Prom 68 was a bit back-to-front in terms of concert arrangement – it started with a symphony for the first half, a concerto following interval, and then some symphonic dances. Well, it’s good to mix things up I suppose! Prom 68 was performed by the Olso Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko.
The cycle of Tchaikovsky symphonies continues with his Symphony No. 1 in G minor ‘Winter Daydreams’ begins Prom 68. Tchaikovsky wrote this symphony almost as soon as he’d finished university, but it is not an obvious student piece. I love that even though this is the first symphony Tchaikovsky wrote, it’s still so obviously his work. Love the first movement. Around the 24:30 minute mark, that crescendo – wow. That was brilliant. And the ending is a proper big, all-in finale. This symphony is not played nearly enough in the regular classical repertoire, and it needs to be. It is amazing and every bit as good as the later Tchaikovsky symphonies. More ‘Winter Daydreams’ please!
The Polish composer Karol Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with soloist Baiba Skride, making her Proms debut, was the first piece of the second act. This piece was nice and quite pretty, but after the fantastic Tchaikovsky symphony before interval, it felt a bit eh. The piece just doesn’t quite have the oomph of the Tchaikovsky.
Finally, Sergei Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances concluded this Prom. Whereas the Tchaikovsky was the first piece he wrote out of school, Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances was the last thing he wrote. I quite like this piece and it was played wonderfully by the Oslo Philharmonic. The beautiful 100 ‘Welcome with Honour’ (English translation of a Norwegian piece) was played as an encore.
And if you haven’t, check out Becky’s blog on her Proms experiences here – she’d actually attending the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall, unlike me, 10,000 miles away down here in Australia listening in on iPlayer!
The Australian Ballet have launched their Season 2014, and I must admit, I’m pretty impressed. I’m sure I’ll have my subscription renewed for next year before I see La Sylphide on Friday night (not to mention Cinderella in a few weeks)! There are a couple of things lined up that I have seen before, but I am actually quite excited to be seeing them again.
Season 2014:
Something old: Manon
Something new: Stanton Welch’s La Bayadere Something Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker
Something with two: Ballet Imperial and Suite en blanc double bill
The 2014 Season will begin with Sir Kenneth MacMillon’s Manon, which was the first ballet I ever saw. I would not recommend Manon for ballet-beginners, as it is quite a case of jumping in the deep end and discovering you’re not sure if you can swim, but I did enjoy it when I saw it (five years ago now! Blimey time flies!) despite not having the foggiest as to what was going on in either the storyline (cue constant consultations with the programme) or the dancing. I am happy to say that now I am a much more seasoned ballet attendee, as well as having nearly four years of ballet classes up my sleeve, when I see Manon early next year, I’ll actually ‘get’ it! This is the same production of Manon as used by the Royal Ballet and a number of other companies, and it is stunning. I have been hanging out for the Australian Ballet to put it on again, and now my ‘first’ ballet will also become my ‘first production second’ (vis: first ballet that I see the same production of a second time).
There will then by a classical double bill consisting of George Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial and Serge Lifar’s Suite en blanc. I saw Suite en blanc in the Australian Ballet’s 2009 Season in a double bill alongside Divergence, and I remember it as being very pretty. That was actually the second ballet I saw after Manon, so it’s quite a coincendence that it will be my ‘second production second’ ballet. I haven’t seen Ballet Imperial, but from the few seconds from it in the preview video, it looks like it will be a fantastic showpiece. And I love a good tutu showpiece.
Chroma is a contemporary production. I’m not sure that this will be included in my subscription package, and, if not, I can’t admit to be particularly worried about missing it. There will also be Bodytorque: DNA in Melbourne, the first time the Bodytorque series has been brought to Melbourne. Again, I’m not that interested, but each to their own.
Season 2014 also includes the Australian premiere of Stanton Welch’s La Bayadere. I’ve not seen this ballet either, and am looking forward to it. It has sumptuous production design and looks great in the video, so it should be good.
Finally, back by popular demand is Sir Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker. This will actually be the third time I’ve seen The Nutcracker, the second time with this production, and once at the Royal Ballet in London. This production is the version that Sir Peter did for the Birmingham Royal Ballet, and it differs in design and slightly in choreography to the Royal Ballet (Covent Garden) version. When I saw The Nutcracker with the Australian Ballet it was good, but nothing overly special (and unfortuneately the first act was ruined for me by the small child sitting next to me whole spoke through the WHOLE thing, and her mother would reply to everything she said, then say ‘shhh’. I could have strangled them both). However, Lana Jones was just so amazing as the Rose Fairy in the Act II Waltz of the Flowers (she received a larger applause at the end of the show than either Clara or the Sugar Plum Fairy), that she managed to redeem the show for me. The Nutcracker with the Royal Ballet in Covent Garden, however, is the best ballet I have ever seen, and I have never experienced anything like the electricity in the Royal Opera House during the Act II Pas de deux. I love the Tchaikovsky score, I love the magic and the Chirstmasness (though this will probably be in Melbourne in September) and this whole ballet in general. So I really hope this will be good.
Good things are coming for the Australian Ballet’s Season 2014.
In Prom 67, it finally happened. I was so completely blown away by a piece that was new to me, I have gone and bought it on iTunes. I have been waiting to be blown away by a (new) piece (for me) for the past seven week thinking it might not happen, as last year it happened on First Night with Elgar’s Cockaigne Overture ‘In London Town’. It is Arvo Pärt’sCantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten. Prom 67 featured the Orchestre de Paris conducted by Paavo Järvi.
The Prom began with Avro Pärt’sCantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten, that he (Pärt) composed after he heard of the death of Benjamin Britten on December 4, 1976. I am a huge fan of Arvo Pärt, and, while trying not to sound too biased, this was beyond beautiful. I especially liked the bell. It is, of course, quite a solemn and almost melancholy piece, but it is just so, so beautiful. I have not yet heard a piece this Proms season that is new to me that I have loved so much.
The haunting opening was followed by Britten’s Violin Concerto with soloist Janine Jansen. I especially liked the first movement and the second movement around the 29 minute mark on iPlayer. This is probably actually one of my favourite pieces by Britten, and possibly one of my favourite violin concertos (after the Tchaikovsky one of course!).
The second act began with a piece that is practically the polar opposite of the ArvoPärt that opened this Prom, Hector Berlioz’s overture from Le Corsaire. The pas de trios/pas de deux from the full ballet is one of best gala pieces in the ballet repertoire, and the score is fantastic. This was an excellent rendition of this overture by the Orchestre de Paris. It’s just such happy and joyous music.
Camille Saint-Saën’s Symphony No. 3 in C minor, ‘Organ’, with Thierry Escaich on the organ. It isn’t until the final movement when the organ really comes into its own, but it is certainly worth the wait. This is a great symphony (especially that final movement), and a fantastic way to end what has been one of my favourite Proms of the 2013 Proms Season. The Promenaders have learnt that if they applaud and stamp for long enough, they will get an encore, and were duly rewarded with the gallop from The Ball by George Bizet. Thank-you to the Orchestre de Paris and Paavo Järvi – you were sublime. And of course, thanks to the BBC Radio 3 and iPlayer people! This a really brilliant Prom that I highly recommend listening to. Don’t miss the Avro Pärt, if nothing else.
Prom 65: Film Music Prom begins the final week of the 2013 Proms season. The BBC Concert Orchestra was conducted by Keith Lockhart. This was the BBCCO’s final performance at the Royal Albert Hall for this Proms season, but they will be performing across the road in Hyde Park for Proms in the Park on Last Night, this coming Saturday.
Prom 65 kicked off with William Alwyn’s March from The True Glory, which was a most rousing way to begin. This was followed by discarded music from William Walton’s music from The Battle of Britain, which was very English and patriotic, and fitting for that specific film, of course, despite the fact it wasn’t used.
Richard Rodney Bennett’s Lady Caroline Lamb Elegy for Viola and Orchestra suite followed. It was performed by soloist Laurence Power on the viola along with the BBCCO. This was a beautiful piece, especially around the 34 minute mark on iPlayer. Up next was the March from the 1958 war film Ice cold in Alex by Lucas. “Heave-ho!” The Warsaw Concerto by Addinsell from the film Dangerous Moon, performed by soloist Valentina Lisitsa concluded the first half.
The second half began with experts from 2001: A Space Odyssey, beginning with Richard Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra that we heard in full just last night in Prom 64. It also included the By the Beautiful Blue Danube waltz by Johann Strauss II, heard a couple of weeks ago in Prom 28.
This was followed by the world premiere of the suite from Star Trek: Into Darkness. I really liked this film and its accompanying soundtrack, and, as this piece isn’t listed on the Proms website, I was pleasantly surprised to hear it, as, if you’ve seen the film you’ll know, its spot on. The BBCCO sounded absolutely fantastic playing this, and I loved it. For me, this was the highlight of this Prom.
Following the Star Trek suite was the End Title from Independence Day David Arnold, which included a massive percussion section. This was very good.
It would hardly be a film music Prom without some of John Williams’s score from Star Wars. There was a lot of Star Wars, about 20 minutes worth, starting with the Imperial March and ending with the Main Theme. To end, there was an encore of more John Williams, this time his theme from the original Superman films.
con-Stella-rations 