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Well, as I said – you never know. I was listing the live Friday WGBH broadcast over internet from my work (very bad quality) and when I got home I listen my recording. The Brahms Double Concerto I did not like, but the Bruckner 7 was very-very good. I did not listen all Bruckner recording but the few fragments convinced me that I need to make a radical step. So I did. I got the best sit in the Symphony Hall for suppose to be “better” Saturday evening concept. Just got back - the better Saturday concept was disappointment.

The Brahms Double Concerto was significantly better then Friday with Janine Jansen screwed much less. The orchestra was more frequently “on time”, even though still too stale. Alisa Weilerstein did not “lead” the play and she had no bolls. They looked together better then they sound, there was some kind of sexist pleasure to watch them but their own near-orgasmic, near diarrhea facial and body expression did not necessary lead to better sound. Do not get me wrong – it was not too bad but it was not great.

Then the Bruckner 7. As much it was promising on Friday as much it was boring on Saturday. The Hans Graf’s expressions were dull and BSO with each new phrase keep insisting that they American’s 10th best orchestra. It was not good play at all. The last movement however Hans Graf somehow woke up the orchestra and then for the first half of the last movement they show up something the kept me at the edge of my sit. Then the BSO collapsed into some strange tiresome atonal cacophony and it was good time to leave.

The only “bright” moment of the whole symphonic experience (besides the first part of the Finale that was the best I ever heard) was an old moment what collapsed in the first row of the first left balcony – right above the fists violin.  She passed out with the opening bars of first movement and the Symphony Hall workers afraid to move her resuscitated her right at the balcony. The symphony did not stop, the show much go on… It was unspeakably surreal to have BSO crashing though the Bruckner’s 7 first movement and to have right there a person fighting for her live…

BTW, here is a fragment from today’s last movement where BSO showed some “efforts”.

http://www.mediafire.com/?hxutyheydtj

This is WCRB broadcast – mans huge compression and a lot of noise but even behind that you will see some interesting and atypical for this concert colors.

Generally I do not like what I heard from Mr. Graf. When I was listing my Friday broadcast I was asking myself if my Schwarz and Lavry somehow have eaten my lower bass the BSO did not sound right to me. Sitting at the concert I witnessed the very same “midrangy” underdeveloped sound. Levine gave to BSO deliberate full body bass extension where BSO was able to play out of bass cloud with good fundamental roaring. Under Hans Graf the Levine’s Full Range was not there.  You can hardly fine another music other then Bruckner where that mass-roaring would be so necessary. The Bruckner with mass-roaring is not Bruckner but Shubert’s Symphonies - very different music…

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