Concert review
Nice to have the real forum back.
Sorry for not uploading the next mp3 but i was waiting for this page to return. I will upload the Largo from op70/1 on Tuesday. Thanks to one of our resident members, Margaret, i got a free ticket to see a Beethoven concert as St John's, Smith Square in London. The band was the Academy of Ancient Music with Paul Goodwin conducting, authentic instruments of course. They played Symphonies 1 and 8, Coriolan Overture, Ah Perfido, and Marzelines aria 'O War Ich Schon Mit Dir Vereint'.
I'd never been to St John's before and the first thing that struck me was the height of the roof, i thought it was too high really for the size of the venue (you can squeeze about 40 musicians on the stage, but that's all you usually need for Beethoven) but then this is a church. The sound wasn't as cold as I'd expected from a Church, but I did get the sence that some of the sound was going up instead of forward. The being said the band was really noisy when it needed to be, the drums especially sound fantastic and the guy really wacked them.
What was unusual is that the brass spent most of their time when silent dismantling their instruments, I don't recall the LSO doing that!
The overture was a tad rushed but effective, I would have liked a little more dynamism in the phrasing from the strings,which was a continual thought throughout the concert. Sometimes i got the effect that they had played these pieces too often before and were just 'going through the motions' so to speak, the conductor could have done more in spicing up the music, though it was scary enough in the loud moments as i come to expect.
The First symphony was well played and i liked the horns as I could actually hear them as they should be heard, but for some reason they were strangely muted in the 8th symphony, i was dissappointed there (my recording by the Hanover band has the horns shouting throughout and it adds a lot to the overall excitement).
The first movement of the 8th was very exciting, as was the last (and i could see in the performers faces they were wary of this finale!). The drummer wacked the hell out of his instruments in the coda of the finale, i though he might rip the skins!
The Fidelio aria was a curious choice for a concert piece as it is not really substantial enough on its own, at least as performed at as rather a tame manner as it was here, and it was the sopranos only contribution in the first half. In the second half Ah perfido had a good effect and i noticed things in the music i hadn't before. But the singer did not come across very loudly compared to others I've heard, but perhaps that is another issue with the accoustics of the venue (but then again my hearing is not as good as it used to be these days, especially in my left which is only about 30% of what it should be!).
After my experience with Handel i now know why the concerts were often so long in days gone by, because i got the impression the whole event was over in a flash, i could have done with another hour of music!
But despite the critisisms above i enjoyed the concert and Westminster is better than most places in London if you want to hear some music! Margaret's seat (donated to me due to unforseen circumstances) was in the most expensive price bracket, actually the seat was a little too good as i got the impression the accoustics were better a little further back in the hall with the poorer people!
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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin
[This message has been edited by Rod (edited 02-22-2005).]
Sorry for not uploading the next mp3 but i was waiting for this page to return. I will upload the Largo from op70/1 on Tuesday. Thanks to one of our resident members, Margaret, i got a free ticket to see a Beethoven concert as St John's, Smith Square in London. The band was the Academy of Ancient Music with Paul Goodwin conducting, authentic instruments of course. They played Symphonies 1 and 8, Coriolan Overture, Ah Perfido, and Marzelines aria 'O War Ich Schon Mit Dir Vereint'.
I'd never been to St John's before and the first thing that struck me was the height of the roof, i thought it was too high really for the size of the venue (you can squeeze about 40 musicians on the stage, but that's all you usually need for Beethoven) but then this is a church. The sound wasn't as cold as I'd expected from a Church, but I did get the sence that some of the sound was going up instead of forward. The being said the band was really noisy when it needed to be, the drums especially sound fantastic and the guy really wacked them.
What was unusual is that the brass spent most of their time when silent dismantling their instruments, I don't recall the LSO doing that!
The overture was a tad rushed but effective, I would have liked a little more dynamism in the phrasing from the strings,which was a continual thought throughout the concert. Sometimes i got the effect that they had played these pieces too often before and were just 'going through the motions' so to speak, the conductor could have done more in spicing up the music, though it was scary enough in the loud moments as i come to expect.
The First symphony was well played and i liked the horns as I could actually hear them as they should be heard, but for some reason they were strangely muted in the 8th symphony, i was dissappointed there (my recording by the Hanover band has the horns shouting throughout and it adds a lot to the overall excitement).
The first movement of the 8th was very exciting, as was the last (and i could see in the performers faces they were wary of this finale!). The drummer wacked the hell out of his instruments in the coda of the finale, i though he might rip the skins!
The Fidelio aria was a curious choice for a concert piece as it is not really substantial enough on its own, at least as performed at as rather a tame manner as it was here, and it was the sopranos only contribution in the first half. In the second half Ah perfido had a good effect and i noticed things in the music i hadn't before. But the singer did not come across very loudly compared to others I've heard, but perhaps that is another issue with the accoustics of the venue (but then again my hearing is not as good as it used to be these days, especially in my left which is only about 30% of what it should be!).
After my experience with Handel i now know why the concerts were often so long in days gone by, because i got the impression the whole event was over in a flash, i could have done with another hour of music!
But despite the critisisms above i enjoyed the concert and Westminster is better than most places in London if you want to hear some music! Margaret's seat (donated to me due to unforseen circumstances) was in the most expensive price bracket, actually the seat was a little too good as i got the impression the accoustics were better a little further back in the hall with the poorer people!
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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin
[This message has been edited by Rod (edited 02-22-2005).]
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