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In the Forum: Musical Discussions
In the Thread: I hate, hate, hate, hate Boston Symphony!
Post Subject: BSO and the ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’Posted by Romy the Cat on: 9/2/2008
Sometimes in July WCRB broadcasted something life from Tanglewood and in the break they after running the normal commercial they played a fragment from James Levine leading BSO with Mussorgsky-Ravel’s “Pictures…”. It was Promenade 3 and it was not just good but it was fantastic! It is know that I am not big fun of the orchestrated “Pictures…” but what Levine did was so different then it really took my attention. I was recorded that WCRB broadcast and frankly the fragment of the “Pictures…” during the break was much more interest that the BSO concert that day. I called to WCRB and they told that it was this own receding, not available commercially.
Anyhow, James Levine look like is returning from his “health vacation” to conduct the opening nigh of the 2008-2009 season with an exciting Russian program:
http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/perf_detail.jsp;jsessionid=XNDZRLSBODPGYCTFQMGSFEQ?pid=prod2290019
The “Pictures…” are there and it might be very interesting, particularly in context of what I heard during the “Bydlo” fragment of the third Promenade. The “Bydlo” is my absolutely favorite part in “Pictures…” and Levine did it very interning. People play “Bydlo” ether overly slow and monumental or fast and “overly-exciting”. What herd at that recording from Levine and BSO had that “wow” effect. It was fast, exciting but Wgner-like massive at the same time. Also, Levine moved up front some sections that I never heard before - it was not just the Bruckner-like tubas pumping the pressure it was more with some freakish and “different” intermingling between the small instruments, and that all “worked” right alone and very purposefully. I was listening that recording perhaps a dozen times and I absolutely loved it. Well, let see in 3 weeks if it was a lucky accident of just the James Levine new reading.
The WCRB will most likely broadcast it live and the WGBH will broadcast the concert Live-to-Tape in the coming Sunday September 28:
http://www.wgbh.org/playlists/date?day=28&month=09&year=2008
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