Barry
14-09-2023, 22:47
BBC Proms 2023
Did anyone here listen to any of the BBC Promenade performances this year? I didn’t listen to all of them all, but probably to three quarters of the programme; simply because some of them were not to my taste.
Of those I heard, there are a half dozen that I particularly enjoyed, was surprised by, or found intriguing. In order of broadcast they were:
1 Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
I am always ready to listen to The Four Seasons, and have several different versions in my music collection. What I liked about this version by Pekka Kuusisto was the interspersion of the piece with folk music improvisations by Kuusisto on violin and Ale Carr on cittern (roughly similar to a lute, but with metal strings and played with a plectrum)
https://www.greenmatthews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Cittern-768x576.jpg
Kuusisto also conducted the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, playing Andrea Tarrodi’s ‘Birds of Paradise’ (new to me) and Beethoven’s ‘Symphony No.1 in C’.
2 Elgar’s Enigma Variations
Another work I am always happy to listen to. This time, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Elim Chan, performed the work. The Elgar was straightforward but unexceptional, however the programme included the European premiere of Noriko Kolde’s ‘Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain’ which I thoroughly enjoyed, followed by Beethoven’s ‘Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor’ played by soloist Jan Lisiecki.
3 Isata Kanneh-Mason plays Prokofiev
Isata Kanneh-Mason comes from a talented musical family. Her cellist brother Sheku played at the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle, but it was pianist Isata making her Proms debut playing Prokofiev’s ‘Piano Concerto No.3 in C’ that interested me.
https://milvertonconcerts.org/wp-content/uploads/1999/11/Isata-Kanneh-Mason-4_Daniel-Stroud-Photography-510.jpg
I’m not that familiar with the piece, but I found her performance captivating and at times electrifying.
4 Felix Kleister plays Mozart
I’m familiar with the Mozart Horn Concerto (No. 4 in E flat K495), especially that performed by Dennis Brain and by Barry Tuckwell, but had not heard of Felix Kleister. Remarkably Kleister, although having been born without arms, was determined to learn to play the French horn, which he did. Having read about this not only did I want to hear him, but also see him play at the Proms which was recorded and later broadcast in BBC4. Seeing him operate the valves with the toes of his left foot was absolutely fascinating.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2021/11/17/TELEMMGLPICT000278039296_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqxx-aMjhNEyvNcPOg7e3c1KS-UyG44at75VysheuSlvg.jpeg?imwidth=960
5 Yuja Wang plays Rachmaninov
The Rachmaninov ‘Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini’, is one of my favourite piano pieces. It was played by the dazzling, world-famous pianist Yuja Wang.
Also watched her play on BBC4 – absolutely gripping.
And finally
6 Max Richter: Recomposed
The piece ‘recomposed’ was Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. I first heard of this work through a friend of mine and bought the CD
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e3/Recomposed_by_Max_Richter_-_Vivaldi_-_The_Four_Seasons_%28Front_Cover%29.png?2016021908 5206
To explain what is meant by the term ‘recomposed’ see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recomposed_by_Max_Richter:_Vivaldi_%E2%80%93_The_F our_Seasons
As I have already said, I love The Four Seasons, and Richter’s re-composition is fascinating and intriguing at the same time.
So that’s it from me – what were your impressions of the Proms 2023?
Did anyone here listen to any of the BBC Promenade performances this year? I didn’t listen to all of them all, but probably to three quarters of the programme; simply because some of them were not to my taste.
Of those I heard, there are a half dozen that I particularly enjoyed, was surprised by, or found intriguing. In order of broadcast they were:
1 Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
I am always ready to listen to The Four Seasons, and have several different versions in my music collection. What I liked about this version by Pekka Kuusisto was the interspersion of the piece with folk music improvisations by Kuusisto on violin and Ale Carr on cittern (roughly similar to a lute, but with metal strings and played with a plectrum)
https://www.greenmatthews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Cittern-768x576.jpg
Kuusisto also conducted the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, playing Andrea Tarrodi’s ‘Birds of Paradise’ (new to me) and Beethoven’s ‘Symphony No.1 in C’.
2 Elgar’s Enigma Variations
Another work I am always happy to listen to. This time, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Elim Chan, performed the work. The Elgar was straightforward but unexceptional, however the programme included the European premiere of Noriko Kolde’s ‘Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain’ which I thoroughly enjoyed, followed by Beethoven’s ‘Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor’ played by soloist Jan Lisiecki.
3 Isata Kanneh-Mason plays Prokofiev
Isata Kanneh-Mason comes from a talented musical family. Her cellist brother Sheku played at the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle, but it was pianist Isata making her Proms debut playing Prokofiev’s ‘Piano Concerto No.3 in C’ that interested me.
https://milvertonconcerts.org/wp-content/uploads/1999/11/Isata-Kanneh-Mason-4_Daniel-Stroud-Photography-510.jpg
I’m not that familiar with the piece, but I found her performance captivating and at times electrifying.
4 Felix Kleister plays Mozart
I’m familiar with the Mozart Horn Concerto (No. 4 in E flat K495), especially that performed by Dennis Brain and by Barry Tuckwell, but had not heard of Felix Kleister. Remarkably Kleister, although having been born without arms, was determined to learn to play the French horn, which he did. Having read about this not only did I want to hear him, but also see him play at the Proms which was recorded and later broadcast in BBC4. Seeing him operate the valves with the toes of his left foot was absolutely fascinating.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2021/11/17/TELEMMGLPICT000278039296_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqxx-aMjhNEyvNcPOg7e3c1KS-UyG44at75VysheuSlvg.jpeg?imwidth=960
5 Yuja Wang plays Rachmaninov
The Rachmaninov ‘Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini’, is one of my favourite piano pieces. It was played by the dazzling, world-famous pianist Yuja Wang.
Also watched her play on BBC4 – absolutely gripping.
And finally
6 Max Richter: Recomposed
The piece ‘recomposed’ was Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. I first heard of this work through a friend of mine and bought the CD
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e3/Recomposed_by_Max_Richter_-_Vivaldi_-_The_Four_Seasons_%28Front_Cover%29.png?2016021908 5206
To explain what is meant by the term ‘recomposed’ see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recomposed_by_Max_Richter:_Vivaldi_%E2%80%93_The_F our_Seasons
As I have already said, I love The Four Seasons, and Richter’s re-composition is fascinating and intriguing at the same time.
So that’s it from me – what were your impressions of the Proms 2023?