What was the last concert you went in 2016?

My wife & I have just got back from a nice few days in Munich where we saw a new production of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger conducted by Kirill Petrenko with Jonas Kaufmann as Walter Von Stolzing and Wolfgang Koch as Hans Sachs.

Musically the evening was very good, Jonas Kaufmann was ideally cast as Walter von Stolzing & sings the role with ease as does Wolfgang Koch as Hans Sachs, the production would  probably not be to everyone’s taste, but at least there were no swastikas!

No photos are allowed in the theatre, these are publicity shots.

It was an added thrill for me to be in the Opera House where Rheingold, Walkure, Tristan as well as Meistersinger had been premièred.

Morton,

The production looks interesting!

How was Petrenko's direction?

Kuma,

Set, I guess, sometime in the 1960’s with Stolzing in a leather jacket & carrying a guitar, it was certainly like no other Meistersinger I had seen before.

The riot at the end of Act 2 was more extreme than usual, with liberal use made of baseball bats, & at the end of Act 3 Beckmesser came back on stage with a gun. At first he looked to be going to shoot Hans Sachs but in the end shot himself, so no final reconciliation there.

I thought Petrenko gave a rather dark reading of the score, the slow overture to the 3^rd Act & the short orchestra interlude just after Stolzing sings the prize song to Eva (which describes Sach’s emotions as he realises Eva is finally lost to him), were played with great intensity.

Later the ‘Wach Auf’ chorus raised the roof, there appears to be no problem in funding a suitable sized chorus at Munich, unlike at the ENO London!

I am already looking forward to a new production at Covent Garden next spring with Bryn Terfel as Sachs.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M3R9...1600/512-T7pGACL.jpg

Winchester Cathedral, Saturday evening.  Technically excellent, setting great (apart from the uncomfortable seats), acoustics not great. Part's nunc dimittis was my highlight. At the risk of sounding philistine listening to the Deer's Cry from CD is more emotionaly enaging.

Morton posted:

Set, I guess, sometime in the 1960’s with Stolzing in a leather jacket & carrying a guitar, it was certainly like no other Meistersinger I had seen before.

Morton,

It can't be the 60s. I see a satellite dish in the set!

I would have actually enjoyed the production. It's a beautiful opera house looking mighty authentic.

Ah, well spotted!

I’m not sure about your picture though, fine though it is.

This is the Munich Opera House, you can see the Royal Box at the back, from which Wagner took a bow at the end of Meistersinger and so got into trouble (again) this time for breaking royal protocol.

There were a few more people when we were there! 

I am looking forward to my last one in the pianist series, Daniil Trifonov tomorrow in Munich. The program will be:

Beethoven: Ouvertüre zu „Coriolan“ c-moll op. 62
Rachmaninow: Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr. 2 c-moll op. 18
Tschaikowsky: Symphonie Nr. 5 e-moll op. 64

I will of course post my impressions.

Just to provide a suitable counterpoint to all this lavish opera etc just saw Billy Bragg at Ilkley Kings Hall

He was in great musical, and political form. First saw him over 30 years ago; the fire has not dimmed.

Bruce

JATRT21 originally posted:

Just back from Hampden Park Glasgow from a stupendous concert by Bruce Springsteen who took the stage at 18.40 and left at 22.10 having Performed 34 songs - quite astonishing - and I have seen him before! Stunning performance on a sunny night. Really special! How does he do it? Jatr

Hi Jatrt21,

Glad you enjoyed the concert, but could I ask where you were located in the stadium?

The reason I ask is that I was also there last night, and for the first time in around 40 years of concert going, I left the concert early - in fact after around 30 minutes. The weather was absolutely stunning, and I had been anticipating a fantastic concert right up to when Bruce and the band started the first number. I have no idea what the song was, because the sound system was so awful that not only could I not make out the lyrics, but I genuinely could not hear the vocals or a melody of any description whatsoever. The best way I could describe the sound is - an unbelievably unrelenting amorphous 'noise' distorted to complete destruction. I have been to concerts in the past that were this loud, but never where the distortion levels were anything near as bad.

I left for two reasons. Firstly, there was no point in my staying, because I honestly could not tell what tracks were being played, and secondly I genuinely feared for my hearing despite the fact that being a motorbike rider, I happened to have some earplugs with me, which I put in my ears after the first number. 

I was located centre stage in the main stand, and so some way from the stage itself. It's possible that the problem stemmed from the fact that the concert setup used both the PA columns spread around the football pitch and the stadium PA system located in the roof of the main stand. I suspect that these stadium speakers were the culprits and just turned up way too high in the sound mix. I suspect that had I been on the pitch itself in the standing area, the sound would have been better. Unfortunately, I'm not as young as I once was, and prefer the comfort of a seat nowadays.

In fact, it was only when I exited the stadium itself, that I was able to begin to hear Bruce's vocals reasonably clearly. I thought about just sitting outside the stadium and listening to the concert for a while, but then realised that I would be better off going home and sticking some Springsteen on my own system - almost as loud (sorry neighbours), but infinitely better sound quality.

I'm going to see Neil Young at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on Sunday. Now, I know he has a reputation for being extremely loud and a big fan of distortion, so I'll take along a set of ear-plugs just in case. It can't be as bad as yesterdays concert, no matter how loud or distorted.

Now, the Bonnie Raitt concert I was at last weekend was a different matter altogether. Fantastic music, sublime performances all round, and a wonderful sound system to boot! Why can't all concerts be like this.

Hmack posted:

JATRT21 originally posted:

Just back from Hampden Park Glasgow from a stupendous concert by Bruce Springsteen who took the stage at 18.40 and left at 22.10 having Performed 34 songs - quite astonishing - and I have seen him before! Stunning performance on a sunny night. Really special! How does he do it? Jatr

Hi Jatrt21,

Glad you enjoyed the concert, but could I ask where you were located in the stadium?

The reason I ask is that I was also there last night, and for the first time in around 40 years of concert going, I left the concert early - in fact after around 30 minutes. The weather was absolutely stunning, and I had been anticipating a fantastic concert right up to when Bruce and the band started the first number. I have no idea what the song was, because the sound system was so awful that not only could I not make out the lyrics, but I genuinely could not hear the vocals or a melody of any description whatsoever. The best way I could describe the sound is - an unbelievably unrelenting amorphous 'noise' distorted to complete destruction. I have been to concerts in the past that were this loud, but never where the distortion levels were anything near as bad.

I left for two reasons. Firstly, there was no point in my staying, because I honestly could not tell what tracks were being played, and secondly I genuinely feared for my hearing despite the fact that being a motorbike rider, I happened to have some earplugs with me, which I put in my ears after the first number. 

I was located centre stage in the main stand, and so some way from the stage itself. It's possible that the problem stemmed from the fact that the concert setup used both the PA columns spread around the football pitch and the stadium PA system located in the roof of the main stand. I suspect that these stadium speakers were the culprits and just turned up way too high in the sound mix. I suspect that had I been on the pitch itself in the standing area, the sound would have been better. Unfortunately, I'm not as young as I once was, and prefer the comfort of a seat nowadays.

In fact, it was only when I exited the stadium itself, that I was able to begin to hear Bruce's vocals reasonably clearly. I thought about just sitting outside the stadium and listening to the concert for a while, but then realised that I would be better off going home and sticking some Springsteen on my own system - almost as loud (sorry neighbours), but infinitely better sound quality.

I'm going to see Neil Young at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on Sunday. Now, I know he has a reputation for being extremely loud and a big fan of distortion, so I'll take along a set of ear-plugs just in case. It can't be as bad as yesterdays concert, no matter how loud or distorted.

Now, the Bonnie Raitt concert I was at last weekend was a different matter altogether. Fantastic music, sublime performances all round, and a wonderful sound system to boot! Why can't all concerts be like this.

     

Hi Hmack

Sorry that your experience was adverse. I was in the lower tier of the main (south)stand to the right of the mixing desk but to the left of the right hand speaker tower.  The sound varied during the evening but he does go for a wall of sound ! In fact his recorded music in recent years - from The Rising on has been badly mixed in my view with MP3 style lack of dynamics.

i missed Bonnie Raitt live but her most recent album - which I bought on vinyl -  is superb both in sound and quality. Bruce is one of a very few performers that I would go to a stadium to see and in part that is because of the atmosphere and his continued effort to make every concert an event and to aim to send people home having seen the best show he can perform - but the previous time I saw him in Hampden (which wasn't his last visit) the sound was weedy and I was disappointed. 

I guess I was lucky in where the online ticket sales landed me!

internal venues such as the Hydro are designed for sound and are more controllable. I saw Neil Young in the AECC in Aberdeen a few years ago and it ranks as one of the best concerts I have ever seen - so I hope you have a good night!

jatr

Morton posted:

This is the Munich Opera House, you can see the Royal Box at the back, from which Wagner took a bow at the end of Meistersinger and so got into trouble (again) this time for breaking royal protocol.

There were a few more people when we were there! 

Morton,

Thanks for the correction.

 Your pix makes more sense as I have read that Munich Opera House was rebuilt after WW2.

Paul McCartney in Cologne. I will never forget, a concert made from heaven. christoph

Not quite as cultural as some posts on this thread but the wife and I, along with some friends, went to see Adam Ant in Manchester last night.  To be honest I thought it would be just a bit of a laugh but he was excellent, very rocky with huge stage presence and full of charisma.  Very enjoyable.

Coldplay at Man City's stadium last night. I know that they're not everyone's cup of tea, but they were excellent. Had everyone in the stadium up and dancing throughout. There was an amazing atmosphere, and I have to say that it was one of the concerts that I've ever been to.

Came away from it buzzing, and still in a good mood now. Brilliant. 

If you ever get the chance to see them, then I'd certainly recommend them!

Nigel

JATR posted:

internal venues such as the Hydro are designed for sound and are more controllable. I saw Neil Young in the AECC in Aberdeen a few years ago and it ranks as one of the best concerts I have ever seen - so I hope you have a good night!

An absolutely magical performance by Neil Young and his band at the Glasgow SSE Hydro last night. Now, I am a fan of Neil's, or at least some of his stuff, but this concert way exceeded my expectations.

I expected to love the acoustic bits - he started off on stage on his own for a few stock numbers like "Heart of Gold" ad "The needle and the damage done"  with just his acoustic guitar and harmonica before the band joined him. I'd never seen him live before, but have never rated him as an electric guitar player, so I wasn't looking forward quite so much to the extended heavy rock tracks. How wrong could I have been! JATR, This also turned out to be one of the best concerts I have been to in recent years. The guitar playing of Neil and his band, along with the strangely harmonic feedback they like to use was spellbinding. I don't think I have heard anyone other than Jeff Beck use feedback quite so effectively.

They performed an absolutely amazing version of "Down by the River", with an extended instrumental finale that could have come straight from Dave Gilmour and Pink Floyd at their best.

Just wonderful, and pretty much able to make me forget the disappointment of the Springsteen concert in Glasgow last week. This concert was also 'loud', as you would expect, but unlike the earlier Springsteen concert the sound quality was pretty good. No ear-plugs required - thank goodness!

Pigs on the Wing - an excellent Pink Floyd tribute band, last night. Just like when I had seen the real thing back in the 1970s. This is what my hifi is supposed to sound like!

Bert Schurink posted:

I am looking forward to my last one in the pianist series, Daniil Trifonov tomorrow in Munich. The program will be:

Beethoven: Ouvertüre zu „Coriolan“ c-moll op. 62
Rachmaninow: Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr. 2 c-moll op. 18
Tschaikowsky: Symphonie Nr. 5 e-moll op. 64

 

I will of course post my impressions.

A little late now, but let me still publish my thoughts on the concert with some pictures.

Trifoniv had an amazing control of tone and musicality and has of course the technical capability to deliver the goods. While that evening everything didn't work as it should be. The balance piano orchester was not great. The orchester being to loud in the more louder overall pieces. In the more silent pieces the balance was good. The prat of the orchester was also not perfect, so it was sometimes a bit ghostly. Was it the conductor Manfred Honeck, I guess it was...

The symphony of Tchaikovsky was well done by the way. So some mixed feelings about this evening where I had the feeling not all qualities have been on full display.

Two more pictures of the Trifonov concert...

David Fray

PROGRAM
Bach Preludes and Fugues Nos. 1-8 from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1

Boulez Notations

Schoenberg Three Pieces

Brahms Seven Fantasies
Bach-Busoni Chorale Prelude
Nunn komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 [ENCORE]

Dedicated to the memory of Pierre Boulez (1925-2016)

His name has been mentioned on this forum a few times but his Bach performance did not quite convince me.

There are some eccentric similarities to Glenn Gould, using a plain chair rather than a Steinway leather bench or body language during the performance but their two interpretations are on opposite direction. Fray did not possess a kind of excitement and energy Gould puts in his work, instead rather more fluid and soft. To me dynamically a bit muted as if he never strikes the keys firmly and leave them hanging unfinished. Tempo also was uneven ( I am certain it was intentional but came off sounding *wrong* ) I guess I am too used to Gould's playing of the same piece so anyone else playing it comes off bland and a bit *off*.

The same could be said for Boulez's Notations. I would have liked to hear firm and solid rendering throughout. Schoenberg pieces were better his romantic soft style was better suited for Brahms but felt he was just skimming surface and not digging deep into the tunes. I could not connect musically.

He only provided one encore dedicated to Boulez.

He seems to have a few dedicated fans but I must say his elusive style isn't my cup of tea.

We saw the Ben Watt Band in Portsmouth last night. Absolutely excellent, with Bernard Butler's guitar playing a real highlight. There were only about 200 people there, but a lovely happy atmosphere in the Wedgewood Rooms. Ben even sang Rollercoaster, which he originally wrote for Tracey to sing, as well as his first single, which was on Pillows and Prayers back in 82. 

kuma posted:

David Fray

PROGRAM
Bach Preludes and Fugues Nos. 1-8 from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1

Boulez Notations

Schoenberg Three Pieces

Brahms Seven Fantasies
Bach-Busoni Chorale Prelude
Nunn komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 [ENCORE]

Dedicated to the memory of Pierre Boulez (1925-2016)

His name has been mentioned on this forum a few times but his Bach performance did not quite convince me.

There are some eccentric similarities to Glenn Gould, using a plain chair rather than a Steinway leather bench or body language during the performance but their two interpretations are on opposite direction. Fray did not possess a kind of excitement and energy Gould puts in his work, instead rather more fluid and soft. To me dynamically a bit muted as if he never strikes the keys firmly and leave them hanging unfinished. Tempo also was uneven ( I am certain it was intentional but came off sounding *wrong* ) I guess I am too used to Gould's playing of the same piece so anyone else playing it comes off bland and a bit *off*.

The same could be said for Boulez's Notations. I would have liked to hear firm and solid rendering throughout. Schoenberg pieces were better his romantic soft style was better suited for Brahms but felt he was just skimming surface and not digging deep into the tunes. I could not connect musically.

He only provided one encore dedicated to Boulez.

He seems to have a few dedicated fans but I must say his elusive style isn't my cup of tea.

PROGRAM
Bach Preludes and Fugues Nos. 1-8 from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1
Boulez Notations
Schoenberg Three Pieces
Brahms Seven Fantasies
Bach-Busoni Chorale Prelude Nunn komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 [ENCORE]
Dedicated to the memory of Pierre Boulez (1925-2016)
PROGRAM

Bach Preludes and Fugues Nos. 1-8 from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1
Boulez Notations
Schoenberg Three Pieces
Brahms Seven Fantasies

Bach-Busoni Chorale Prelude Nunn komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 [ENCORE]
Dedicated to the memory of Pierre Boulez (1925-2016)

- See more at: http://cso.org/calendar/index....sthash.e31ygHQl.dpuf

I never have heard him in concert, but his albums I like a lot especially one of the Bach albums. Sometimes artists are affected by the form of the day, sometimes it's just not ones cup of tea. I still hope to have an opportunity to see him soon.

Ropetackle Centre, Shoreham 10th June.

Pentangle and Magna Carta, Pentangle great , I don't know much about MC  but pretty good.

Enjoyable musical evening the migrane not so much.

Neil Young and The Promise Of The Real - Leeds - Fri 10th June

What can I say except that Neil just gets better and better, that I was blown away at was probably  the best yet ever and what a set list!

After the Gold Rush
Heart of Gold
Comes a Time
The Needle and the Damage Done
Mother Earth
From Hank to Hendrix
Out On The Weekend
Unknown Legend
Wolf Moon
Words
Winterlong
Walk On
If I Could Have Her Tonight
Down by the River
Powderfinger
Mansion on the Hill
Cowgirl in the Sand
Love To Burn
Rockin' in the Free World
---encore---
When You Dance I Can Really Love >
F*!#' Up

Pity missed you last night Richard, yes what a night. The highlights for me were Powder Finger, River and Cowgirl

I am just watching a You tube video filmed on the 1987 tour, Poweder Finger actually,  the first time I saw him live. A lot more mobile than last night but the commitment of a 71 year old to do nearly 3 hours without a break was amazing.

We will have to catch up at SORG sometime

Kevin