Tag: Andrew Davis

BBC Symphony Orchestra Feast On Bruckner, With Andrew rather Than Günter, At The Royal Festival Hall, 8 February 1991

Bobbie and I went to a couple of Friday evening concerts at The Royal Festival Hall as part of the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s 60th Anniversary festival.

We were supposed to see the great Günter Wand performing a couple of Beethoven Symphonies, but Günter pulled out at the last minute so Andrew Davis decided to shake a stick at one of Günter’s signature pieces:

Anton Bruckner – Symphony No 8 in C Minor.

Hence, a one piece concert, this.

I did subsequently get to hear and see Günter perform this piece with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at what turned out to be his last BBC Prom hurrah – another occasion when we turned up to hear one set of pieces and got Bruckner 8 instead.

The Night That Günter Wand Changed The Programme & Conducted His Last Prom, Royal Albert Hall, 9 September 1995

It’s just as well that I like Bruckner 8. I guess I have become mighty familiar with it over the years, collecting four Bruckner 8’s in 10 years between 1989 and 1999.

Malcolm Hayes in The Telegraph was unsure about this brave (but in his view, flawed) 1991 attempt:

David Bruckner Hayes TelegraphDavid Bruckner Hayes Telegraph 11 Feb 1991, Mon The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Still, Bobbie and I no doubt enjoyed our evening despite the absence of Ludwig Van and Günter.

Another Prom With A Mystery Companion, Royal Albert Hall, 4 August 1990

There are some crossings out in my diary, which might have led to the note:

?? Who came with me.

Again, lining up the usual suspects means Jilly, Annalisa and Bobbie. Again, the prime suspect is Bobbie. I think I had queried the name of my companion, because I thought I had crossed out the word “Bobs?”. But my now more sophisticated forensics (use of a magnifying glass) tells me that I crossed out the word “Box?” instead.

Whether or not we sat in a box for this one is another part of the mystery. I do recall occasionally grabbing a brace of box seats back then, although I did soon settle for preferring frontish stalls for Proms concerts.

Anyway…

…this one was a good, solid concert as I recall. We heard:

  • Carl Nielsen – Overture ‘Helios’
  • Sergey Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor
  • Jean Sibelius – Symphony No. 2 in D major

Stephen Hough tinkling the ivories, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Andrew Davis doing the rest.

If you don’t know what the Helios overture looks and sounds like, dig this version by the Danish National Orchestra:

Malcolm Hayes in The Telegraph spent about 60% of his word allocation slagging off perceived compositional flaws in Nielsen’s little Helios piece, while praising to the hilt the evening’s performances of monumental Rachmaninov and Sibelius pieces, which comprised some 85% of the concert. A wasted opportunity to write an incisive review of the Prom by Mr Hayes, in my view.

Hough Prom Telegraph HayesHough Prom Telegraph Hayes 06 Aug 1990, Mon The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com