Khatia Buniatishvili Plays Tchaikovsky

Khatia Buniatishvili Plays Tchaikovsky

Royal Albert Hall

For me, it's been another proud Friday afternoon of running. Managed a 10k in 01:06:51 to be precise. The route was perfect. Started at my house, along the Bridgewater canal to Walton Hall and Gardens, then through Warrington towards Warrington Bank Quay train station. All of this was bang on ten kilometers in distance, and I was overjoyed. Got the train back, one stop.

The first piece of music at the Royal Albert Hall tonight is Haunted Hills, by Margaret Sutherland. The opening is ostentatious and a trifle kitsch. Not to say unpleasant - the underlying strings are definitely giving it a good old 'haunted house' feel. It's not so much haunted in a modern American way, but rather I would place it in a film accidentally stumbled across on Talking Pictures TV on a Sunday afternoon. Introduced to the music is, what to me at first, sounds like someone playing the part of a ghost or ghoul. There's some incoherent kerfuffle, and I wonder is this part of the act? [this is culture, after all]. No - it seems there is something of an indiscretion at the Royal Albert Hall. The presenter Ian Skelly [I'm getting to know the Radio 3 presenters now] declares it a 'coordinated situation', keeping his consummate cool and eloquence.

We get played a peaceful Brahms, Chopin, and Bach to settle us, censoring the disturbance for those of us hooked up on the wireless. We are informed that the concert is going to start again from the beginning. Also, the Dvořák is going to be played before the Tchaikovsky, in a change to the running order, as the soloist is a little shaken up by the disturbance in the hall. 

With it being the BBC Proms, it's not rocket science to work out what the 'disturbance' is in aid of. I have a quick look at Twitter [X, if we must], and see there are 'unconfirmed reports' - guesswork, basically. I look up the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and it seems they've got themselves into some political hot water over the last couple of years. However, I am not going to offer my own thoughts on the matter, simply because I don't understand it enough to provide a meaningful opinion. Whenever I try to read up on it, all I'm faced with is noise. [Politically, the far-right and the far-left dislike the BBC in equal measure, so it only takes a simple mathematical equation to tell us that, in actual fact, it tries to float somewhere around the centre.] One thing I do know is that there is nothing noble in frightening someone. And as with all 'protests' of this nature, the subject of their protestation is the same thing they literally funded on the way in. Such is the idiocy of these people.

Just been thinking back to some other times when I've witnessed unsettling disruptions during a performance. One of them was actually at the Royal Albert Hall, back in 2013, when I went to see Eric Clapton perform there. It's documented on YouTube somewhere. Near the end of the show, a 'fan' jumped onto the stage and (if memory serves) tried to grab EC's leg, probably so he could boast about it to his mates. Fortunately, security at the RAH was on to it like a flash. EC, to his credit, managed to virtually ignore what was going on, and continue playing the song (it was either the encore, or the final song of the main set). Something very similar happened when I saw Sterophonics at the Liverpool arena in 2022, to which Kelly Jones quipped: 'you've got to pay extra for that.' Classy comeback!

Back to tonight's schedule at the Proms, and the second piece is Dvořák's Symphony No. 6. I wouldn't call it relaxing, but there's a beautiful energy to it, and it's very pleasing to the ear.

During the interval there's some chat about what it means to be a 'assistant conductor' - I didn't know this was a thing, but I suppose it makes sense!

And finally, the Tchaikovsky. God, it's glorious. I think Ian Skelly is right to compare its famous opening to Beethoven's Fifth - because it really does make for a worthy competitor. As I mentioned when Tchaikovsky's 2nd was played earlier in the run, I was first introduced to his 1st when I watched the 1990 film Misery: and I often visualise a romantic version of myself typing away furiously at my laptop keyboard, trying to keep up with all these Proms blogs - as Thchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 plays in the background.

Image created with ChatGPT

Dvořák’s ‘New World’ Symphony (Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra)

 Dvořák’s ‘New World’ Symphony (Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra)

Tonight is something of a spiritual homecoming for me, as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra  take to the stage of the Royal Albert Hall. The Liverpool Philharmonic is 'my local'. Indeed, I once went out on a date with a fine young lady from this troupe around Christmas 2021. Alas, we parted ways amicably but with no second date to arrange. I wonder if she is on duty at the Albert Hall this evening? I notice on the BBC website that this prom is part of 'Proms on TV', so maybe I'll find out upon broadcast.

The music kicks off with gusto. It's a modern piece - a European premiere, no less - called An American Port of Call. It's a bit chaotic, but in a controlled manner, if that makes sense? My mind imagines constellations of stars. We're teased with the clarinet to wonderful effect.

The second piece, Blue Cathedral, is a bit sadder. I'm getting images of walking down a rainy street, alongside a set of Victorian-style street lamps.

The Concierto de otoño is a quirky number, taking us on a journey, I believe, via four trumpets.

I don't catch the name of the next performance (is it an extension of the previous?), but its another trumpet-heavy piece, and it gets me thinking of Miles Davis. Not for the first time this season has my mind travelled here.

Image: Pixabay.com

There are some discussions in the interval about Liverpool's relationship with America. The slave trade is, inevitably and importantly, mentioned. What hooks my interest most, is the discussion about the Cunard line and the so-called 'Cunard Yanks', whom I had never heard of before. These were young men working on the Cunard line, bringing back American music and fashion to Liverpool during the 1940's - ultimately influencing the Merseysound including The Beatles. Must try to learn more about this phenomenon when I get chance. 

Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, ‘From the New World’, starts off quite sombre. But then the main 'riff' kicks in and I know what's coming. Something epic, that's for sure. The second moment hits and now I remember the hovis advert that was joked about during the interval. It makes me smile, but there’s also a longing sadness about the music when listening out of this context.

The third movement opens with what sounds like an echo of Beethoven’s 9th (ChatGPT confirms I am not the only one who has noticed this!). I recognise other parts of the tune as well: was it ever used as part of a Star Wars movie or video game, I wonder? (ChatGPT confirms my ear is correct again! Apparently John Williams' Duel of the Fates from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace has been noted in the past as bearing resemblance to this third movement of Dvořák's! - I must be becoming a bit of a classical music aficionado all of a sudden!)

It's been the best prom for days. And it is confirmed that this evening has been filmed, and that there is going to be a quick turnaround on this one. It will be on BBC Four tomorrow! I will come back to watch this as soon as I'm able.