Completing the cycle
Sep. 1st, 2017 09:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qatsiTwo last Proms, this week, completed the season's cycle of Rachmaninov's Piano Concertos (omitting the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini).
On Tuesday the Oslo Philharmonic were conducted by Vasily Petrenko. They began with Stravinsky's Firebird Suite - an abridged version of the ballet music which was effective, though perhaps one of those pieces which is better in full. Leif Ove Andsnes was the soloist for Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 4, the last and most overtly modernist of his concertos. It was a popular performance though I found it difficult to tell whether it was the music or Andsnes' playing that was very percussive in style. He gave us an encore of a Romanza by Sibelius - a composer whose piano pieces aren't highly rated, but this could almost have been Chopin.
The second half of the concert was Shostakovich's Symphony No. 12 ("The Year 1917"). The programme notes suggested this is in fact the "Lenin" symphony that the composer claimed for many years to be working on. The results would suggest either that he was lying, that he didn't put much effort into it, or that he completed it and sat on it, waiting for the right moment. At the time I found Petrenko's tempi a little on the fast side and the snare drum a little too insistent; but, listening to the CD I have of Barshai/WDR Cologne, I think Petrenko's tempo may have been the better after all. The middle movements weren't memorable and perhaps a bit of a disappointment, but the finale certainly produced a classic Shostakovich faux-triumph, as if he were saying to the authorities, "There, that's what you wanted, isn't it?". The concert finished with an orchestral encore of Vocalise, making it the second time I have heard a version of that this season.
On Thursday, the BBC Symphony Orchestra were conducted by Semyon Bychkov. The concert began with Taneyev's overture The Oresteia. Taneyev has always been an under-rated composer and this was an interesting piece, assembled from themes from his opera, though in the end being spun out into a separate work. For an overture it's quite long at around 20 minutes, rather like some of Tchaikovsky's pieces. Kirill Gerstein was the soloist for Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 1. This was a successful and contrasting performance to the fourth: much more lyrical, and Gerstein seemed to apply himself to the piano with more sensitivity.
In the second half, we had Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony. I'd seen this before, and although I thought it was all right, I probably wouldn't have chosen to go to see it again specifically. But, in the way that expectations sometimes have of being overturned, Bychkov really put the orchestra through its paces and produced a powerful and dramatic performance, certainly a good way to end my promming season.
On Tuesday the Oslo Philharmonic were conducted by Vasily Petrenko. They began with Stravinsky's Firebird Suite - an abridged version of the ballet music which was effective, though perhaps one of those pieces which is better in full. Leif Ove Andsnes was the soloist for Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 4, the last and most overtly modernist of his concertos. It was a popular performance though I found it difficult to tell whether it was the music or Andsnes' playing that was very percussive in style. He gave us an encore of a Romanza by Sibelius - a composer whose piano pieces aren't highly rated, but this could almost have been Chopin.
The second half of the concert was Shostakovich's Symphony No. 12 ("The Year 1917"). The programme notes suggested this is in fact the "Lenin" symphony that the composer claimed for many years to be working on. The results would suggest either that he was lying, that he didn't put much effort into it, or that he completed it and sat on it, waiting for the right moment. At the time I found Petrenko's tempi a little on the fast side and the snare drum a little too insistent; but, listening to the CD I have of Barshai/WDR Cologne, I think Petrenko's tempo may have been the better after all. The middle movements weren't memorable and perhaps a bit of a disappointment, but the finale certainly produced a classic Shostakovich faux-triumph, as if he were saying to the authorities, "There, that's what you wanted, isn't it?". The concert finished with an orchestral encore of Vocalise, making it the second time I have heard a version of that this season.
On Thursday, the BBC Symphony Orchestra were conducted by Semyon Bychkov. The concert began with Taneyev's overture The Oresteia. Taneyev has always been an under-rated composer and this was an interesting piece, assembled from themes from his opera, though in the end being spun out into a separate work. For an overture it's quite long at around 20 minutes, rather like some of Tchaikovsky's pieces. Kirill Gerstein was the soloist for Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 1. This was a successful and contrasting performance to the fourth: much more lyrical, and Gerstein seemed to apply himself to the piano with more sensitivity.
In the second half, we had Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony. I'd seen this before, and although I thought it was all right, I probably wouldn't have chosen to go to see it again specifically. But, in the way that expectations sometimes have of being overturned, Bychkov really put the orchestra through its paces and produced a powerful and dramatic performance, certainly a good way to end my promming season.