Don't Panic
Jul. 19th, 2020 09:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qatsiSo, on Friday I did not go to the Royal Albert Hall, I did not meet up with old friends, there were no squabbles among the queue, and I did not have a place in the Arena.
I did, however, tune to Radio 3 and listened to the virtual First Night of the Proms. I have no idea quite when Iain Farrington composed his Beethoveniana, whether he knew the circumstances in which it would be performed, or whether it had adjustments. But it worked, and it worked well. Of course, as a medley of themes from Beethoven's symphonies, it's not as if he was short of material, but still, it could have been indifferent; instead it felt skilful. It deserves to be performed "live" in the future.
I was impressed by the sound quality from my DAB radio for the next piece, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 3 from the 2017 First Night, with Igor Levit. As for Harrison Birtwistle's infamous Panic, reprised from the 1995 Last Night, I dare say I have heard worse but I won't be rushing to listen again. One does wonder how many BBC commissions get a second performance. The programme concluded with Mahler's monumental Symphony No 3 conducted by Claudio Abbado, from 2007, fitting the convention that there is a choral element to the First Night.
Meanwhile, over in Downing Street it's all back to normal. I wasn't prepared to waste my time listening to Johnson waffle on himself, so the reports are second-hand, but I'm seriously hacked off about all this "returning to work" stuff. Some of us - not all, I am sure, but quite a number - have been working all this time at home, and quite productively too, thank you very much. And I'm not keen to go back to the office if I can't go to the Proms - frankly the cultural opportunities are one of the main motivations for the commute into London. For years the left / green movement has vented against the consumerist nature of our society: they have been proved substantially correct in recent months. That's not to say it isn't nice to be able to go out for meals, leisure, entertainment, and so on - and even shopping if that floats your boat - but it turns out not to be necessary. However, if those sectors are going to shrink, then some serious thought needs to be given to how to enable those previously working there to become productive earners again in some way.
I did, however, tune to Radio 3 and listened to the virtual First Night of the Proms. I have no idea quite when Iain Farrington composed his Beethoveniana, whether he knew the circumstances in which it would be performed, or whether it had adjustments. But it worked, and it worked well. Of course, as a medley of themes from Beethoven's symphonies, it's not as if he was short of material, but still, it could have been indifferent; instead it felt skilful. It deserves to be performed "live" in the future.
I was impressed by the sound quality from my DAB radio for the next piece, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 3 from the 2017 First Night, with Igor Levit. As for Harrison Birtwistle's infamous Panic, reprised from the 1995 Last Night, I dare say I have heard worse but I won't be rushing to listen again. One does wonder how many BBC commissions get a second performance. The programme concluded with Mahler's monumental Symphony No 3 conducted by Claudio Abbado, from 2007, fitting the convention that there is a choral element to the First Night.
Meanwhile, over in Downing Street it's all back to normal. I wasn't prepared to waste my time listening to Johnson waffle on himself, so the reports are second-hand, but I'm seriously hacked off about all this "returning to work" stuff. Some of us - not all, I am sure, but quite a number - have been working all this time at home, and quite productively too, thank you very much. And I'm not keen to go back to the office if I can't go to the Proms - frankly the cultural opportunities are one of the main motivations for the commute into London. For years the left / green movement has vented against the consumerist nature of our society: they have been proved substantially correct in recent months. That's not to say it isn't nice to be able to go out for meals, leisure, entertainment, and so on - and even shopping if that floats your boat - but it turns out not to be necessary. However, if those sectors are going to shrink, then some serious thought needs to be given to how to enable those previously working there to become productive earners again in some way.