In the Cold Light of Day . . .

I have, as readers will have gathered by now, become increasingly disillusioned—sometime disturbed—over the years by some of the classical music criticism in the national press. It is becoming harder and harder sometimes to understand what point of view some critics are writing from.

As readers will also have gathered, I've temporarily had to suspend my Proms listening, thanks to a rotten cold, and therefore did not hear the Mahler 2 where at least one critic's response appears so utterly out of sync with others it's difficult to interpret or assign the reasons for it.

The same seems to be true of Prom 53, the Budapest's and Ivan Fischer's Brahms, which I did attend, though stressfully sucking throat lozenges by the handful; with some mildly dizzying side-effects by the time the Missa Solemnis ended and I was waiting for the bus at midnight that night.

I had intended to write up both until my cold intervened, but with several live attendances to go, I may have to save reflections on them for the audiobritain site later rather than this more chronological blog.

However, Fischer's Brahms was beautifully played. Understated, perhaps, if you want Brahms very Viennese with plenty of whipped cream and Torte; this was Brahms from the other bank of the river. Cooler, gentler, reflective. And, which I think goes to what I feel is a total misunderstanding of that night on the part of some reviewers, a concert designed as a whole.

Both symphonies were played not as stand-alone pieces, especially not as virtuoso pieces,but as reflections, even continuations, of each other. This was not so much a concert of Brahms' Third followed after a relaxing Stein or two by the Fourth in which the drinkers had time to forget or tuck away, indexed at the back of their minds along with 'great performances Nos 1-11, what they'd just heard. This was 'Symphonic Brahms, Parts Three and Four'; a concert entire, to be considered and reflected upon.

That should not, by now, be an unfamilar situation at a Prom. It's been, over the years, what so many performances have been about: evolving interpretations, sidelong glances, slightly unexpected variations and insights. It is an ephemeral thing, a concert; not a monument. That is what Fischer and the Budapest were giving us in Prom 53. Not 'Great Performance No 43 to be Compared Forever with No 14'.

I was a bit taken aback, when I sneaked out of Door 8 down the ramp for my interval ciggie—yes, I know, I shouldn't still be smoking with a cold, should I?—to find an emergency ambulance outside, doors open, ramp down and blue lights flashing. We hadn't noticed any disturbance from anyone being taken ill in the hall.

Apparently, it was Fischer himself who had become ill at the interval—did the evil cold gremlin lurking somewhere in the Albert Hall  that got me have anything to do with it?—and the second half was delayed (without explanation apart from 'unexpected circumstances') for ten or fifteen minutes. That probably explains the slightly shaky beginning of the Fourth. He had obviously recovered by the end of the concert, for we had a very unusual encore, Brahms' Abendständchen. Unusual, because it was sung, to everyone's surprise, by the entire orchestra.

This is the first time, to my recollection, I've ever seen a whole symphony orchestra transform itself into an instant choral society. They might not be the Monteverdi Choir we heard later that night, or the BBC chorus in terms of technique or volume, but they sang beautifully.

And I'd thought it a neat trick when the percussion section of the Budapest left their drum kits behind and turned themselves into human percussion at their last late-night Prom. What on earth are they going to surprise us with next time? A short ballet, perhaps?

Fischer, I think, is, deservedly, a Prommers' favourite; and so, for me anyway, is his band. They made up for a Czech Phil that I'd earlier been anticipating and found unexpectedly disappointing.

I am hoping my erstwhile colleague can be persuaded to write up Prom 53, while I concentrate on my lemon-squeezing and cough-suppression self-hypnosis techniques to be ready for at least Proms 62 and 64.