5 favourites in my collection:
EDIT: ... shopsfsymphony.org/shop/American-Mavericks-Cowell-Harrison-Varese-Hybrid-SACD ... *
EDIT2: American Mavericks - Michael Tilson Thomas
Also, don't forget "Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra" by Lou Harrison. Another stunning work in it's own right.
* Truncated above link due to it's vendor link status.
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Post by hiredfox September 1, 2015 (6 of 27)
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Post by Iain September 1, 2015 (7 of 27)
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rammiepie said:
I am so looking forward to hearing MTT & the SFS's latest outing which I have on order http://www.hraudio.net/showmusic.php?title=10860
I saw this earlier and it looks, and will sound amazing.
Will the .dsf files be available for download at Native DSD or elsewhere, soon?
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Post by hiredfox September 1, 2015 (8 of 27)
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Gramophone didn't rate it very highly so should be quite good.
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hiredfox said:
Gramophone didn't rate it very highly so should be quite good.
Would you describe it as avant garde, if it is I would not waste my money.
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Post by hiredfox September 1, 2015 (10 of 27)
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Iain said:
Indeed!!!!
This is one of my top 5 favourites in my collection:
EDIT: ... shopsfsymphony.org/shop/American-Mavericks-Cowell-Harrison-Varese-Hybrid-SACD ... *
Also, don't forget "Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra" by Lou Harrison. Another stunning work in it's own right.
Hi Iain
Your entry reminded me to play this disc again this evening. The disc was recorded in 2012 and it is very noticeable to me how much more refined, studied and emphatic was the performance of the Cowell Piano Concerto by Jeremy Denk at the BBC Proms on Sunday than his performance on this disc, an observation that also applies to the orchestral accompaniment. It is likely that they have played this piece so much in the intervening period that their interpretation has completely changed and become more polished.
The concerto was part of Prom 60 and is available to hear on the BBC i Player Proms webs. If you can access the website see what you think.
Lou Harrison's work for percussion orchestra is a sonic tour de force, you either love it or hate it. I love it my wife hates it. Maybe it is a male thing?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0680hp6
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