RMweb Premium melmerby Posted February 24, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 24, 2015 My friend, who has played in the Large Hall of the Musikverein, tells me it's supposed to be a virtually perfect orchestral acoustic, apparently it's something to do with the hall being shoe box shaped. I don't know about this personally - I would like to find out! Sadly, I suspect it's not going to happen, but you never know. Phil That's why Birmingham's Symphony Hall is that shape as is the one on Boston USA, considered a couple of the best! I have heard orchestras in the wide and flat type halls and they are definitely not as good.+ Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tomparryharry Posted February 25, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 25, 2015 Anything by Elgar. Or, how about 'Mood for a day', as performed by Steve Howe (of Yes fame)? Too much choice to just have the one track. Ian 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tomparryharry Posted February 25, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 25, 2015 Ladies & Gents, Whilst we are on Classical music, can you help me? Some years back (about 1985), I remember seeing a short film, made in Europe. It featured a small girl, and a large, old, faithful dog. The storyline of the film consisted of the girl taking the dog to a photographers studio, where the photographer continually refused to photograph the dog. This happened over several visits, with the girl offering the photographer more money. In the end, the little girl leaves the studio in tears, followed by the dog. At this, the photographer collects his camera, and follows the girl & dog through the streets, picturing them against the various street scenes. All set to classical music, and a very moving film. I've not seen it since, but it still haunts me. Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 As a result of a late night listening choice, I now have the opening theme of 'In the Garden' as an incorrigible earworm. For anyone wishing to share this infection (those who enjoy the intermezzo of Cavalleria Rusticana will definitely be vulnerable) this is part of Karl Goldmark's 'Rustic Wedding Symphony'. It's going to take some Berio to dislodge this one... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
runs as required Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 PGC, on 24 Feb 2015 - 18:29, said: My friend, who has played in the Large Hall of the Musikverein, tells me it's supposed to be a virtually perfect orchestral acoustic, apparently it's something to do with the hall being shoe box shaped. I don't know about this personally - I would like to find out! Sadly, I suspect it's not going to happen, but you never know. That's why Birmingham's Symphony Hall is that shape as is the one on Boston USA, considered a couple of the best! I have heard orchestras in the wide and flat type halls and they are definitely not as good.+ Keith Did you hear Simon Rattle interviewed about rumours of him coming back from Berlin a week or so ago? I was struck by him saying there were no concert halls (or orchestras) in the UK good enough for ears that have become accustomed to Continental Europe standards. That rather condemns Brum Symphony Hall - as well as our own Newcastle Sage Centre (done on a budget) by Fosters - using state of the art computer acoustic software, and also fully 'tunable' with screens/curtains etc. My son went to the BBC6 live music festival there last week-end and eulogised about it. Speaking for myself, the most stirring orchestral sound I've ever heard was a visiting German symphony orchestra playing in a Mission hall on the Indian Ocean coast a few miles south of Dar-es-Salaam. We arrived late in darkness and a mix of surf plus the extraordinary sound of the live orchestra playing the opening (I think Egmont) overture was truly sublime. dh Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted February 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 25, 2015 Did you hear Simon Rattle interviewed about rumours of him coming back from Berlin a week or so ago? I was struck by him saying there were no concert halls (or orchestras) in the UK good enough for ears that have become accustomed to Continental Europe standards. That rather condemns Brum Symphony Hall - as well as our own Newcastle Sage Centre (done on a budget) by Fosters - using state of the art computer acoustic software, and also fully 'tunable' with screens/curtains etc. My son went to the BBC6 live music festival there last week-end and eulogised about it. Speaking for myself, the most stirring orchestral sound I've ever heard was a visiting German symphony orchestra playing in a Mission hall on the Indian Ocean coast a few miles south of Dar-es-Salaam. We arrived late in darkness and a mix of surf plus the extraordinary sound of the live orchestra playing the opening (I think Egmont) overture was truly sublime. dh I rather got the impression that Rattle was pushing for a new concert hall for LONDON as he (obviously?) wouldn't be prepared to take anything less than the LSO now! Brum's Symphony Hall was of course Rattle's idea anyway. (Complete with tunable reverb chambers etc) Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted February 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 25, 2015 Back to music "Au fond du temple saint" (Pearl Fishers Duet) by Jussi Bjorling & Robert Merrill. The version by which all others are judged and found wanting! Keith 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Budgie Posted February 25, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 25, 2015 Referring back to my list of favourites, "Death and the Maiden" has just been broadcast on Radio 3. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted February 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 25, 2015 I always think that if a conductor whinges about the standard of orchestra then it is a bit of shooting ones own foot as surely a large part of the job of the principal condustor of an orchestra is to train the musicians and ensure they meet his standards? When Rattle was at the CBSO he made it into an extremely well regarded orchestra with a global reputation. Although George Szell's boats about the Cleveland Orchestra may sound a bit bombastic there is no doubt he elevated that orchestra to being of the highest class and didn't complain that it didn't meet continental European standards. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGC Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I had to collect SWMBO from work yesterday. While waiting I listened to Neilsen 4 on Radio 3. Not heard it before - I'll be buying a CD. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon G Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Earlier posts talked about the virtuosity for the players. One piece on the violin is Saint-Saens "Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso". When my son was at about Grade 8 on his violin, I played my recording of it, and he was amazed at the level of skill required to play it well. Others have mentioned Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. I actually have 3 versions of this - one orchestral, one played solely on the organ, and one by Emerson Lake & Palmer. I love them all! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ian Hargrave Posted February 25, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 25, 2015 I rather got the impression that Rattle was pushing for a new concert hall for LONDON as he (obviously?) wouldn't be prepared to take anything less than the LSO now! Brum's Symphony Hall was of course Rattle's idea anyway. (Complete with tunable reverb chambers etc) Keith That's about the sum of things. It is generally accepted that London lags behind other premier cities in the provision of a concert hall fit for its status. The RFH dates from 1951 and The Barbican is generally considered as below par. Rattle finishes with Berlin in 2018 and has indicated...in so many words....that he wants to come home. I believe his main residence has remained here,anyway. The LSO appointment is widely canvassed with the construction of a new hall featuring as the big blandishment. Those in the know will tell you that what Simon wants,Simon gets. However.....times is 'ard and if the finance & support lags,then the big fish just might swim the other way across the pond...not that ,if he goes ,for instance,to NYC,he'll find a house to suit his opulent accoustic tastes there. Avery Fisher Hall & Carnegie Hall are modest in comparison with the best. The Lincoln Centre & The Met are dated now...but just don't tell New Yorkers that ! We can still hack it with the best. Look at The Sage in Newcastle. It's a great place to be. Lovely halls and a foyer giving audiences magical views over the city and the Tyne...especially at night.For those who like something rare,bang up to date and very special ( but a second mortgage job ),the new house at Glyndebourne ...with all its outree sophistication and charm and some beautiful South Downs scenery....wins the top spot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danemouth Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Others have mentioned Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. I actually have 3 versions of this - one orchestral, one played solely on the organ, and one by Emerson Lake & Palmer. I love them all! Interestingly it was originally written as a Piano piece[ I have a superb performance by Barry Douglas. These days we normally hear the orchestration by Ravel though IMHO the orchestration by Sir Henry Wood is better - he throws everything in! I also have the electronic version by Tomita. Dave 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGC Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 That's about the sum of things. It is generally accepted that London lags behind other premier cities in the provision of a concert hall fit for its status. The RFH dates from 1951 and The Barbican is generally considered as below par. Rattle finishes with Berlin in 2018 and has indicated...in so many words....that he wants to come home. I believe his main residence has remained here,anyway. The LSO appointment is widely canvassed with the construction of a new hall featuring as the big blandishment. Those in the know will tell you that what Simon wants,Simon gets. However.....times is 'ard and if the finance & support lags,then the big fish just might swim the other way across the pond...not that ,if he goes ,for instance,to NYC,he'll find a house to suit his opulent accoustic tastes there. Avery Fisher Hall & Carnegie Hall are modest in comparison with the best. The Lincoln Centre & The Met are dated now...but just don't tell New Yorkers that ! We can still hack it with the best. Look at The Sage in Newcastle. It's a great place to be. Lovely halls and a foyer giving audiences magical views over the city and the Tyne...especially at night.For those who like something rare,bang up to date and very special ( but a second mortgage job ),the new house at Glyndebourne ...with all its outree sophistication and charm and some beautiful South Downs scenery....wins the top spot. This is where fact get's muddled up. Yes, the original RFH was built in 1951, but bear in mind that it's had a massive refurbishment since that means the hall now has as good an acoustic as any other venue, and it also has one of the best organs in a concert hall. I really don't understand why people say the Barbican is below par - Richard Hickox heard the pundits telling him that the hall was no good, and he was determined to prove them wrong. He introduced choral music, starting with Belshazzar's Feast, large scale orchestral work and small scale choral work (I was one of a chorus of 24 that staged a performance of the Rossini Petite Messe Solenelle) and all was very well received. Since I last sang at the Barbican, they have also refurbished the hall, so I don't know what it's like now, but I reckon it could only be better, and I would have no trouble with that. Talking of the best, look at the newest concert hall in England - Saffron Hall. I wonder if Simon Rattle knows of it, it's as good as Symphony Hall and is a lot nearer to London. It's also getting the best performers - Nicola Benedetti, The Sixteen, Britten Sinfonia and, well, take a look. Personally, I believe we certainly have halls in England that are among the best in the world, and I wish that people would stop putting them down and let's be proud of them. Phil 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted February 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 25, 2015 Talk of the New Year concert from Vienna inspired me to play the 1987 recording conducted by Karajan, one of the genuinely great recordings and arguably the finest recording of Strauss waltzes and polkas of them all. Karajan's reputation was perhaps not so often associated with such accessible music yet in this concert he displayed a complete mastery of the scores, the playing is outstanding and the music flows with an energy and intensity whilst retaining a wonderful lightness of touch, it is a magnificent disc. I am not the biggest fan of Karajan but this disc is one of his recordings which shows just how good he could be and why he was held in such high esteem. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted February 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 25, 2015 I cannot listen to the Blue Danube waltz without thinking of 2001 - A Space Odyssey. In isolation it sounds a bit bonkers to mate images of satellites and a space journey to a Viennese waltz but the union between visual image and music was perfect in that film. Just as I instinctively think of space so when listening to the Blue Danube so it is impossible to try and imagine the movie without the musical soundtrack. On the Blue Danube,the first few bars in Karajan's new year concert record are absolutely electric, and make hairs stand on me, it is one of those moments in music that just grabs you and leaves you in no doubt that you are experiencing something very special indeed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGC Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Interestingly it (Pictures at an Exhibition) was originally written as a Piano piece[ I have a superb performance by Barry Douglas. These days we normally hear the orchestration by Ravel though IMHO the orchestration by Sir Henry Wood is better - he throws everything in! I also have the electronic version by Tomita. Dave Many years ago I played the piano regularly and learnt quite a few difficult works such as the final movement of the Moonlight Sonata. Pictures at an Exhibition is not an easy piece to play (I know, I tried!) and I'm full of admiration for anyone who can play it. The recording by Barry Douglas is the one I also have and he does play it very well (as do Tomita and ELP, of which I also have recordings). Been singing Messiah tonight - has anyone mentioned it previously? There's some stunning music in it, but I mustn't say too much, otherwise people might think I'm starting to enjoy early music! Phil 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted February 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 25, 2015 Others have mentioned Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. I actually have 3 versions of this - one orchestral, one played solely on the organ, and one by Emerson Lake & Palmer. I love them all! Isao Tomita produced a rather good electronic version some years back also which remains one of my favourites of the "electronic classics" style. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Claude_Dreyfus Posted February 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 25, 2015 I had to collect SWMBO from work yesterday. While waiting I listened to Neilsen 4 on Radio 3. Not heard it before - I'll be buying a CD. I have the Blomstedt/San Francisco Symphony recordings on Decca. Excellent and rather over-played CDs. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Budgie Posted February 25, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 25, 2015 It's Nielsen's 150th birthday this year, so be prepared for a lot of performances of his music. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted February 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 25, 2015 (edited) Talk of the New Year concert from Vienna inspired me to play the 1987 recording conducted by Karajan, one of the genuinely great recordings and arguably the finest recording of Strauss waltzes and polkas of them all. Karajan's reputation was perhaps not so often associated with such accessible music yet in this concert he displayed a complete mastery of the scores, the playing is outstanding and the music flows with an energy and intensity whilst retaining a wonderful lightness of touch, it is a magnificent disc. I am not the biggest fan of Karajan but this disc is one of his recordings which shows just how good he could be and why he was held in such high esteem. I'm sorry but I have to disagree. The Maestro was well below his best (In poor health I believe) and IMHO it does not rate as the best of the New Year's Concerts. I particularly did not appreciate Kathleen Battle's performance. I know some "afficianados" rate it highly, but they rate everything by Karajan highly, whatever it is! Even such a brilliant conductor has off days. I only wish he had been asked some ten years earlier when he was at his imperious best. But it's only my opinion after all Keith Edited February 25, 2015 by melmerby 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGC Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I have the Blomstedt/San Francisco Symphony recordings on Decca. Excellent and rather over-played CDs. Thanks - it's always nice to get recommendations for recordings, so guess what I'll be looking out for! Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Interestingly it was originally written as a Piano piece[ I have a superb performance by Barry Douglas. These days we normally hear the orchestration by Ravel though IMHO the orchestration by Sir Henry Wood is better - he throws everything in! I also have the electronic version by Tomita. Dave I as just thinking about the Tomita version, my parents had it and it stuck out to me as a child. Perhaps that's influential in why I now tend to like electronic music? 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted February 26, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 26, 2015 (edited) I as just thinking about the Tomita version, my parents had it and it stuck out to me as a child. Perhaps that's influential in why I now tend to like electronic music? I have ELP, Tomita and Berlin PO recordings! The first is a CD the others LPs! Keith Edited February 27, 2015 by melmerby 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbishop Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Well, I was in the RFH yesterday: front row of the choir, bang above the timpani. Acoustically not bad, especially where I was sitting, but the rear of the stalls and the gallery are truly awful places to experience a concert. The Barbican Hall is acoustically "dry" and I rarely go there. I did the Bruckner series in 1996 and by the 4th had found a zone with a reasonable sound. Many years ago, I went to Bruckner 5 in St Paul's Cathedral: the complete opposite, the brass is probably still echoing around the dome. Undoubtedly, the best venue in London for music post-Mozart is the RAH: but it's too large and probably too expensive for most concerts other than the Proms. Bill 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now