PROMS 2017!

[TheDecameron]

I felt it highly appropriate, given our current national circumstances, that they performed Wagner's Liebestod on the Last Night.
No doubt, like Barenboim's speech, it'll have Mr.Dacre outraged.

 

[gingermrkettle]

So was I in the olden days. and the last place to get a full picture of a great musical performance is from within the orchestra! Former professional double bass player and teacher of the instrument ...

May be time for this old chestnut then...

A double bass player who is in the orchestra for a production of Carmen has a night off, but decides to see the show in the audience instead. The next night, as the section is warming up he turns to his desk partner and says "You know that bit where we go 'Dummmm da dum dum Dummmm da dum dum'? Turns out someone is singing at the same time."

 

[George J]

Haha! And to show no hard feelings, do you know the one about the bass player, who stayed after the rehearsal and was sitting by his instrument sobbing ... ?

The orchestral leader walked over and asked what was wrong and if he could help. The bass player said that one of the viola players came over and detuned one of his strings. The leader suggested tuning it back up again. The bass player said that was no good as he did not know which one!

I have some good viola jokes as well. But I’ll leave with the the thought that the “oboe is the ill-wind that blows no good!"

ATB from George

 

[TheDecameron]

What did folk think of the Last Night? I only caught bits on the radio and intend to watch on the iPlayer. The Liebestod was excellent I felt. I'm partial to Sakari Oramo because he barking mad (along with his wife).

 

[Tony L]

I quite enjoyed the first part on BBC 2, watched the BBC 1 bit until they started playing show tunes, which is always a good reason to channel-hop/turn off. I can't stand the cringeworthy pomp & circumstance at the end so always best to dive out early.

On the whole I've really enjoyed this Proms series, as I do every year, and even some of the non-classical stuff has worked pretty well (Mingus, swing, Indian classical). The BBC get a lot of criticism from some quarters, but without them this kind of broadcasting, both radio and TV, simply would not exist.

 

[Vinniemac]

What did folk think of the Last Night? I only caught bits on the radio and intend to watch on the iPlayer. The Liebestod was excellent I felt. I'm partial to Sakari Oramo because he barking mad (along with his wife).

I didn't enjoy it at all. I was really looking forward to hearing Nina Stemme, but I thought she was well below par, and the pace of the Prelude and Liebestod was funereal. Didn't like any of the other pieces apart from Finlandia, which was head and shoulders above the rest. I switched off after Stemme sang the Gershwin and Weill - which, like a true opera diva, she well and truly murdered. Horrendous.

 

[adamdea]

Benn watching 'Last Night' off and on for 50 + years, but I was transfixed with last night's performance; or rather, its s.q. Staggeringly good through my cans and a new can-opener. I've watched through simulcasts (with R3) in the past, but went off the digital signals after the switch-over.

Whether the engineers were especially adept at placing mics or my new amp. is better than it should be, I don't know, but the Senn's never left my head all evening. Actually the rendition of Finlandia, normally an old pot-boiler, was probably the best I've heard; very moving (well, he is Finnish, I s'pose).

I wonder whether you were listening to the binaural feed