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Seen and Heard Review: Halle Prom Posted by John Quinn on August 3, 2008, 11:51 am 90.195.13.28 I missed hearing the Halle Prom live on BBC Radio 3 but caught up with it via the BBC 2 TV recording yesterday (Saturday) evening. I've since read Bob Briggs' excellent review and find that I agree with him on every count - most particularly about the gross miscalculation that led to the inclusion of totally misconceived readings of some of A E Housman's poems before and after Butterworth's Rhapsody, A Shroprshire Lad - to judge by the way in which they "performed" the poems I can't believe the actors concerned have ever heard the musical settings of the poems in question by Butterworth himself or by Vaughan Williams. Bob is quite right to say that the Halle now has its best MD since Barbirolli - and like him I also caught the tail end of JB's tenure at a few concerts in Bradford. Unfortunately I don't know whether I would have agreed with his views on the performance of RVW's 8th symphony for this was cut from the television relay. Had there been much less presenter chatter during the broadcast, which would have been a very good thing, there would have been sufficient time for the music. Instead, from a Prom designed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Halle was cut a symphony dedicated to Barbirolli and first performed by the Halle under his baton. How ironic! I wonder if anyone at today's BBC realised that - or cared.  Post a Response

Re: Seen and Heard Review: Halle Prom Posted by Bob Briggs on August 3, 2008, 11:52 pm, in reply to "Seen and Heard Review: Halle Prom" 86.18.191.205 Dear John! Thanks for your posting. Weren't those seasons of Barbirolli to be cherished? I shall never forget them - a glorious Elgar 1, Nielsen 4, VW6, La Mer and Poulenc Double Piano Concerto, Bax Oboe Quintet, arranged by JB for string orchestra and so much more. Special days. I missed the TV broadcast of the Prom but thought I'd remind you that, as you missed VW 8, it's still available on the BBC iplayer until about 20.20h Tuesday this week so you can still catch it. You will enjoy it, I am sure. I shall check out the TV broadcast on the iplayer. Best wishes Bob  Post a Response

Re: Seen and Heard Review: Halle Prom Posted by Tim Perry on August 8, 2008, 12:58 am, in reply to "Re: Seen and Heard Review: Halle Prom" 203.20.79.132 Manchester is very fortunate indeed, with Elder at the Halle and the exciting but very different Noseda at the BBC Phil. As a Sydneysider, I really miss Mark Elder. Before he took up his appointment at the Halle, he was a frequent visiter to Sydney and his concerts with our orchestra were always highlights for me. With Elder, you get fresh interpretations, not novel for their own sake, but vibrant because they are rigorously thought through and deeply felt. I wish I could get hold of a tape of the performance of Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances that he gave with the Sydney Symphony seven or so years ago. He took the first movement at a daringly slow tempo (a touch slower than Mackerras on EMI, for those that know that recording), but held it together with electric tension. I have never heard anything like it.  Post a Response

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