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From Twitter 02-23-2011
Thursday, February 24th, 2011 02:01 amTweets copied by twittinesis.com
Thursday, February 24th, 2011
CONCERT: Mahler & more, Berlin Philharmonic / Rattle, RFH 23.2.11
Thursday, February 24th, 2011 12:22 pmBerlin Philharmonic (cond Simon Rattle), Royal Festival Hall, 23rd February 2011
London Symphony Chorus, Anke Hermann, Nathalie Stutzmann
Brahms - "Es tönt ein voller Harfenklang"
Wolf - Elfenlied
Mahler - Symphony #3
Long-awaited concert -- we bought the tickets this time last year -- which did not disappoint.
The Brahms is small and sweet; the Wolf was beautifully played, with fearsome quantities of brass and percussion (including a final, receding martial tattoo) but didn't engage me. I may not have been alone in this; the applause was somewhat half-hearted.
But the Mahler, oh, the Mahler. I am not a fervent Mahler fan, but last night's performance very nearly converted me. The Third Symphony is massive, in decibels / length / complexity / number of movements / size of orchestra / geographical range of orchestra (off-stage post-horn). There's so much texture in it, and so much variety. I was mesmerised by the fourth movement -- Nathalie Stutzmann's voice is fantastically deep and resonant, and Rattle had her back with the woodwind instead of at the front of the stage, reinforcing the sense of voice-as-instrument. The oboe glissandos were an eerie counterfoil. And the final movement felt like spring -- celebratory, joyous, resonant with bells but not religious.
Will look out for more Stutzmann and maybe have another go at getting into Mahler.
Notes on the actual concert: we were sitting near the back of the balcony instead of in our usual seats in the choir (which was Occupied). The sound was very clear and balanced, but I was reminded that there was a capacity audience between me and the orchestra, all apparently suffering from advanced respiratory disease. They did recover sufficiently for a long, mostly-standing ovation, though.
Other reviews:
Telegraph
Guardian
The Independent's isn't up yet.
London Symphony Chorus, Anke Hermann, Nathalie Stutzmann
Brahms - "Es tönt ein voller Harfenklang"
Wolf - Elfenlied
Mahler - Symphony #3
Long-awaited concert -- we bought the tickets this time last year -- which did not disappoint.
The Brahms is small and sweet; the Wolf was beautifully played, with fearsome quantities of brass and percussion (including a final, receding martial tattoo) but didn't engage me. I may not have been alone in this; the applause was somewhat half-hearted.
But the Mahler, oh, the Mahler. I am not a fervent Mahler fan, but last night's performance very nearly converted me. The Third Symphony is massive, in decibels / length / complexity / number of movements / size of orchestra / geographical range of orchestra (off-stage post-horn). There's so much texture in it, and so much variety. I was mesmerised by the fourth movement -- Nathalie Stutzmann's voice is fantastically deep and resonant, and Rattle had her back with the woodwind instead of at the front of the stage, reinforcing the sense of voice-as-instrument. The oboe glissandos were an eerie counterfoil. And the final movement felt like spring -- celebratory, joyous, resonant with bells but not religious.
Will look out for more Stutzmann and maybe have another go at getting into Mahler.
Notes on the actual concert: we were sitting near the back of the balcony instead of in our usual seats in the choir (which was Occupied). The sound was very clear and balanced, but I was reminded that there was a capacity audience between me and the orchestra, all apparently suffering from advanced respiratory disease. They did recover sufficiently for a long, mostly-standing ovation, though.
Other reviews:
Telegraph
Guardian
The Independent's isn't up yet.
It's not just me
Thursday, February 24th, 2011 06:43 pmTom Service unimpressed by one member of audience last night
This was pretty much my reaction too, though it didn't ruin the music for me. Still, it did bring me abruptly out of the moment.
Don't get me wrong: the sentiment is fine. It was just too soon.
... ends with a huge final chord, a moment of D major apotheosis that's seemingly drawn out into the infinite. The silence afterwards was a chance to bask in the afterglow of the symphony's huge, cosmic architecture and the Berlin Philharmonic's equally cosmic sound.
But it was a moment of dizzying collective rapture that was all too predictably ruined by some eejit in the Royal Festival Hall shouting "bravi!" – from one of the boxes, I'm pretty sure – before any of us, including the orchestra, had the chance to come down to earth again. There is no greater musical violence an audience member can commit than to scar this unique moment, when time seems to stop still at the end of a great performance, with a selfish, solo shout.
This was pretty much my reaction too, though it didn't ruin the music for me. Still, it did bring me abruptly out of the moment.
Don't get me wrong: the sentiment is fine. It was just too soon.
