Grieg’s Piano Concerto

Grieg’s Piano Concerto

Royal Albert Hall

It's the final of today's three Proms, and the mental fatigue is cutting deep. I got through the two earlier Proms on BBC Sounds a few hours behind their live broadcasts, and I had just eight minutes to spare before switching to Radio 3 for this live broadcast from the Royal Albert Hall, starting at the usual 19:30 hours.

It's Petroc [Terlawny] presenting tonight, so I know I'm in safe hands. But wait a second, what is this interference? It sounds like a hall of mirrors, where the audio is repeating itself into infinity. Is it my radio signal? I turn it off and back on again, and when I return there is a a calm announcement saying something like 'we apologise for the disruption and here is some nice Bach music to soothe you.' Don't tell me it's a repeat of the MSO protests the other week? Seems like it was just a blip in the radio broadcast, and we are soon back on track, just in time for the music to start.

We begin this evening with Ruth Gipps's Death on the Pale Horse. It’s bleak to begin with, but, with a title like that, it’s to be expected. The imagery is on point, without doubt.

Next we have Lukas Sternath playing Grieg's Piano Concerto. In my most predictable quip of the season, I will declare that he manages to play all the right notes, and in all the right places. As I have already alluded to, Grieg is one of my favourites. This piano concerto offers some dramatic bromides which, while arguably not matching the intensity of the likes of Tchaikovsky's No.1, has a flavour all of its own. It's the unmistakable flavour of Grieg, and that sits on my palette like Dairy Milk.

After the interval it is The Beatitudes by Arthur Bliss. For starters, it is like we're lost in a vast forest. The weather ain't too great, either. Just had a look at the BBC Website, which says it is 'a cantata composed for the reopening in 1962 of Coventry Cathedral – part Passion, part howl of human loss, part musical prayer for a ‘troubled world’. I did already recount my school trip to Coventry cathedral in one of my earlier blogs [can't remember which one!], so I won't bother regurgitating it here. 

Photo: Pixabay.com

Bruce Liu Plays Tchaikovsky

Bruce Liu Plays Tchaikovsky

Royal Albert Hall

I'm half an hour late to this evening's Prom, but not without good reason. My parent's were in the area and we dined out at the Ring O' Bells pub in Frodsham. Good reviews apparently, and it did not disappoint. For my part I enjoyed a '14 Hour Braised Beef and Ale Pie', washed down with a pint of J.W. Lee's Manchester Pale Ale. Finished it off with a raspberry bakewell with custard, and an Irish coffee. A feast fit for a hero.

I arrive back to mine in a daze of happiness and, thanks to the wizardry of BBC Sounds, I'm able to listen to tonight's Prom from the start. And talking of wizardry, it's Bruce Liu at the keys this evening. I have no need to wash any dishes etcetera tonight, so I plump for the living room HiFi to enjoy tonight's programme.

The first piece is Antrópolis by Gabriela Ortiz, which apparently is a homage to urban nightlife in Mexico City. Bodes for a full-flavoured piece, and, not for the first time this evening, I'm pleasantly satisfied. It's a heavily percussive broth, with a soupçon of the flamenco. Very tasty!

Next up it's Tchaikovsky's Second Piano Concerto in full. I'm a fan of Tchaikovsky's music, first encountering it, I think, from the 1990 film Misery. One of the many powerful scenes in that film features Tchaikovsky's piano concerto number one. So... I'm very familiar with his first, but what of his second? It's perhaps not as intense as the first, but it's Tchaikovsky all right - all the hallmarks are there. Softly floating bubbles of piano, kept airborne by smooth strings throughout.

The encore to the first half is a corker - we're treated to a rousing rendition of Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag, with the percussion joining in the fun being led by the piano. Any aspiring pianist will tell you that this (along with The Entertainer) is a must-learn piece, but it's incredibly demanding to play. I hear a bit of a chuckle from the audience when it starts. And why not? It brings us all back to life after the unabridged Tchaikovsky. One fine rag!

The interval plays and I draw the curtains - this is happening noticeably earlier than last week.

I'm very happy with how things are going so far, but have no clue of what to expect from the final piece, which is Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky. It kicks off and, Oh My GOD!, it's the theme tune to the The New Statesman! Rik Mayall's number one fan right here, but that's something I'll have to fill another blog with sometime.

The presenter Ian Skelly muses that the capacity crowd will be heading home, 'walking on air.' I know I would be. Unexpectedly, one of my favourite of the 2025 Proms so far. I'm pleasantly stuffed tonight, in every possible way :)