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Vanska conducts

12.170.21.210
Posted on October 23, 2009 at 12:17:42
TGR
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Posts: 1101
Location: No. California
Joined: March 22, 2004
 OT, but a follow up to the thread that Robert started below. It was nice to meet up with a fellow inmate, if only for a few minutes - we ought to see how many of us there are in the Bay Area and find a way to get together..

So Vanska, in my view, is an excellent conductor,even though he looks somewhat like a mad robot on the podium. He drew exquiste sounds from the SF Symphony, and presented the Dvorak 7th and John Adams Slominsky's Earbox in a way that combined orchestral transparency -you could hear EVERYTHING with ease - kind of like having the score in front of you. However, he was also mindful of forward propulsion and the climax of the last movement of the 7th was overwhelming.

I didn't like the perfomance of the Tchaikovsky concerto at all - first, I have to admit it is not one of my favorite works (and in general, I like Tchaikovsky). But it seemed to me that the tempos were in general far too slow, the phrasing lethargic, ritards taken at phrase endings, and the pianist, Antti Siirala (new to me - a recent replacement for Yundi Li, who had some family issue) played the numerous repeated phrase without inflection. I couldn't wait until it was over, although the last two minutes was exciting enough, and the audience loved it - Siirala got a standing "O". So maybe it was just me. I lay the defects at Siirala's feet for choosing tempos too slow and playing in a perfect but boring fashion. A number of times it seemed to me that Vanska wanted to press forward but his solist was holding him back.

So how does this relate to SACD - buy the Vanska set of Beethoven symphonies, he is the real deal! Robert, that was me doing the loud "Bravos" from the back of the orchestra seats after the 7th!

Tom

RE: Vanska conducts, posted on October 24, 2009 at 10:23:12
TGT
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Posts: 332
Location: Kentucky
Joined: December 6, 2002
 Siirala got a standing "O".

Everyone gets a standing O. The last violinist in the second string section adjusts the angle on his music stand and he gets a standing O.
You can not give a performance and not get a standing O.
They were once reserved for exceptional performances but now they are obligatory.

you are too right, posted on October 24, 2009 at 11:55:43
TGR
Audiophile

Posts: 1101
Location: No. California
Joined: March 22, 2004
 Too bad Vanska didn't get one for the Dvorak 7th - he deserved it way more than did Siirala. I think the obligatory standing O seems to be more reserved for solists. My first exposure to this was long ago when I heard Rudolf Serkin play the 3rd and 5th Beethoven concertos with the SFS - which should have been a fantastic experience. Unfortuately the conductor was the newly crowned winner of a recent Karajan conducting contest, Gabriel Chmura, and he was a disaster. I believe he fell into deep and deserved obscurity afterwards. Serkin fought valiantly, but the performance was a mess; nonetheless, standing O afterwards. I was young and astonished "How could you people be standing for this?"

Vänskä was worth the price of admission!, posted on October 23, 2009 at 19:13:53
Robert C. Lang
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Posts: 2492
Joined: March 1, 2001

Tom is was real pleasure meeting you last night. We must arrange for an exchange visit soon.

Due to where I was seated (second row, front orchestra) there was surely some penalty with respect to total sound quality. But my view and connection Vänskä was up close and personal. What a sensory experience.

***he looks somewhat like a mad robot on the podium***.

A very apt description of Vänskä’s conducting, for sure. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video crossed my mine on a couple of occasions during the concert. But what athleticism! What precision! The man has an amazing vertical leap with catlike reflexes. But at the same time I rarely heard him like , for example, I heard the stomps and pounds of Gustavo Dudamel last year or in recordings of Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi. More importantly Vänskä uses his athleticism to move, power and control the orchestra. After, watching Vänskä in person I believe I have a greater insight to his conducting of his Beethoven 9th that I own and will be better able to appreciate the entire Beethoven symphony set(I was just notified by MDT that it was “dispatched” to me).

Your assessment of the performances nailed it. I could not agree with you more, including your comments on the Piano concerto. I found much of Sirala’s performance flat and uneven (although I am not sure who was at fault). Rest assure I was not compelled to stand for the applause. I noticed that the standing applause which grew to about two-thirds of the audience, was not spontaneous but grew after return visits to the stage by Sirala. It was somewhat amusing to watch some guests in front of me conferring with each other on whether they should stand or not before deciding (3 out of 4) to fall in line. But the performance fell fall far short of a Andre Watts performance I attended years ago or more recent performances I have heard. While it may be an apples and oranges comparison I found the the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto #2 performance I heard last week with a third tier orchestra (no disrespect intended as they did a very good job, but with at least some volunteer musicians) was done with indomitable energy.

I was, nonetheless, still able to admire and enjoy the Tchaikovsky composition, even if I was lukewarm on the performance. This was helped in good part by the pre ceremony lecture. For example, the number of “cadenzas” or passages, large and small, in which the piano is completely unaccompanied by orchestra is striking. There are at least a half dozen of these cadenzas, which I specifically looked for. There is much technical brilliance to be displayed….given the right pianist.

I, too, thoroughly enjoyed the John Adams and was pleased that he was on hand for the performance. The lower strings (viola, cellos and basses) were especially stunning from my vantage point.

For me (and certainly for those who I commuted with on BART), the crown jewel of the evening was the Dvorak Symphony No. 7. Wasn't that *amaaaaazing*? For that I did provide a most unprompted standing applause.

I “prepped” before the concert by listening to the 1958 RCA Cliburn/Kondrashin Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and to the Szell's 7th.

I have multiple CD and LP versions of these works that I am satisfied with. Anyone have SACD recommendations of these works?






Robert C. Lang
Neumann on Exton SACD, posted on October 24, 2009 at 11:23:26
Botanico92007
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Posts: 273
Location: San Diego
Joined: March 15, 2006
 Exton has an SACD with Dvorak's 7th and 8th Symphonies. It is not a DSD recording, but a higher rez PCM (96kHz, I think). It was recorded in Japan in the early 1990s with Vaclav Newmann leading the Czech Philharmonic on tour. It's an authentically Czech performance. It's only the Hungarians that can come this close. I too look forward to the Fischer recording. I just hope Jared Sacks gets the mikes a little closer to the orchestra so the sound isn't swallowed up in reverberation.

I heard the Czech Philharmonic do the Dvorak 9th live about two years ago. I don't expect to ever hear a better performance. The audience was up on its feet almost instantly. The orchestra deserved it.

Neumann - a great conductor, not respected enough in the US [nt], posted on October 25, 2009 at 10:11:12
Chris from Lafayette
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RE: Vänskä was worth the price of admission!, posted on October 24, 2009 at 07:04:32
krisjan
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Posts: 309
Joined: May 6, 2001
 Robert - I have the Tchaikovsky PC#1 on SACD from BIS performed by Y. Subdin with the Sao Paulo SO conducted by John Neschling (the coupling is the interesting Mednter PC #1). The performances and sound are both top flight (I just listened to this again last week).

As far as the Dvorak 7th, I don't have any of the current SACD's (plenty of RBCD's of that work though). I did not care a lot for Kreizberg's 8th so I have avoided his 7th. I do have Fischer's 8 & 9 on Philips SACD and that is a really good recording so I would agree that you may want to wait for his 7th on Channel.

Dvorak 7th on SACD, posted on October 23, 2009 at 22:04:47
TGR
Audiophile

Posts: 1101
Location: No. California
Joined: March 22, 2004
 Robert - you probably knew that the Szell 7th was issued on SACD. Jared Sacks mentioned on sa-cd.net that Fischer will be recording it next year - based on his other Dvorak (I have his 8th and 9th and Slavonic Dances, which Channel will be reissuing) it will be worth waiting for.

Can't help on the Tchaikovsky 1. Would love to see an Adams series on SACD.

RE: Dvorak 7th on SACD, posted on October 24, 2009 at 08:22:10
Kal Rubinson
Reviewer

Posts: 7159
Joined: June 5, 2002
 I am looking forward to the Fischer/BFO release as well but can highly recommend the Kreizberg/NPO on Pentatone.

Kal

Slonimsky, posted on October 23, 2009 at 12:20:03
TGR
Audiophile

Posts: 1101
Location: No. California
Joined: March 22, 2004
 Yep, I spelled it wrong. Get the book "Lexicon of Musical Invective" by Slonimsky - loads of fun.

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