Mahler's Ninth-Simon Rattle and the LSO at Symphony Hall by Christopher MorleyAt the end of the mess which is Broad Street there is one of the world's finest concert-halls, opened 27 years ago for Simon Rattle and his then CBSO. On Tuesday Sir Simon returned with his "new" orchestra, the London Symphony, rare visitors to an acoustic to which that of the LSO's Barbican home cannot hold a candle. The players will have relished delivering this performance of Mahler's valedictory Ninth Symphony in an ambience in which the quietest hush, plaintive piccolo sustained over breathless strings, or the full brass phalanx could register with equal balance as this expressionistic score unfolded under Rattle's fluid baton. The LSO loves its decibels, but here it was allowed to explore those at the lower end of the scale. Mahler calls for a huge orchestra (the stage jutted out into a packed auditorium), yet so often pares everything down to just a few essentials. Solo viola was very much to the fore, as were solo horn, flute, clarinet, and so many others during this heartbreaking journey looking back through all previous eight of the composer's symphonies. Rattle, whose knowledge of them is peerless, made us gently aware of all the self-quotations while never grandstanding them. It's always good to have tension shimmering in an offering as mighty as this, and Rattle's command of structure and context ensured a reading which was both taut and anguished. Thank goodness no hoorayer broke the long appreciative silence at the end. Christopher Morley

-
At the end of the mess which is Broad Street there is one of the world's finest concert-halls, opened 27 years ago for Simon Rattle and his then CBSO. On Tuesday Sir Simon returned with his "new" orchestra, the London Symphony, rare visitors to an acoustic to which that of the LSO's Barbican home cannot hold a candle.
The players will have relished delivering this performance of Mahler's valedictory Ninth Symphony in an ambience in which the quietest hush, plaintive piccolo sustained over breathless strings, or the full brass phalanx could register with equal balance as this expressionistic score unfolded under Rattle's fluid baton. The LSO loves its decibels, but here it was allowed to explore those at the lower end of the scale.
Mahler calls for a huge orchestra (the stage jutted out into a packed auditorium), yet so often pares everything down to just a few essentials. Solo viola was very much to the fore, as were solo horn, flute, clarinet, and so many others during this heartbreaking journey looking back through all previous eight of the composer's symphonies. Rattle, whose knowledge of them is peerless, made us gently aware of all the self-quotations while never grandstanding them.
It's always good to have tension shimmering in an offering as mighty as this, and Rattle's command of structure and context ensured a reading which was both taut and anguished. Thank goodness no hoorayer broke the long appreciative silence at the end.
Christopher Morley

Popular posts from this blog

Some Enchanted Evenings at the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne

-
CHRISTOPHER MORLEY ENJOYED THREE ENCHANTED EVENINGS AT EASTBOURNE'S GRAND HOTEL SOME ENCHANTED EVENINGS Appassionata at the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne ***** Eastbourne's breathtakingly magnificent Grand Hotel, so imposing yet also so welcoming, has an impressive roster of visiting musicians since its opening in 1875. Among the many luminaries who have crossed its portals are Debussy (who completed La Mer here), Kreisler, Caruso, Nellie Melba, Ysaye, Paul Robeson, Myra Hess… the list goes on. Latest to join them is the young vocal quartet Appassionata, who, together with pianist Will Sharma, presented a three-night entertainment "Some Enchanted Evenings" at the end of March. It began with baritone Matthew Siveter, already a much-loved veteran of Gilbert and Sullivan productions, presenting his one-man show "A Source of Innocent Merriment", drawing material from the likes of G&S themselves, Noel Coward, Flanders and Swann, Tom Lehrer, as well as d...
Read more
-
  STIRRING ELGAR CONCERTO FROM THE CBSO LEADER CBSO at Symphony Hall ★★★★ Elgar’s Violin Concerto has provided almost as many opportunities for pointless speculation as his ‘Enigma’ Variations. Who is referred to in the work’s inscription, “Herein is enshrined the soul of...”? Is it someone codenamed “Windflower” after whom several of the work’s themes are named? Is it Alice Stuart-Wortley, daughter of the painter John Everett Millais? Is it Helen Weaver, or Elgar’s mother or possibly his wife? Who cares? Elgar himself told us all we need to know about the work when he said of it: “It's good! Awfully emotional! Too emotional, but I love it.” So would any unprejudiced listener after hearing this performance played with such tenderness, fierce concentration and passion by the CBSO’s leader Eugene Tzikindelean and backed to the hilt by the orchestra conducted by Kazuki Yamada. In the opening bars soloist and orchestra captured the mysterious haunting quality of the initial theme that ...
Read more

Jacquie Lawson e-card music

-
THE MUSIC BEHIND THE E-CARDS MIKE HUGHES-CHAMBERLAIN AND JACQUIE LAWSON E-CARDS by Christopher Morley It's always a joy when an e-greetings card plops into your inbox, not least at festive times of the year. It's easy to understand why the sending of these cyber-messages has become so popular, given the huge cost of postage nowadays At the forefront of this trend are the e-cards produced by Jacquie Lawson, and in addition to the attractive artwork, witty and sensitive storylines, and interactive opportunities offered by these little gems, comes the input of music, atmospheric and appropriate. Whether specially composed or arranged from other sources, these sound-pictures are masterminded by Mike Hughes-Chamberlain, who has made the seamless connection between a musical education and Information Technology in order to create scores for these scores of delightful little gems. He was brought up in Hindhead in Surrey, where his mother founded a music school in 1975. ...
Read more