The 117th. Season of Promenade Concerts in London\u2019s Royal Albert Hall are coming near to the end, when on September 10th there will be the usual strange combination of popular classics and post-imperial nostalgia. <\/p>\n
Seventy four concerts in one venue is an amazing gift to music-lovers able to get to London or to hear on BBC radio with more than ever concerts on TV. And if you can cope with standing in the arena or balcony (as a teenager I have done both) you could have heard all concerts for a mere \u00a3190. Such an opportunity for younger people to learn music, though I notice that the aficionados at the front of the arena night after night are not at all young! <\/p>\n
I have been able to listen to \u2013 and see \u2013 some concerts and they have been impressive, with our own national orchestras proving their worth. And it\u2019s good to compare them with such visiting orchestras as the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras from the U.S.A. and the Tonhalle Orchestra from Zurich. I was listening to a repeat of the Swiss performance of Beethoven\u2019s Eroica Symphony this afternoon. It was reviewed well in today\u2019s Guardian, Tim Ashley saying That David Zinman\u2019s direction was \u2018all sinew, steel and volatility\u2019. <\/p>\n
Most reviews that I have read have been very positive, though I agree with one which criticised Gustavo Dudamel \u2018s conducting of Mahler\u2019s \u2018Resurrection\u2019 Symphony as extravagantly slow and detailed, robbing it of momentum and coherence. Even so, as with so many of the concerts I have heard, the balance between the sections of the orchestra was exceptional, highlighting the quality of performance and the beauty of the sound. <\/p>\n
A concert that I found very moving and the memory of which remains with me was one given by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Bernard Haitink with a wonderful performance of Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto. The rapport between two such experienced musicians and the orchestra was transparent. The dedication, but also the pleasure in making music together, was very special. <\/p>\n
There\u2019s more to come and I am particularly looking forward to next Sunday when the great Colin Davis will be conducting the London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra in Beethoven\u2019s Miss Solemnis, in a broadcast and televised performance. The work demands impossibilities from the performers \u2013 and a conductor of 84 years of age! <\/p>\n
B.R. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The 117th. Season of Promenade Concerts in London\u2019s Royal Albert Hall are coming near to the end, when on September 10th there will be the usual strange combination of popular classics and post-imperial nostalgia. Seventy four concerts in one venue is an amazing gift to music-lovers able to get to London or to hear on BBC radio with more than ever concerts on TV. And if you can cope with standing in the arena or balcony (as a teenager I have done both) you could have heard all concerts for a mere \u00a3190. Such an opportunity for younger people to <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","has_thumb"],"yoast_head":"\n