This year, we will be doing three proms. Here is the second in the series.
The booking has just opened. To book your ticket, please click here. Alternatively, you can also get a promming ticket on the day.
The concert starts at 7:30pm.
Pre-concert F&B: Meet at the steps of Albert Memorial from 6pm for picnic.
A WhatsApp group will be set up near the time. If you wish to be on it, please email your moble number to swcsocialATgmailDOTcom. The group will be deleted after the event.
Programme
Arvo Pärt Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten 6’
Dvořák Violin Concerto in A minor 32’
Sibelius Symphony No. 2 in D major 46’
Hilary Hahn violin
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Andris Nelsons conductor
3 comments:
Several have booked - Choir East Row 1
Part 1
N=10 walkers gathered at steps of Albert Memorial for picnic including one came for the picnic only. Today is one of the walkers’ birthday, so a sense of celebration is in the air. Everyone was summoned to give the priority to drink the bottle brought by the birthday walker in fear of liquid being left over. No such a chance at SWC! By the time I arrived, the first bottle had already been washed down. Several more bottles appeared. I lost the count of who brought what but not because I was under the influence of you know what… Later on I learnt one walker ‘smuggled’ in a bottle into the concert hall but it was sensibly stored in the cloakroom.
At the concert hall, we met two more prommers, greetings were exchanged but we never saw them again.
Tonight’s prom was the choice of the birthday walker and was an excellent pick. We started with a modern piece Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt in 1977 following the death of Britten a year earlier. It is melodically simple but rich in emotions. I particularly like the single chime of the bell repeated many times amongst progressively intense string movement. One thing struck me was the conductor who had his head down most of the time and read the music sheet very closely as if this was the first time he performed the work. Another walker commented “Pärt's music was absolutely mesmerising as always, I loved it”.
This was followed by Dvořák Violin Concerto, a piece some of us had not heard it before. So it was good to be introduced to it. You can see some of the comments below about our take on this.
“The violinist was superb, as well as the orchestra. Top-notch concert.”
“I greatly enjoyed the virtuosity of the violin soloist,”
“I agree with the comments about the violinist, she was animated and brought a lot of character to the piece.”
continue in Part 2
Part 2, continue from Part 1
After the interval, it was Sibelius Symphony No. 2, the reason why we were here, undoubtedly the best piece of the night, with big orchestra, lots of wind and brass instruments. We had a very lovely discussion about this piece afterwards so without further due, here are some of the comments from our very own critics.
“Loved the Sibelius. For me it is the journey from winter into spring, the tentative moments of warmth in the first two movements flattened by icy blasts from the brass, but gradually as the second movement goes on the harsh themes get softened and weakened and more tuneful music starts to emerge. Then the third movement is sunshine and showers before unexpectedly everything bursts into sunlight for the last movement, one of the great emotional transformations in classical music. All the harsh themes have now become optimistic. Make the most of it - Sibelius never wrote anything else so positive and cheerful.”
“I greatly enjoyed the last two movements of the Sibelius, as well as the menacing notes that led up to them.”
“Keeping in mind the idea of winter in Sibelius's symphony, I thought I could hear a disgruntled bear, woken from his hibernation in the middle of winter, wandering in the woods, appear here and there in the music. Which probably ties in with the menacing tones mentioned the above. And then wonderful resolution towards the end.”
“Wow! I absolutely love the thought about a bear roaming the woods and appearing here and there.”
“Yes love the Bear idea...apparently the Symphony was known as the Independence Symphony re Finland winning independence from Russia...”
“now that is interesting. Finnish independence would explain the triumphant ending.”
“I also like the idea of the bear and winter. I thought I heard some hints of unease in the lush ending of the Sibelius, but maybe that is because I come to it from today's perspective!
“I know the conductor wasn't the most charismatic, but I was intrigued by the way he used his hands to get a lot of subtlety from his orchestra, including some very low notes. I thought because he had such a strong sense of each piece as a whole, he somehow managed to stop the audience from clapping after each first movement like they sometimes do, as somehow they knew they had to keep focused.”
“It was a lovely evening”
“great to sit on the steps with the gang beforehand, as always. Too much wine drunk and too much food eaten, but I definitely contributed to the former…”
“Excellent company and music”
It is wonderful to see we have a variety of interpretations of Sibelius. Who said the ‘professional/experts’ write up is the right one? In Art, there is no right and wrong, just each individual’s take of what we hear and subsequently induced feeling and emotions and their interaction with our experience in life. It is these kinds of discussion that make this event so rewarding and worth coming to. Until next time….
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