Your Prom is important to us
Sep. 7th, 2023 08:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qatsiLast night's Prom was a sell-out in the seats, and it was like 2019 in the arena. For the first time this year, I wasn't on the rail, preferring a more central spot in the second row.
The Britten Sinfonia were directed throughout from the violin by Thomas Gould. Beginning with Lera Auerbach's Sogno di Stabat Mater, taking inspiration loosely from the work by Pergolesi. Fragments were recognisable but the overall impression was of originality. One thing Pergolesi wouldn't have included was a vibraphone, but Owen Gunnell's part was transformative, and Clare Finnimore clearly enjoyed her viola solo.
Next, the only "original" work in the programme, Corelli's Concerto grosso in F Major, Op 6 No 2. It's not a work I know well, although themes were recognisable. Without pause, the Sinfonia continued with Tippet's Fantasia concertante on a Theme of Corelli. As this uses some of the same themes, it took a while to realise that this had happened; Baroque music has occasional dissonance, but eventually I was convinced that the harmonies were twentieth-century. This was an effective performance idea, though perhaps a bit disconcerting.
The second half was Max Richter's Recomposed: Vivaldi - The Four Seasons, the reason I had picked out this concert and no doubt the same for many other people. Some sections are very closely based on Vivaldi's work; others stretch it rather more, generally in the minimalist direction. I could have done without some of the lighting effects, but overall it was well-deservedly popular. There was a brief encore.
The Britten Sinfonia were directed throughout from the violin by Thomas Gould. Beginning with Lera Auerbach's Sogno di Stabat Mater, taking inspiration loosely from the work by Pergolesi. Fragments were recognisable but the overall impression was of originality. One thing Pergolesi wouldn't have included was a vibraphone, but Owen Gunnell's part was transformative, and Clare Finnimore clearly enjoyed her viola solo.
Next, the only "original" work in the programme, Corelli's Concerto grosso in F Major, Op 6 No 2. It's not a work I know well, although themes were recognisable. Without pause, the Sinfonia continued with Tippet's Fantasia concertante on a Theme of Corelli. As this uses some of the same themes, it took a while to realise that this had happened; Baroque music has occasional dissonance, but eventually I was convinced that the harmonies were twentieth-century. This was an effective performance idea, though perhaps a bit disconcerting.
The second half was Max Richter's Recomposed: Vivaldi - The Four Seasons, the reason I had picked out this concert and no doubt the same for many other people. Some sections are very closely based on Vivaldi's work; others stretch it rather more, generally in the minimalist direction. I could have done without some of the lighting effects, but overall it was well-deservedly popular. There was a brief encore.