|
|
Orchestral Balance - 2007/01/19 16:01
Hearing the Czech Philharmonic under Belohlavec in the GRCH in November, I was struck by the excellent balance and blending of sound between the sections of the orchestra who all seemed to be playing for each other, rather than against each other. This from an orchestra which at best had one short balance rehearsal in the hall.
Contrast that with the RSNO which still too often suffers from overblown brass and woodwind in a hall in which they perform regularly.
It's not just the RSNO, as the recent Sibelius series in the City Hall revealed the BBC Scottish are even worse in this regard.
Perhaps the UK orchestras liking for high platform risers has something to do with it or perhaps conductors just don't care enough about balance.
Is there any prospect of improvement? The GRCH certainly has enough platform space to seat the orchestra on one level in the European fashion. It would at least be interesting to hear it tried.
AD
The administrator has disabled public write access.
|
|
|
Re:Orchestral Balance - 2007/01/20 02:10
I seem to remember a critic mentioning this a few years ago. I think it was Tumelty but I may be wrong. He/she also thought that the Scottish orchestras could do with lowering the wind and brass staging to improve the balance. Don't know how that would work in the Usher Hall though as you have to raise the back of the orchestra up towards the choir stalls.
The administrator has disabled public write access.
|
|
|
Re:Orchestral Balance - 2007/01/20 02:11
I seem to remember a critic mentioning this a few years ago. I think it was Tumelty but I may be wrong. He/she also thought that the Scottish orchestras could do with lowering the wind and brass staging to improve the balance. Don't know how that would work in the Usher Hall though as you have to raise the back of the orchestra up towards the choir stalls.
The administrator has disabled public write access.
|
|
|
Re:Orchestral Balance - 2007/01/22 09:56
Do different conductors have different views on what actually constitutes "orchestral balance"? I remember Ilan Volkov being interviewed by Sara Mohr-Pietsch (I *think* that's how her name's spelt anyway...!) at City Halls in September and when asked how the BBC SSO were settling into their new home he talked about how dominant the brass were and how the string players were "sawing harder" (I'm paraphrasing of course...!) to compensate. The way he said it seemed to suggest he didn't consider that a bad thing...so I'm inclined to wonder if some conductors favour a sort of "raw power" over technical polish.
The administrator has disabled public write access.
|
|
|
Re:Orchestral Balance - 2007/01/22 23:14
That's an excellent question!
Yes, conductors generally have very strong individual ideas about orchestral balance and sound. The truly fascinating thing is that the way the orchestra sounds is affected not only by what the conductor says in rehearsal, but also by the conductor's physical gestures, which is why orchestras sound so very different with different conductors.
The final result and balance in any given week of concerts could be said to be a combination of the intrinsic personality of the orchestra, the leadership of the music director (who works with the orchestra more than any other conductor) and the individual ideas and style of the conductor in any given concert.
My personal feeling is that the RSNO is sounding quite different under Stephane Deneve's baton than with some other conductors, and this has certainly been picked up by the press. But it's very subjective, and that's something for you, the audience, to judge!
Simon Woods
Chief Executive
RSNO
The administrator has disabled public write access.
|
|
|
Re:Orchestral Balance - 2007/01/25 04:24
I must agree that Deneve gets a fantastic sound from the orchestra. The Mahler 2 had such wonderful moments in it. And I'm really looking forward to the Eroica and Nevsky concert. With Deneve's wonderful conducting, the orchestra are sure to play at their best.
Roll on Alexander Nevsky! 
Han 
The administrator has disabled public write access.
|
|
|
Re:Orchestral Balance - 2007/01/28 01:32
That is interesting as i found a performance of Bruckner 3 under Koenig and BBCSSO ;last year quite completely marred by the overpowering brass balance. I was quite worried about the hall's acoustic especially for large scale symphonic pieces but hearing Segerstam's remarkable concert of the last three Sibelius gave me hope. Massive cathartic climaxes and no distortion or painful ears! The RSNO is sounding great at the moment. Unfortunately for the poor people who sit in the rear stalls of the Usher Hall their enjoyment is mared by overloud air conditioining!
The administrator has disabled public write access.
|
|
|
Re:Orchestral Balance - 2007/01/28 16:23
Hi All,
My wife and I are both quite new to "the scene", being only in our first year as season ticket holders (let's just say it won't be our last!!). I don't therefore have anything to back up or refute these arguments (discussions). I must say that Deneve gets an incredible sound from the orchestra and seems to be an extremely impressive and enthusiastiv conductor who genuinely "feels" the music.
The only non-Deneve concert that we attended was the Mozart Anniversary one last year. While the concert was very goof (I am a hopeless Mozart fan), I founf that I noticed the odd little mistake - a note being slightly flat, etc. I also noticed that the condutor was "not Deneve". I think when used to the RSNO and Deneve, the bar gets raised that little bit more, so that tiniy faults are noticed, that would have passed by if they were being compared to anyone else.
Dunc.
The administrator has disabled public write access.
|
|
|
Re:Orchestral Balance - 2007/01/28 16:26
Ahem - perhaps a spell checker would have helped me 
Dunc.
The administrator has disabled public write access.
|
|
|
Re:Orchestral Balance - 2007/01/28 17:53
Hi Dunc,
It is interesting to watch and hear the developing relationship between Deneve and the orchestra. Many of the pieces he is performing for the first time and there is a freshness of approach and rare musical intelligence at work.
On the balance front, last night's Bruckner 3 with Weller was an object lesson and almost makes me retract some of my comments at the start of this thread. It was noticeable however that there was some change of personnel in the brass section which sounded much more blended than usual. A big step in the right direction.
AD
The administrator has disabled public write access.
|
|
|
Re:Orchestral Balance - 2007/02/08 13:32
I have to put my hand up here and say that as a clarinet player with children who play trumpet (wahoo) and cello (2 of them, and how neurotic can these string players get?), I am biased ( and a philistine) and like nothing more than the brass section to let rip and blow the strings away (go for it guys).
On the subject of Mr. Deneve, our season tickets are 3 rows from the front of the stalls, right in the centre, and I am sure one of these nights he will be will be joining us. Next time he is conducting, watch the floor of the podium bounce as he works up a head of steam and if you're near the front, close your eyes and pick up the beat from his feet. Not complaining, it all adds to the fun of a live performance.
One final thing, and this may be for someone in the band or perhaps Simon, do Stephane, Garry and James normally tune to A = 442 and are there any guest conductors who tune to anything other than the accepted 440 or 442?
The administrator has disabled public write access.
|
|
|
Re:Orchestral Balance - 2007/02/09 14:25
This is probably a few years out of date now but I had been told that the tuning was done to 443 or 444 because one of the bassoons couldn't tune any lower than that. Don't know if that is or ever was true but it's a good example of practical circumstances which can result in having to tune to a slightly different pitch.
The administrator has disabled public write access.
|
|
