A Simon Rattle programme

A Simon Rattle programme

Orchestras

norman lebrecht

November 29, 2024

The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra have uploaded one of their recent concerts – a fabulous programme that could have been designed only by one conductor – its present chief. The rundown:

György Ligeti »Atmosphères«
Richard Wagner Vorspiel zu »Lohengrin«
Anton Webern Sechs Stücke, op. 6
(Fassung von 1928)
Richard Wagner Vorspiel und Liebestod aus »Tristan und Isolde«
Interval
Anton Bruckner
Symphonie Nr. 9 d-Moll

There’s also an intelligent interview in the middle.

Watch now.

Comments

  • Edo says:

    Is online since a few days already. Could not go pass the first 5 minutes of Bruckner’s 9, then I succumbed to boredom…

    • Sue Sonata Form says:

      That’s why John McWhorter describes the symphonies of Bruckner as a ‘dense, grandiloquent crawl’. A completely justifiable epithet.

  • Too old ? says:

    Nice program, unfortunately the playing is pretty bad. As a younger music lover I only knew Rattle from his best recordings with the BPO and WPO, so never really understood the hate he got (although I was quite perplexed when he named Giulini as his favourite conductor). But now, listening to some of his recent performances and recordings, I finally understood…check his out his recent program of the last three Mozart symphonies on Youtube, absolutely dreadful stuff !

  • John says:

    Typical Rattle programme. Wonderful

  • Herr Doktor says:

    For the life of me, I don’t understand why many conductors (in general) continue to perform music that they’re just not very good at.

    Exhibit A: Simon Rattle.

    There are enough things that Simon Rattle does really well. His Bruckner is not among them. I only listened to the first 5 minutes of his BRSO B9 in this performance and didn’t like the basic speed and feeling of it being rushed. But perhaps the performance will get better – I may come back to it if only out of curiosity. But those conductors who know their strengths and stick to them have been far better remembered than those that did not.

    Giulini for one had a relatively small repertoire, but he stuck to only those works that he truly connected with and felt he could do justice to, and didn’t play the rest.

    The transcendent/spiritual realm of Bruckner completely eludes Simon Rattle. And there’s no crime in that. But for some reason Rattle keeps insisting in performing Bruckner – and not doing it particularly well.

    To his credit, however, Rattle has stayed away from the 5th.

  • Berliner says:

    As always, his programmes far too long. No thought for either players or audience. His concerts are killers!

  • OG says:

    Writing a mean comment doesn’t make it a proper review.

  • Oliver says:

    What a ridiculously heavy programme for musicians and, most of all, audience.

  • Christopher Stager says:

    Christoph von Dohnanyi and The Cleveland Orchestra opened their 1988-89 season with nearly this exact program. Ligeti »Atmosphères«, attaca Wagner “Lohengrin” Act I prelude. (I forgot the middle work) and Bruckner 9 on the second half, of which they made a beautiful recording for Decca.

  • Nielsen Carl says:

    As an orchestra conductor he could be good in only few things. It doesn’t mean that he will show us all how he hates this or that music. So regarding this performance I’m pretty sure he’s in love with Bruckner but it’s not “his” composer. In comparison to Wagner where he pretends to make music but absolutely doesn’t know what to do there.
    And it’s normal, it’s ok.
    No conductor has everything in his hands. Karajan made Boheme and Rite of Spring but was it convincing? I doubt.
    So please listen to Rattle’s Mahler, Gershwin and Sibelius. He loves and knows.

  • Camcam says:

    Fantastic program. Especially the Lohengrin.

  • Steve says:

    Programme concept 10/10
    Programme execution 4/10 at best

  • Okram says:

    I love how all these folks love to rag on Sir Simon. Meanwhile there’s not an A-list orchestra or opera house in the world that’s not eager to book him, and the world’s greatest/most famous orchestra – famous for eating conductors alive – kept him on for 16 years. If only they would listen to the sage advice of the denizens of SD.

  • Patrick says:

    Brilliant!

  • Jim Roberts says:

    Thank you for sharing this. I remember seeing Rattle do the attacca progression from one piece to the next at the Proms a few years ago, and it was just as effective, although I cannot for the life of me remember what the pieces were – someone will remind me. It could easily be gimmicky but in Rattle’s hands it is not, always reflecting on the nature of the pieces and drawing unexpected connections.

    As for the Bruckner, I fear the problem is with the composer, rather than the conductor, except to the extent that unaccountably Rattle wants to continue to play him.

    • pjl says:

      Another effective attaca recently was Tom Fetherstonhaugh’s inspired idea (musical and linguistic) to go straight into the Enigma variations after The Unanswered Question (Bournemouth S O)

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