Critics!!!

‎”Criticism is a study by which men grow important and formidable at a very small expence. The power of invention has been conferred by Nature upon few, and the labour of learning those sciences which may, by mere labour, be obtained, is too great to be willingly endured; but every man can exert such judgment as he has upon the works of others; and he whom Nature has made weak, and Idleness keeps ignorant, may yet support his vanity by the name of a Critic.” – Samuel Johnson.

Last Thursday the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra suffered a terrible savaging from Prof. David Fanning in The Telegraph. Click here to see his review…

Telegraph-review

I have seldom seen such a reaction to his, or anyone’s, criticisms. The paying public are baying for his blood (some literally!!!). Have a look at the Phil’s website and see what the discerning Liverpool audience, Vasily Petrenko, other critics and Fanning’s only supporter, Mrs. Fanning (Michelle Assay) have to say about his scurrilous remarks. One concert goer has offered a public hanging and another, a former soldier, has challenged Fanning to three rounds in a boxing ring!

The Phil on Facebook

Even heavyweight critic Norman Lebrecht has waded in on the act:-

SlippedDisk

I also felt moved to say something and posted the following on the RLPO Facebook page:

“…I have been following the ‘savaging’ of what seems like every aspect of last Thursday’s concert experience by David Fanning in the Telegraph, with interest. Apart from Mrs Fanning, Michelle Assay, he would appear to be the only person, so far, who is of this opinion.

For what it’s worth, I have been playing Shostakovich symph. no. 7 up and down the UK for nearly thirty years, with most orchestras and many conductors including other, excellent Russians. Despite being involved in the performance last Thursday myself, I would like to state that I believe Maestro Petrenko’s reading of the work stands alongside any of those other performances; to say the very least. I did not hear the Qigang Chen, as I was not involved, but all my colleagues have expressed a certain amount of delight. In my opinion, The Chairman Dances, by John Adams, is a fabulous piece, by a composer writing at the very top level in his genre. The audience expressed appreciation heartily throughout, culminating in the standing ovation. (Well deserved according to Richard Morrison-The Times). Many concert-goers then bought tickets for Sunday’s concert also, to hear the Shostakovich again.

I believe I have strengthened my opinion after listening to the concert again on BBC iPlayer. The resultant savaging, in return, of Prof. Fanning’s review by outraged concert-goers has come as no surprise to me. Maybe the offer of a public hanging and the challenge of three rounds in a boxing ring are more so.

Of course, being in the business of professional performance, I am happy to read criticism from anyone in attendance at one of the RLPO’s concerts. That’s what live performance is all about. I suppose it is impossible to please everyone, all the time; especially David Fanning, seemingly. On a final, albeit rather amusing note, I would like to ask the ‘wife who piped up, then piped down again’ (Lebrecht), Michelle Assay, whether or not there is any truth in the rumour of Prof. Fanning falling asleep during the performance, or not. Only, you both seem to have attended a very different concert to myself and the overwhelming consensus of the audience.

Yours sincerely

Brendan Ball (Principal Trumpet-RLPO)

p.s. These views are entirely my own and do not represent the opinions of anyone else.”

 My old pal and colleague from London, Andrew Waddicor, who has done a few Shostakovich 7′s himself, has contributed the following to the general debate, “… I remember a crit of an RLPO concert we did years ago, when the critic complained in his column that the brass – as always- were too loud in the opening Carmen Suite. It was an arrangement for percussion.”

Finally, some views from well known people on critics:-

From Jean Sibelius : ‘Never pay attention to what the critics say; a statue has never been set up in honour of a critic.’

From Brendan Behan : ‘Critics are like eunuchs in a harem. They’re there every night, they see it done, they know how it should be done, but they can’t do it.’

The quote that says it all. Peter O’Toole, when questioned about the critics’ poor response to his first night on Parkinson replied with the line we all use now to keep our spirits up ‘Tomorrow’s chip wrapper’.

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Eminent Trumpeter Clarence Adoo wins the MBE

I would like to congratulate my old friend and colleague, Clarence Adoo on being awarded the MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list. Well done Clarence, no one deserves it more. Please check out this legendary trumpeter’s web site. He has always been, and continues to be, an inspiration to all!

The Official Web Site of Clarence Adoo

Clarence Adoo

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James Shephard – Cornet legend

People tell me I don’t talk enough about trumpet playing on here. I suppose I should, really, as that is what I do for a living. Actually, aside from my trumpet duties with the RLPO, I am the Principal Cornet player. The cornet is used extensively in the orchestral repertoire, Continue reading

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Hooray! Shostakovich Symphony no.10 wins Gramophone Awards!

BREAKING NEWS:- It has just been announced that The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s recording of Shostakovich Symphony no.10 has won the best orchestra recording for the second time in three years.

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Classical Spectacular! RLPO in London 4/10/2011

Classicic FM Live at the Royal Albert Hall. It is a busy week for the orchestra, especially considering we were on tour the week before last and rehearsed and performed the monumental eigth symphony by Gustav Mahler last week. (This last one a rather prominent night for me!)

RLPO Trumpet section - Mahler 8- 1/10/2011 Liverpool Cathedral

Not to forget the evening programme of music themed around birds, which included the big cornet solo Danse Napolitaine from Swan Lake. This week sees the welcome return of Czech Maestro, Libor Pesek, to conduct several concerts of French music by Debussy, Bizet and Francaix.

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Scooby the singing dog!

Scooby likes to accompany his master, each morning, during the trumpet warm-up! I’ve had to put up with this for years. You’ll have to excuse me laughing as I try to play and film at the same time!

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6) RLPO Romania/Czech Tour 2011 – Last day in Prague and The Return Home

Several of us decided to breakfast fairly early today; we had the day free until the rehearsal in the Rudolfinum at 4pm. An opportunity to explore Prague was not to be missed! We went down to the dining hall in the hotel only to find ourselves sharing the hall with a few hundred delegates from  a Defence & Security conference. This was a nightmare; it was impossible to get to any of the food, never mind enjoy a nice tranquil start to the day. The noise was too much. Therefore, Chris Morley, Steve Nicholls, Simon Griffiths (all three from the French Horn section) and myself elected to catch the Metro into Prague’s, beautiful Old Town to enjoy a morning meal there.

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Blog 5) Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Romania/Czech Tour 2011

Today the RLPO said goodbye to Bucharest and hello to Prague. we have just arrived at the hotel on the outskirts of Prague. The change from blazing sun and 30 degrees to rain and about 12 degrees so far, has been pretty noticeable. Continue reading

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‘Petrenkomania’ hits Bucharest! Blog 4) ‘ Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Romania/Czech Tour 2011

The hard working RLPO First violin section

 Well, after the most substantial breakfast of the RLPO tour so far, Dave Pigott (Associate Principal French Horn and recording engineer for the orchestra’s own, in house recording company) and I, have decided to see Ceaucescu’s Folly today. This extra-ordinary building is reputedly the second largest building in the world; only The Pentagon is said to be bigger! This was one of the recommended ‘must sees’ on every tourist website and tour guidebook of Bucharest. The ‘Parliament Palace’ as it is now known. This enormous house was to be Ceaucescu’s house!!! Continue reading

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Blog 3) Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Romania/Czech Tour Sep 2011

The breakfast room at the Radisson Blu

After a fairly late night, it was just as well that the Radisson Blu was to serve breakfast until 11.00am today. It was nice to have a bit of a lie in. A large bowl of fruit for me, followed by a light sampling of the spiced sausages etc. There was a chef making custom order omelettes which proved very popular. Work begins in earnest today, with a very important rehearsal and concert. It sometimes easy, whilst enjoying the local culture, and hospitality, to forget why we are actually here. Continue reading

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