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Prom 53: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Date Monday 25 August 2008
- Time 7.00pm - c9.10pm
- Venue Royal Albert Hall
Two Russian masterpieces, both of them by composers fêted for their ballets as well as their symphonies.
Daniele Gatti and his Royal Philharmonic Orchestra offer a selection from Prokofiev's amazingly original and thrilling music for Romeo and Juliet. They end with Tchaikovsky's great Fifth Symphony, in many ways as harrowing a work as the devastating Pathétique (Prom 66).
Gatti's flair for orchestral colour and emotional intensity is well-suited to this Romantic idiom.
- Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet - excerpts (48 mins)
- Interval
- Tchaikovsky Symphony No.5 (48 mins)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Daniele Gatti conductor
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Colin R Smith
The Royal Philharmonic were in truly magnificent form under Daniele Gatti tonight - most certainly no longer in any way the 'underdogs' of the London orchestras! The Prokofiev excerpts displayed both playing and musicianship of exceptionally high order - even the intonation of the violins in the high reaches of 'Montagues and Capulets' was totally secure for once!
The Tchaikovsky 5th - which so often eludes even the 'big names' in making anything truly profound out of its often craftsmanlike material (not Tchaikovsky at his most inspired compared with Nos 4 and 6 - or even 'Manfred') - crowned a superb evening by its restraint from self-indulgence. Surely this was one of the finest of the entire Proms series so far.
One point of criticism regarding production values: why no surtitles at the commencement of each Prokofiev movement? Surely this small addition would have assisted those newly investigating such music - and who would most probably be at least acquainted with the play and its plot.
David Reed
Brilliant performance tonight. The sound through my Quad ESL 63s, the camera shots, wonderful. More please!