NWR New classical concert and opera thread

Po-yu Sung

Po-yu Sung

Location
London
The old one is gone, so I guess I will start a new one.

Three piano recitals, one opera, five composers all start with B

2023/5/18
Hélène Grimaud
Barbican

Beethoven sonata no.30 op 109
Brahms three intermezzi op 107
Brahms Fantasies op 106
Bach/Busoni Chaconne

Grimaud is famous for her power and solid technique; in a sense like her teacher, M Argerich, but of course they are different. I got quite interested in her work after listening to her Brahms piano concertos; I think she captured good balance between sensitivity and structure of these two rather large works. With this in mind, I found her recital has very similar character; great technique which allows her to push the limit of speed and sound; rather romantic interpretation on tone and phrasing.
I think it worked very well for Brahms, I like them quite a lot. For Beethoven, surely there are many different ways to play Beethoven; her one was not so much a classical approach. If she has pushed even more, I would think it's bad taste; thankfully she was not that yet, although I was a bit unsure why the variation 3 of 3rd movement was so fast in speed comparatively. The variation 6 and the finale were beautifully done. The Chaconne was just grand and rich; very romantic.

2023/5/20 and 22
Andras Schiff
Wigmore Hall

Bach and Beethoven's works on grand piano and fortepiano

If Grimaud's romantic touch left a tiny bit of heavy taste in Bach/Beethoven lovers' mouth, Schiff's two days concerts would clean it very well. He dished a programme scheme that possibly only London can palate: Wigmore Hall posted two months ago that the music will only be announced on the day on stage; it would be mainly Bach and Beethoven, and it would be with grand piano and fortepiano both; and two days programmes would not be identical.
Guess what, both concerts sold out. And a Bach/Beethoven lover like me made sure both tickets were secured. How was I not disappointed.

In the first concert, he just sit down and play C major prelude/fuge of Well-Tempered Book 1. People know this piece well, well enough to find that something slightly different in the fuge. Schiff then took out the manuscript of Bach to explain, how himself (and everyone else) was wrong for decades, as all the publishers missed a dot which Bach put on the score. This small change made the fuge sounds much lighter and less solemn. Whether he is correct or not, I am not a musicologist I cannot comment, but I do admire that fact that in this stage of his career he still studies originals religiously.
That was just a starting statement; he then compared Bach and Beethoven's works in the same key.
F sharp major is a key that Mozart never wrote on, possibly due to it's annoying score looking (too many #). Bach of course wrote on it in his Well-tempered, and Beethoven's personal favourite sonata, No 24 (Fur Teresa), is on this key. I really quite like this sonata, I think it's a pure delight, a bit like symphony no. 8. I agree with Schiff that it's a bit overlooked, and I am glad to be able to listen to it in a concert. The next comparison is on D minor, here we have Bach fantasie and fuge and Beethoven's Tempest. Really exciting stuffs.
The second half is on fortepiano; Schiff first played another less performed Beethoven work; his last piano complete work, 6 Bagatelles op 126. It's very late Beethoven, therefore very interesting; humour, lyric, vigorous, simple yet effective. I think fortepiano possibly made it even more interesting. And then, guess which piece I listened again? Piano sonata no.30 op 109! Even he would have used normal Stainway, it would be totally different from Grimaud's playing, let alone it's on fortepiano. I think Schiff gave much clearer structural insight of this great work, though Grimaud was spotless on technique and more powerful.

The second concert, last eve, started with first piece of The Musical Offering. After that, Schiff explained that how his teacher adviced him not to look down upon inventions, even they were written for children: "if you become a pianist one day, you will come back to this". And then he sit down to play the whole 15 inventions.
Personally, Bach inventions are the only "serious work" I played on piano. I studied piano in childhood for short time, never wanted to practice, hated piano classes. And then I got into music listening in teenage, I wanted to try again; unfortunately my fingers were a bit hard then. I told the teacher (actually my younger brother's teacher) that please don't give me Czerny, I will most possibly not practice at all. So I got inventions. They are actually not that easy, but managable, until I moved to the UK and totally abandon it again. I probably can't play it anymore, but listening to it brought back so much joy.
On top of this surprise, his next piece is Waldstein! How could I have any complain at this point.
And then, something possibly can only happen in London, he said he will play Waldstein again, on fortepiano! So we listened to it a second time on a different instrument. For me, it's a great concert lay out; I am not sure how others think but that's not very important. I enjoyed it a lot, intellectually and emotionally. Just like his Bach Well-Tempered concerts (of two books) in late night Proms, these two concerts would be my unforgettable concert experience.

2023/5/19
Berg Wozzeck
Royal Opera house

Another B. It's my first time seeing Wozzeck in opera house. I quite like the production; it's still a bit homoerotic (the same director who did Billy Budd in ROH) but not overly done. The singers are also in top notch. The music was conducted (by Papano) in an approachable way. I went with a guy who knows this piece quite well, he didn't like this "easy going" approach. He said many details in the orchestration were either ignored or missing. I don't know this piece inside out but I recall I had same feeling after listening to Papano's Tristan und Isolde. I did have complain about that Tristan, but I don't have complain on this one, obviously because I just didn't know Berg enough. While I assume musicians in Wiener Staasoper's pit might do it differently, just like musicans in Bayreuth's pit would play Tristan differently.
Luckily, I will see it again in several weeks, I might have more thoughts then.
 
Last edited:
I went to a nice concert at the Barbican Friday before last. All the music was by Michael Tippett, played by the BBCSO and conducted by Andrew Davis. First item was the Concerto for Double String Orchestra. This has always been one of my favourites and this was an excellent performance. After the interval it was the oratorio A Child of Our Time. A fine performance, with the BBCS Chorus on top form and a fine quartet of soloists. This was the first time I had heard the South African soprano Pumeza Matshiliza and I was really impressed. A beautiful voice and plenty of passion and power. An excellent concert.
 
An flawed yet memorable, actually emotional concert

23/6/23
M Pollini, Schumann and Chopin
Royal Festival Hall

Pollini is 81 this year. I never expect him to be technically good; I don't even expect him to play as well as Agerich. She is an unique example. I heard that his technique decay a lot these years, and I was ready for it. But I was not ready to see what I saw.

The open piece was Schumann op 18. He played it actually very well. Not technically perfect but not bad at all, and the tone and phrasing was wonderful. It was the Pollini I like. I felt very hopeful for the concert.
And then he started to play the second piece. It should have been op 17 Fantasie, but it was not. I thought, ok, he changed the sequence? After some more bars, he stopped. He covered his face with his hands. And then he repeated from the beginning, again stopped at the same place. His memory failed him.

He then nearly promptly stopped, standed up, and rushed to the backstage. We didn't even know if he would reappear.
Then he came out, with two men carrying the stand for Steinway, and the old master carrying a bunch of papers... not bound together. People gave him loudest possible cheers and appaluse. He again promptly sat down and immediately played. This time it's correctly Schumann op 17.

But trouble was not finished. The pages were loose, and he started to search among pieces of paper. The music stopped. Terrible silence. Up to this point it is quite clear that it's not just simply forgetting, his mind was at that moment, fogged. The strangest thing is, I still liked the speed and tone, and phrasing, when the phrase was complete. It's like pieces of broken china, you still see the beautiful colours on them.

He finally found the pages, finished the first movement, and he rushed back again. When he reappeared, he hold a bound score, but without a page turner. It proof to be difficult for the very challenging 2nd movement; especially the stand seemed to be a bit too high. He can't easily see it nor turning the page. At least it's more together, and again, the structure and the tone still pretty much there. Of course, at the incredibly difficult coda, which has openly executed so many pianists on stage, his playing was not lacking wrong notes. But he just drove it through like a hero in fiction flim with the speed he intended to drive.
And the third movement was some of the most beautiful music I've heard. Even he needed to turn pages himself.

By the end of first half, people already gave him standing ovation. I guess, at least part of it, is like watching a veteran athlete failed more than once, but still insisted to pass the final line.

In the second half, Chopin, the stand was changed to the correct one, and there was a page turner. Things went smoothly, still enough wrong notes, but it didn't matter anymore. Some minority of audience who couldn't tolerate the scene (no matter for what reason) had left, those who stayed were there together to walk though the final bit of this concert. I could taste and understand why some people told me their most memorable piano concert was from Pollini. I agree with many of things he did in the second half. Was it perfect? absolutely not. But hey....

In the end, a standing ovation from whole audience. Some might have (maybe rightfully) thought it's the last time we see him in public concert and wanted to thank his 60 years of service to art.

I read online that some felt pity that he didn't retire earlier. I understand that point but I am not sure I agree. At least in Pollini's case, it is no longer about proving himself. He is way beyond that. Art is to express oneself, and if he feels that he still has something to say.... I am willing to listen.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the report, Po-Yu, I'm very glad I wasn't there, it sounds like a terrible humiliation and one which makes me consider again the gladiatorial aspect of the relationship between audience and performer that can sometimes make me so very uncomfortable. I heard this consequential and extremely serious pianist countless times in his famously invincible prime, invincible to the point at which it was occasionally even possible to find the whole experience more gramophonic than involving. He was at his best when climbing Olympus; quite unforgettable performances of the Hammerklavier and Boulez's second sonata remain indelible highlights for me.
Let us hope that his recent serious illness has not weakened him permanently, he has done enough to secure immortality.
 
Musique et Vin au Clos Vougeot

At this annual festival last night, the piano trio of Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider (violin) and Gautier Capucon (cello) played Mendelssohn's Op. 49 trio and Shostakovitch's Op. 67 trio. The Mendelssohn took some time to get going, but by the third movement (Scherzo), the musicians were in full form and particularly, Thibaudet's piano was nuanced and balanced, even with the lid open on the concert grand. The Shostakovitch was complicated, especially the first movement where the strings play in harmonics for much of it. Perhaps the composer intended the intonation difficulties of such playing to be a character of the movement, but it made me wince a couple of times. The slow movement, however, was wonderful: brooding, contemplative, and serious with the solemn piano chords supporting the string dialogue. The encore (Strauss's "Morning") was lovely and a delightful respite after the Shostakovitch. Every year, this is an event of the highest quality.
 
Blair Pethel said:
Musique et Vin au Clos Vougeot

At this annual festival last night, the piano trio of Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider (violin) and Gautier Capucon (cello) played Mendelssohn's Op. 49 trio and Shostakovitch's Op. 67 trio. The Mendelssohn took some time to get going, but by the third movement (Scherzo), the musicians were in full form and particularly, Thibaudet's piano was nuanced and balanced, even with the lid open on the concert grand. The Shostakovitch was complicated, especially the first movement where the strings play in harmonics for much of it. Perhaps the composer intended the intonation difficulties of such playing to be a character of the movement, but it made me wince a couple of times. The slow movement, however, was wonderful: brooding, contemplative, and serious with the solemn piano chords supporting the string dialogue. The encore (Strauss's "Morning") was lovely and a delightful respite after the Shostakovitch. Every year, this is an event of the highest quality.
Click to expand...
That’s only half the promised story, Blair… what did you drink?
 
Two very good opera performances, Paris won over London IMO.

Gounod Roméo et Juliette
Paris Opera @ Bastille 3rd July
Conductor: C Rizzi
B Berheim, E Dreisig, L Naouri...
Director: T Jolly

After listening to the wonderful Faust last year (and possibly got Covid there), I decided to book their Romeo this year during my Taiwanese friend's visit. I partly, if not mainly went for the best French tenor nowadays, B Bernheim, so I chose cast A. The production was effective, not offensive, a bit bling bling (as you would expect from someone like Mr Jolly... you will know what I mean if you watch his interview on YouTube), mostly set at night time but still rather colourful. I quite like it. The really very outstanding part is the singing in general. Of course, Berheim and Dreisig were brilliant in their roles, both got clear yet lyric tone and young looking (Bernheim seems to have lost more than 10 kg, if comparing with his 2021 video; he was not really fat then!). Dreisig handled the first act with superb technique. Berheim, as always, singing every word with great care, almost like a lieder singer. The whole cast, every single one, fully understand French language and French singing style. You don't have this in other opera houses in other countries. Language is a bit like music, and music style (especially vocal music) is closely related to its language; even I can't speak French myself, the difference between the performance in Paris and say in London was obvious. Not at all saying what I saw in London was bad, just it's not really as much as in French style.
This difference spread to choir, even orchestra. The Paris choir voice got a soft while almost transparent texture; you can clearly hear the words even in forte paragraph. The orchestra in Paris Bastille, since Ming Wyung Chung time, is one of the best in Paris. The individual instrument, especially the wind section (which French is famous for) , was especially impressive.
Bastille opera is a modern style of opera house, most of people can see the whole stage. I sat at top floor, the sound was very good for the price I paid. Some singers lost a bit of power under this setting, for example Bernheim sometimes sounded a bit small from where I sat. I can still hear the details though. In video there is no such a problem.
You can watch free from here if you have a French IP address (whether through VPN or traveling), or join Paris Opera online membership. I also enjoyed watching it again at home.
Roméo et Juliette à l'Opéra Bastille

Verdi Don Carlo
ROH 12th July
Conductor: B de Billy
B Jagde, L Davidsen, J Relyea, L Micheletti, Y Matochkina
Director: N Hytner

If the star for Romeo was Bernheim, the star for this Don Carlo is Davidsen. I listened to her Sieglinde in Bayreuth, her Fidelio and Elisabeth (in Tannhauser) in London; she was always good. Here, another Elisabetha, she was still stunning. Super stable and secure vocal, you don't worry for her at all. Her appearance was also magnificent, tall and elegant, just how a queen should be. All the other cast were pretty decent. Totally different style from what we had in Paris though: they were all loud, rich, powerful; kind of "Italian style" if that makes any sense. The Hytner's production is just an old one, I don't have much to say about it. It's Okay, not the most exciting production but did the job.
The main issue I had was, possibly conductor. The speed choice was a bit strange; at some parts it was so slow that I can't feel the momentum of Verdi's powerful music. More than that, there were quite some moments that the choir and orchestra were not together. There were bit after bit of essemble issues. If it was not that the players and choir singers did not pay full attention as they did for the boss (Papano), it would be that the conductor had no good control, or both.
The singing was indeed very good for ROH's recent year standard, and the audience seemed to love it. But.... I walked out somehow not fully satisfied. I don't feel the whole performance was tightly wrapped as a "great drama work from Verdi", more like a singing competition with this song coming after another song. It must be that I have been spoiled by the Paris performance.
 
Fortunate to see Yuja Wang and Zubin Mehta on opening night of the Verbier Festival. They were heroes, as it was easily 27-28C in the un-air-conditioned hall, which must seat 4,000, and the Rachmaninov 3rd Piano Concerto is sweat-inducing in the best of conditions.

The (temporary) hall's acoustics meant that Wang's nuances were sometimes lost, but it is clear that she is one of the world's great artists. With sweat dripping off her, she played two encores, although was clearly exhausted by the end of the second.

The second half was Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique, which I had never heard live. Neither had I seen an orchestra so large on stage (two harpists and eight percussionists!). Despite Mehta's advanced age, the performance was - fantastic. Particularly the brass and percussion sections were on top form, although the winds were equally excellent. One could hardly believe this was a pick-up, student orchestra.

My first experience at Verbier, but definitely not my last!
 
A fabulous concert, an expanded Schubertiade, in La Roque d'Antheron on Auguat 2nd with Alexander Kantorow (He is French from Clermont Ferrand ...) and violonist Lyia Petrova (Bulgarian). the programme included:
- Beethoven trio n1: a somewhat Mozartian piece I found
- Beethoven triple concerto Opus 56 with Warsaw Simphonia... quite Beethovenian
Pause
- Schubert Wanderer Fantasy
- Schubert Quintet Die Forelle
A very long and excellent concert lasting from 8:00 to a quarter to twelve... and it was so good I did not lose any bit of it (I often do...). Kantorow has a talent that clarifies the most complex pieces (His Wanderer was so good and close to perfection both technically and expression wise. We were blessed to have some of the best places and having had a Chambolle Amoureuses for lunch (to celebrate my son'd wedding announcement) had clearly put us in great mood.
 
I had a trip to Paris, went to some restaurants, had a bottle of my favourite Raveneau so far, and some pretty good concerts/opera, including Yunchan Lim's bold yet sincere Bach, Benjamin Bernheim's best French style Werther, and this Beethoven concerto with Martha Argerich.
Since it's available on Arte, I don't need to say too much, just totally amazed that this woman is nearly 84, incredible.

 
Last edited:
I was at the Barbican last Friday, for a concert of English music by the BBCSO, conducted by Sakari Orama. First up was the Serenade to Music by Vaughan Williams. This is a lovely work that I didn't know beforehand. Then the Concerto for Piano and Strings by Doreen Carwithen. The pianist was Alexandra Dariescu. I had heard of Carwithen before but didn't know any of her output. An interesting work but not particularly distinguished. Finally we had Symphony no. 5 by Malcolm Arnold, which was utterly splendid in every way. A good evening.
 
What an interesting and unexpected thread. As a lifelong piano student (learning never ends) and now a teacher with a few advanced students, I never expected to see such an erudite thread here, more fool me.

Martha A is indeed incredible and always has been. But I have enjoyed so many pianists over the years. The concert described by Pollini where he struggled, is sad but also human. The challenge for any musician is to find a way to keep going when adversity strikes. A very good friend of mine is into his nineties now, far older than me, and is still focussed on piano design innovations (he's an inventor) and still plays every day on a pair of very fine Steingraeber concert grands in his drawing room. They facilitate duets.

Lovely thread.
 
Bryan Collins said:
Whether you want classical music, advanced cooking, esoteric hi-fi, cricket, crosswords or recommendations for lawn mowers you won't go too far wrong on wine-pages.
Click to expand...

Not to mention grumpy old men, the occasional petty spat over not very much and twenty different views on pretty much any wine ever made….

…yep, all of life is here. Enjoy!
 
I was at Covent Garden last night for a fine performance of Turandot. A good prince Calaf from Gwyn Hughes Jones and a very good Turandot from Ewa Plonka. The stars though were Gemma Summerfield as Liu, who sang 'Signore, Ascolta' beautifully; and the lively trio of courtiers Ping, Pang and Pong, sung by Hansung Yoo, Aled Hall and Michael Gibson.

The production by Andrei Serban is about 40 years old but still looks good. Occasionally the stage looks a bit crowded and the entrance of Turandot in Act 2 is a bit flat. Taken overall though, this was a very good evening.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top