M2 NYP 9/24

[chalkpie]

Got tix for my mom, daughter, and myself for NYP/Gilbert M2......can't wait!

They are also performing this on Sat. 9/10 as part of a 9/11 memorial, and free tix are available on a first come/first serve basis.

http://nyphil.org/attend/season/index.cfm?page=eventDetail&eventNum=2429&seasonNum=10&utm_source=button3_sep11_0822

From the NYP site:

A Concert for New York for the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 — In Remembrance and Renewal

Location: Avery Fisher Hall (Directions)
Sat, Sep 10, 2011, 7:30PM    

Tickets are first-come, first-serve, and will be distributed (one pair per person) beginning at 4:00 pm on the Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center on Saturday, September 10, the day of the concert. There will be additional seating on the Plaza for the live projection of the concert.

The Philharmonic is offering priority ticket access to the families of 9/11 victims, first responders and survivors; members of this community may request a pair of tickets in advance by e-mailing concertfornewyork@nyphil.org by September 1, 2011.

A Concert for New York will be broadcast live on 105.9 Classical WQXR, telecast on PBS’s Great Performances at 9:00 PM on September 11 [check local listings], and broadcast on WNYC 93.9 FM at 8:00 PM on September 11.

Return here on Sunday, September 11 at 9:00 PM for a Webcast of this concert.

[waderice]

Apparently, this concert will be pre-recorded for broadcast by PBS television at 9:00 ET on Sunday evening, September 11.

BTW, you posted the wrong date of 9/24, so I corrected the date in your subject heading.

Wade

[chalkpie]

Thanks Wade

[waderice]

Since this NYPO concert of M2 was recorded on 9/10 and broadcast over NPR television on 9/11, I'm a bit surprised that no one thus far has commented on the broadcast itself.  So I'll take the initiative.  Since I'm an early-to-bed, early-to-rise person, I recorded the concert on my DVR to watch the next day.

Unfortunately, the NPR TV station I recorded the concert from, Maryland Public Television channel 22, had some sort of technical problem (or was it the entire NPR network?) where the recorded concert never had a chance to get underway when the screen went blank and a rerun of Antiques Roadshow was hurriedly substituted.  Then, finally, the concert came on when about the first 5 or so minutes of the first movement had elapsed.

I didn't note anything of special importance in Alan Gilbert's traversal of what I saw/heard of the first and the second movements.  It wasn't until the third movement that I felt the orchestra and Gilbert finally had settled down and did some really great playing and conducting.  But when Michelle DeYoung got up to sing the Urlicht, I saw/heard one of the best renditions I've ever experienced with this song.  I recall a very old video at YouTube of Maureen Forrester singing this song (conducted by a young Glenn Gould, incidentally) with such conviction and emotion, that I'm convinced that DeYoung had to have seen this and incorporated Forrester's delivery into her rendition.  You can see Forrester's performance at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWPKiuFmY4M.

I was able to get through the majority of the finale, but unfortunately, there was not really anything of major consequence that I saw/heard.  The big bummer occurred (the cutoff time for the DVR to stop recording) when the two soloists were singing their duet with the chorus starting to sing the crescendo conclusion.  So unfortunately, I wasn't able to experience this, and to critique the organ, as Barry is apt to do.

One last comment:  The audience attending the concert were definitely inexperienced concertgoers, nor did they have any familiarity with M2 whatsoever, because not only did they clap between movements, they clapped when the ffff climax of the first movement had been struck, thinking that the movement was over.

Anyone else have comments about the broadcast (and what I missed)?

Wade

[hrandall]

I had a similar experience at the finale: the Vermont public TV station cut it off right at 11 PM with about 5 - 10 minutes left in the performance. Happily, New Hampshire public TV stuck with it so I just switched over to that channel.

Unfortunately the sound was quite bad at least on the TV I was using, so I wouldn't want to comment on much of the performance aspect. I do agree the 4th movement was sung very well, with the emotions meeting the occasion.

About the audience - given the occasion, the fact that many of those in attendance lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks, and this was in many cases probably the first orchestra performance they'd ever attended - I'm just happy they came out and had this fantastic experience of Mahler's music. Perhaps there's a few new Mahler fans after this! The more the merrier.... Happily the unexpected applause during the first movement didn't throw off the orchestra. And I didn't hear much if any applause between the 3rd, 4th and final movements as they run together anyway.

Finally, what a great programming choice for this commemoration by the NYPO!

Cheers,
Herb

[barry guerrero]

If you watch the Arte Web broadcast of M5 with M. Honeck/Pittsburgh S.O., the Berlin audience actually claps after the first and third movements! I'd like to think that that was just out of enthusiasm for the performance. Anyway, Mahler's popularity doesn't seem to be waning in the slightest. He sure nailed it when he said he would his time in the future.

[sperlsco]

I caught and recorded the replay last night on my local PBS, although I missed the first two movements.  Like most PBS TV broadcasts, the dynamic range was extremely compressed -- which really robs a Mahler performance of most of ts intensity. 

[Damfino]

I had similarly bad luck trying to DVR this. I forgot about it on 9/11, but attempted to DVR it on its scheduled repeat late at night. The next morning, I took a look at it, and it turned out to have not been repeated at all. The Houston PBS affiliate showed "America Remembers 9/11" in its place. There was a disclaimer on the screen that "Great Performances is unavailable for rebroadcast at this time".

So, obviously, there was a SNAFU with this broadcast. I have Dish Network, and I read that they'd had some problems with a satellite, or that they installed a new system which failed and that they had to reinstall the old system. I wonder if that had something to do with it?

[sbugala]

KETC, Channel 9 had similar screw-ups for both broadcasts in St. Louis. The late night repeat missed the closing couple mins. and the original broadcast started late because of previous programming. But the whole thing is on Youtube, compliments of the New York Philharmonic: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewYorkPhilharmonic?blend=1&ob=5

I've been behind on my posts, so I have some catching up to do.

[chalkpie]

I saw M2 at Avery Fisher last night. Overall it was (obviously) very close to the 9/10 PBS broadcast version, but of course hearing this live was no comparison. The soloists were Miah Persson (sop) and Lilli Paasikivi (mezzo) and they were exquisite! I enjoyed them better than DeYoung and (forgot her name) from 9/10. It was an incredible performance, especially the 1st mvt, scherzo, and Finale...hell all of it. My mother who has ony heard it once before was in tears at the end and the audience gave a good 10+ minute standing ovation. Kudos to the brass section, especially the trumpets and horns....wow.