M10 Petrenko/Liverpool M10 on BBC

[Don]

For M 10 fans:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r9qkw

[Don]

Caught most of it, a transcendent finale. Hope he records it.

[Don]

Listening to the rest of it, the inner movements not as finely done as the outer ones. The First Scherzo is a bit of a mess (but it basically is anyway). Purgatorio is fine. Second Scherzo is a bit of a mess too, but it is more of a problem than the first one anyway.

Still a fine live performance.

[barry guerrero]

I usually like Petrenko, but 'good grief' - did you listen to the "Purgatorio"? After a huge increase in tempo, he then makes a MASSIVE ritardando that almost brings the music to a complete halt. If you want to make huge contrasts, one ought to augment the orchestration instead (I have several ideas). 

The second scherzo is pretty good, but I don't like the ultra-slow tempo for all that string heavy, "I love you, Alma" music that comes after the reprise of the first movement's harrowing, expressionistic climax in the finale. I like how Gianandrea Noseda pushes all that music forward in his Chandos recording. It's not a redux of the finale to M9 - just the opposite, really.

All in all, still a good performance. I thought the transition from the fourth movement into the finale was very well handled.

[Don]

I will go back and listen to the Purgatorio, you can for a few days it seems. I either missed or was not bothered by the tempo contrasts. I mostly thought it a tad slow. Maybe I was refreshing my cocktail and didn't catch it! 

[barry guerrero]

"Maybe I was refreshing my cocktail"

Vastly more important!   

[Don]

I see what you mean Barry. The 1st part starts out in fine tempo, the center section is way too fast and the last section is a bit slow. I remarked to someone else that the Purgatorio was slow, so I must have missed part of it. Maybe I needed some ice or the dog wanted something...