Category: Music

Kissin, Cousins, Zubin Mehta…A Big Night At The Proms, 9 September 1999

A memorable evening at the Proms, just a few days after our previous memorable visit. A rare midweek booking for us, but the promise of Evgeny Kissin, Zubin Mehta and the Bavarian State Orchestra was too tempting to miss.

Again we had The Duchess (Janie’s mum) with us.

The programme was two big pieces:

  • Frédéric Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor
  • Anton Bruckner – Symphony No. 8 in C minor (1890 version, ed. Nowak)

I hadn’t seen Evgeny Kissin before but had heard about him. Janie thought he was excessively flamboyant – a complaint she has about many star pianists.

Anyway, here is a video of Mehta conducting Kissin performing an extract from this piece some years later – this time with the Israel Philharmonic rather than the Bavarian State Orchestra:

The Duchess thought Kissin’s cadenzas were absolutely wonderful but she thought him “rude” or “self-centred” doing encores ahead of the interval on a night with such a long programme. Takes one to know one.

The encores were Chopin’s Polonaise in A flat major and Scherzo in B flat minor, seeing as you asked…

…OK, you didn’t ask. But my mum loved that Polonaise and she would have got all excited about the young Evgeny Kissin had she been there and heard him play it a bit like this:

In truth, we did hear some people saying that they would have to leave before the second half, because they otherwise wouldn’t be able to get home, which was a real shame for those people.

While stretching our legs during the interval, we ran into my cousins, Angela and John Kessler, who were very keen on Kissin and also eagerly looking forward to seeing Zubin Mehta and the Bavarians wrestle with Anton Bruckner for 80 minutes or so after the interval.

The Duchess seemed most displeased that we had run into some people that we knew, preventing her from being the centre of attention for five minutes or so.

The Bruckner was certainly worth the wait. I had seen this symphony performed several times before but sense that this evening was the best performance I have seen.

Here is an extract of Mehta conducting the Bruckner Symphony, but on this occasion with the Berlin Philharmonic rather than the Bavarian State Orchestra.

Returning to our memorable evening, here is Erica Jeal’s review of that evening from The Guardian. Good to see Kissin and Mehta getting three stars while Whitney Houston only got two.

Kissin Jeal GuardianKissin Jeal Guardian 11 Sep 1999, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Geoffrey Norris in The Telegraph was not so sure about Kissin:

Kissin Telegraph NorrisKissin Telegraph Norris 10 Sep 1999, Fri The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

While Michael Kennedy in the Sunday Telegraph seemed less sure about Zubin Mehta than we were, comparing him, perhaps unfavourably, with Bernard Haitink and Günter Wand. I’m a lucky fellow, as I have seen all three of them conduct Bruckner 8.

Mehta Telegraph KennedyMehta Telegraph Kennedy 12 Sep 1999, Sun Sunday Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Knowing that the concert would finish late and that we both had an early start the next day, I sense that we did not go out to dinner after this one. Janie had probably prepared some cold compilations for us to munch, with a glass of wine, when we got home.

Janie also very sensibly had arranged for Jill Wooton to come and give us both a massage at home on the Friday evening. Two nights out with The Duchess in five days, with plenty of work in between, we sure both would have needed the massages and sure both had earned them.

Diary says that we went to Andrea’s BBQ party on the Saturday evening (a rather good one at her house in Shepherd’s Bush, if I remember correctly) and then to Mum & Dad’s for tea on the Sunday. We didn’t hang about back then.

Kremer Verses Kremerata: More Than Four Seasons At The Proms, 4 September 1999

Another quirky and memorable concert at The Proms. We took The Duchess Of Castlebar (Janie’s mum) with us to this one, as we thought she would like the Piazzolla. Possibly she did. You didn’t tend to get positive feedback from the Duchess back then and nothing has changed in 25 years, as I write in 2024.

Janie and I were fascinated by this concert. Janie was already keen on Piazzolla and this helped cement that interest.

Here’s what we heard:

  • Giya Kancheli – V & V
  • Arvo Pärt – Tabula rasa
  • Antonio Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, No. 1 in E Major, RV 269
  • Astor Piazzoll – Cuatro estaciones porteñas,  Verano porteño
  • Antonio Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, No. 2 in G minor, RV 315
  • Astor Piazzolla – Cuatro estaciones porteñas, Otoño porteño
  • Antonio Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, No. 3 in F Major, RV 293
  • Astor Piazzolla – Cuatro estaciones porteñas, Invierno porteño
  • Antonio Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, No. 4 in F minor, RV 297
  • Astor Piazzolla – Cuatro estaciones porteñas, Primavera porteña
  • Peter Heidrich – Variations on ‘Happy Birthday’
  • Alexander Bakshi – The Unanswered Call

Fiona Maddocks briefly wrote up the concert in The Observer:

Kremer Observer MaddocksKremer Observer Maddocks 12 Sep 1999, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Here’s what the Arvo Pärt piece sounds like:

While here is the sound of the Piazzolla piece we heard interspersed between the oh so familiar Four Seasons:

We took the Duchess to North China after the concert. The restaurant West Acton, not the more northerly reaches of the Middle Kingdom…obvs.

A Late Night Prom With The Scholl Siblings & The Frieburg Baroque, 27 August 1999

This was a super way to kick off a bank holiday weekend. Janie and I had taken the day off work. No sign in the diaries of us eating out – perhaps we ate at Sandall Close and then jumped in the car to go to Kensington.

Interesting concert – Janie is partial to a bit of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, so that would have been the clincher. The other three pieces were rare items, all of which were getting their Proms premier that night.

  • Francesco Durante – Concerto No. 4 in E minor
  • Antonio Vivaldi – Filiae maestae Jerusalem, RV 638
  • Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer – Concerto No. 5 in F minor
  • Giovanni Battista Pergolesi – Stabat mater

Here’s a beautiful recording of Andreas Scholl singing the Vivaldi piece (with a different orchestra), embedded from Andreas Scholl’s YouTube Channel:

I cannot find a review of the concert we heard, but I can find a most interesting preview in The Telegraph, including an interview with the Scholl siblings:

Scholl x2 Telegraph Rye Scholl x2 Telegraph Rye 21 Aug 1999, Sat The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

As Andreas himself says, the Royal Albert Hall is far from perfect acoustically for baroque music, but it does have a unique atmosphere of its own. This concert was a good one.

A Night At The Proms Without The Duchess But With Trevor Pinnock & The English Concert, 8 August 1999

Liberated from hosting The Duchess at The Proms, Janie and I went along to this concert on a Sunday evening planning nothing more than a light supper at my flat after the show. It was a Sunday evening and we both had ridiculously early starts the next morning.

Here’s the running order:

  • Johann Sebastian Bach, Singet dem Herrn, BWV 225
  • Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 49 in F minor ‘La passione’
  • Joseph Haydn, Non nobis, Domine, Hob. XXIIIa:1
  • Joseph Haydn, Insanae et vanae curae
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Requiem in D minor (compl. Süssmayr).

This was an excellent concert. You don’t need to take my word for that – it seems it got rave reviews afterwards. It has taken me 25 years to check out those rave reviews, but that’s me.

Here’s Geoffrey Norris in The Telegraph:

Pinnock Telegraph NorrisPinnock Telegraph Norris 09 Aug 1999, Mon The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Tom Sutcliffe in the Standard was a little more equivocal, but still wrote very well of the gig.

Pinnock Sutcliffe StandardPinnock Sutcliffe Standard 09 Aug 1999, Mon Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

A Night At The Proms With The Duchess & The Hallé Orchestra, 5 August 1999

In those days we used to take Janie’s mum, Pauline, aka The Duchess, to the Proms at least a couple of times a season.

She was partial to a bit of Mahler, and a bit of Ludwig van…

…and a bit of verbal ultraviolence, now I come think of it.

Anyway, this is what we heard:

  • Symphony No 7 in A major by Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Violin Concerto by Alban Berg
  • Adagio from Symphony No 10  by Gustav Mahler
  • Henry V: A Shakespeare Scenario – Touch Her Soft Lips and Part by William Walton, arr. C. Palmer (encore)

The Hallé Orchestra, leader Lyn Fletcher, conductor Kent Nagano, violinist Kyung-Wha Chung.

All that information and more is on the excellent BBC Proms stub for this concert, which also enables you to hear and read about the stuff we heard – click here.

Janie’s diary suggests that we ate at Golden Chopsticks afterwards, with the helpful name “Mr Chow” jotted beside the phone number. (Harrington Road…long since gone.)

Angela Brownridge Plays Liszt, Wigmore Hall, 16 July 1999

To The Wigmore Hall again on a Friday evening to catch an Angela Brownridge recital of Liszt piano pieces.

We heard:

  • Les Jeux d’eau a la Ville d’Este
  • Hungarian Rhapsody No 13
  • From Annes de Pelerinage Book 2 “Italy”
  • Paganini Caprice No 6 “La Campanella”
  • 3 Liebestraume in A Flat, E and A Flat
  • 3 Concert Studies: Il Lamento, La Leggierezza, Un Sospiro
  • Hungarian Rhapsody No 2

Yes, that’s right…there’s a Liszt of the pieces we heard.

Here is a lengthy documentary about and by Angela Brownridge:

You can hear the Liebstraume she played in the 1999 concert at 1:10:55 on the video.

Fabio Zanon At The Wigmore Hall, 18 June 1999

A lovely concert at “The Wig”.

Here’s the “playlist”:

  • El Decameron Negro by Leo Brouwer
  • Tarrantos by Leo Brouwer
  • Elogio de la Danza by Leo Brouwer
  • Fuga no 1 by Leo Brouwer
  • Pieza sin Titulo no3 by Leo Brouwer
  • Pieza sin Titulo no1 by Leo Brouwer
  • Encantamientos by Robert Keeley
  • Grand Sonata in A Major MS.3  by Niccolo Paganini
  • Six Sonatas, K404, K474, K60, K462, K394, K477 by Domenico Scarlatti
  • Aria con Variazioni “Le Frescobalda” by Girolamo Frescobaldi

In truth I was not familiar with the work of Leo Brouwer. Fabio Zanon is clearly a fan and has (far more recently) produced a helpful explainer video about the composer:

We were really taken with the young guitarist’s playing of Scarlatti sonatas transposed for guitar. Here is a video that shows him in the late 1990s playing three such pieces:

We were very taken with Friday evenings at The Wig in those days – it seemed a very relaxing way to round off a hard week. Writing 25 years later…still does.

Les Cris De Paris, Ensemble Clément Janequin, Wigmore Hall, 20 May 1999

Janie and I both loved this concert. We weren’t previously familiar with the works of this Renaissance composer, Clément Janequin, nor this eponymous Ensemble.

But by the end of the concert we were familiar with both and had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. All that despite it being a Thursday evening at the end of long working days for both of us and ahead of long working days to boot.

This was the Ensemble’s 20th anniversary programme:

  • Nous Sommes de l’Ordre de Saint Babouyn by Loyset Compere
  • Tant que Vivray / Au Joly Boys / Je ne Menge Point de Porc / Vien Tost by Claudin de Sermisy
  • N’As tu Poinct Mis ton Hault Bonnet / Mon Amy M’Avoit Promis by Ninot le Petit
  • Bransles d’Ecosse / La Romaine by Guillaume Morlaye
  • Mille Regretz / Faulte d’Argent / Douleur Me Bat / El Grillo / Nymphes des Boys / Scaramella by Josquin Desprez
  • Les Cris de Paris / Qu’est-ce d’Amour? / Il Estoit une Fillette / Au Verd Boys/Le Chant des Oyseaulx by Clement Janequin
  • Fantaisie by Albert de Rippe
  • Or Vien Ca / O Mal d’Aymer / Ung Jour Robin / L’Amour, la Mort et la Vie / My Levay Par Ung Matin / La Guerre by Clement Janequin

Twenty years after that, they looked and sounded a bit like this:

The above piece formed part of the concert we heard. The following one did not, but is lovely.

Here follows a video of a whole gig post 2020, which includes several of the works we heard in 1999. Renaissance music never goes out of fashion:

Janie, Me & MTT At The Barbican, 18 April 1999

As if being spotted by Elvis Costello at the theatre wasn’t enough celebrity stuff for one weekend…

Plenty by David Hare, Albery Theatre, 17 April 1999

…we also went to The Barbican Hall to see Michael Tilson Thomas, at the behest of Josh Robison, Michael’s partner/business manager and latterly husband. Janie had started to treat those two a year or so earlier.

MTT more recently

It seemed only polite to go, not least because there was to be a reception after the concert etc.

We heard:

  • Symphony No 21 in A, Joseph Haydn
  • Viola Concerto, Bela Bartok
  • Symphony No 2 in D Major Op 43, Jean Sibelius

We hoity-toitied a bit after the show at the party. I got to meet Josh but only saw MTT from afar.

All good stuff.

Unfinished Business With Schubert & Bruckner, London Symphony Orchestra Under Lorin Maazel, Barbican Hall, 28 February 1999

Another Sunday evening, another trip to the Barbican to see a cracking concert.

Janie thinks that one of her generous Lebanese clients gave us the tickets to this concert and the one the week before, because she had been called away at short notice. Sounds plausible and also most fortuitous, as I might well have chosen both concerts myself.

Schubert’s Symphony No 8 in B Minor, “Unfinished” followed by Bruckner’s Symphony No 7 in E Major.

London Symphony Orchestra under Lorin Maazel.

This was a terrific concert.

The Schubert would have sounded a little like this – a live recording of Lorin Maazel conducting Sonorum Concentus:

The Bruckner would have sounded a bit like this – a live recording of Maazel with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra:

Thanks again to the lovely lady who kindly gave us her tickets.