Lovely to see the arts coverage continuing in The Mill. Great piece, but I’d have to quibble with the undertone suggestion that the Phil are a jack of all trades orchestra that lacks the prestige of The Halle; I’ve seen both dozens of times, and have just as much affection for each of them. The Phil absolutely deserves its own Sir Mark, and I hope they can have that with John Storgårds; just as I hope that this brilliant orchestra doesn’t suffer too much as BBC funding (and the arts generally) are chiselled away by this philistine government. We’re very lucky in Manchester to have the Philharmonic, Halle, Camerata, Collective, RNCM and Chetham’s in one city - I hope we continue to sustain all of them.
Glad you enjoyed the piece, Stuart - thanks for your thoughts as well, I'm completely intrigued and I'll do my best to see much more classical music in the city so I understand it better!
That sounds brilliant - unfortunately I have plans this Saturday evening otherwise I would have loved to have gone! Will recommend in our next newsletter.
Such a timely & engaging piece, with Tar in the cinema, & touching Manchester’s phenomenal musical topography.
Be thankful for the dazzling Manchester Collective, who perform Bag of Bones as the second part of their RNCM residency on February 10, & roll up for Chetham’s latest youth orchestra debut at Stoller Hall on February 17.
We might not have a resident Opera Company (quite yet), but Manchester’s musical heritage & presence flourishes in extraordinary ways. Always worth remembering that the Hallé was the first Manchester band. BBC Phil will bounce back, & it is brilliant of Mollie & the Mill to reflect the ups & downs of such a vital organ of our city’s musical corpus. Bravo. Encore.
Have lost touch with BBC Phil in recent years. Indeed, I never really noticed Omer's arrival and had assumed that Storgards was taking them through the pandemic years! And, as ever, the Halle has probably been the main focus of speculation about Manchester conductors of late. Midway through his penultimate season, who will be picking up the baton when Elder finally bows out?
Haha - Storgards does seem to be a constant for the orchestra and he's very much starting in earnest. Good question - are there any obvious contenders in your opinion?
My sense is that it is a huge ask to follow Mark Elder. Deeply problematic because the Halle and its audiences have become rather too comfortable g parochial even - in relation to Elder's style, sound and repertoire. Shaking that up and moving forward is going to be a mammoth task. Given the fact that it took several goes to follow the Barbirolli era, it is a racing certainty that it will take several conductors before the Halle and its audiences eventually settle into being a mid-21st century orchestra when classical music will and should become a very different business.
Probably the best hope is that, as with the Berlin Phil, the choice of conductor should lie wholly with the members of the orchestra, who, in BP's case, had the audacity to prefer the change-agent Rattle over establishment Barenboim.
Lovely to see the arts coverage continuing in The Mill. Great piece, but I’d have to quibble with the undertone suggestion that the Phil are a jack of all trades orchestra that lacks the prestige of The Halle; I’ve seen both dozens of times, and have just as much affection for each of them. The Phil absolutely deserves its own Sir Mark, and I hope they can have that with John Storgårds; just as I hope that this brilliant orchestra doesn’t suffer too much as BBC funding (and the arts generally) are chiselled away by this philistine government. We’re very lucky in Manchester to have the Philharmonic, Halle, Camerata, Collective, RNCM and Chetham’s in one city - I hope we continue to sustain all of them.
Glad you enjoyed the piece, Stuart - thanks for your thoughts as well, I'm completely intrigued and I'll do my best to see much more classical music in the city so I understand it better!
Manchester Theatres are running an offer at the moment with £9 tickets in any seat at the Bridgewater. If you happen to be free this Saturday, you could see the BBC Phil and one of the greatest cellists in the world for 9 quid! https://www.manchestertheatres.com/offer/exclusive-offer-_-%C2%A39-tickets-to-see-bbc-philharmonic-&-alban-gerhardt-at-the-bridgewater-hall
That sounds brilliant - unfortunately I have plans this Saturday evening otherwise I would have loved to have gone! Will recommend in our next newsletter.
Awesome, I believe it’s across all the Philharmonic’s early season concerts.
Ah great! Will be sure to take advantage.
Such a timely & engaging piece, with Tar in the cinema, & touching Manchester’s phenomenal musical topography.
Be thankful for the dazzling Manchester Collective, who perform Bag of Bones as the second part of their RNCM residency on February 10, & roll up for Chetham’s latest youth orchestra debut at Stoller Hall on February 17.
We might not have a resident Opera Company (quite yet), but Manchester’s musical heritage & presence flourishes in extraordinary ways. Always worth remembering that the Hallé was the first Manchester band. BBC Phil will bounce back, & it is brilliant of Mollie & the Mill to reflect the ups & downs of such a vital organ of our city’s musical corpus. Bravo. Encore.
Thanks very much Phil!
Have lost touch with BBC Phil in recent years. Indeed, I never really noticed Omer's arrival and had assumed that Storgards was taking them through the pandemic years! And, as ever, the Halle has probably been the main focus of speculation about Manchester conductors of late. Midway through his penultimate season, who will be picking up the baton when Elder finally bows out?
Haha - Storgards does seem to be a constant for the orchestra and he's very much starting in earnest. Good question - are there any obvious contenders in your opinion?
My sense is that it is a huge ask to follow Mark Elder. Deeply problematic because the Halle and its audiences have become rather too comfortable g parochial even - in relation to Elder's style, sound and repertoire. Shaking that up and moving forward is going to be a mammoth task. Given the fact that it took several goes to follow the Barbirolli era, it is a racing certainty that it will take several conductors before the Halle and its audiences eventually settle into being a mid-21st century orchestra when classical music will and should become a very different business.
Probably the best hope is that, as with the Berlin Phil, the choice of conductor should lie wholly with the members of the orchestra, who, in BP's case, had the audacity to prefer the change-agent Rattle over establishment Barenboim.