Triple Concerto at the Proms

[melvyn]

Did anybody see the Triple Concerto on last night's BBC4?

Was I hearing things, or did they not play the first few bars? I recorded it, so listened again, because I know it can be very quiet. Perhaps the volume wasn't turned up enough? No, they definitely missed the beginning off. Surely this can't be, Daniel Barenboim should know how it goes by now!

So I went back to Tuesday night on Radio 3, where it was broadcast live. Sure enough, it was played from the start on there (just as you'd expect!).

So the BBC must have removed the first few bars on the TV broadcast. Very strange indeed. Did anybody else spot this glaring error?

It's a shame because the Triple Concerto is hardly ever seen on TV, and this ruined it.

[Michael]

Damn. Meant to watch it last night and forgot. No doubt it will turn up on YouTube.
It does indeed start very softly before it builds up. Beethoven's dynamic range makes some of his music difficult to hear on smaller speakers. In the car, I can never hear the opening bars of the Ninth Symphony.
But maybe in this case, the recording did miss the opening of the Triple Concerto.

[hal9000]

Here you go, Michael

It is pretty faint, but it's all there.

[Michael]

Here you go, Michael

It is pretty faint, but it's all there.

Thanks, Hal, but internet BBC TV programmes can only be viewed inside the UK. It's very frustrating but I can only watch them on Sky.

[melvyn]

Well, the mystery deepens. I can't say for sure, but that iplayer version seems to be different from what was broadcast. Unfortunately I am on a 3G internet conection and the iplayer is stopping/starting and stuttering.

The broadcast starts with a close-up of DB conducting from bar 5. Before that there is a wide shot of the orchestra who do not appear to be playing anything, and DB looking down towards the floor. There is a short gap before the close-up, but not long enough to play the first 4 bars.

I have the volume turned up so that they can hear it in the next street, but I can't hear the first 4 bars. The live radio 3 broadcast was recorded on the same equiment, and the first 4 bars can be heard clearly.

Something's up somewhere. It may be that the TV broadcast was badly edited, and they've corrected it before putting it on iplayer.

As a matter of interest, is the introduction played by the solo cellist? It could be that he was playing out of sight, and different microphones were used for the radio broadcast.

[AeolianHarp]

You all got me intrigued now- will watch it on iplayer tomorrow.

[melvyn]

To answer my own question, the introduction is played by the orchestral cellos and not the soloist.

In an attempt to get to the bottom of the missing start, I have uploaded the extracts up to the web so that you can all see for yourselves.

You can download them from this web page

The Radio3 one was recorded live last Tuesday and there is nothing wrong with that one.

The BBC4 TV one was the one broadcast last Friday, and the beginning is definitely missing. The timings between the two recordings prove this, although I didn't need any proof as it was immediately obvious to me that the beginning was missing from the TV broadcast.

Radio broadcast:
The audience finishes clapping at 5 seconds. The music starts at 20 seconds. Bar 5 appears at 25 seconds.

TV broadcast:
The audience finishes clapping at 5 seconds. DB raises his hand at 17 seconds, then the music starts at 20 seconds (as in the live broadcast), but it is not bar 1, it is bar 5. There is a jump cut just before the music starts and bars 1-4 have been cut out. 5 seconds are completely missing.

The radio broadcast lasts for 41 seconds, but the TV broadcast spanning the same material only lasts for 36 seconds.

As far as I can tell, the iplayer version is the same as the TV broadcast, with the missing start.

I am amazed that nobody else seems to have noticed this, and one person is even saying that there's nothing wrong with it!

[hal9000]

Always look for a second opinion when I'm concerned

Oddly enough this version on iplayer is the TV version you posted, and it dooes cut out the beginning (27:57). The version I posted above (link) doesn't.