La Maestra

Well, two days late and I managed to watch the final of Maestro. I really enjoyed this, I thought it was a marvellous final. With the exception of the rather tedious Beethoven's 5th, I thoroughly enjoyed the music chosen. I do think the music throughout (except for the arias) was well chosen to be recognisable as well as easily likeable. Jane Asher chose the overture from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, which I was very pleased at given that I knew this was Mozart and that I liked it, but I didn't know which piece it was.

Sue Perkins absolutely deserved to win. Had I been of the inclination to vote on such programmes and had I watched it live, I would have voted for her. She conducted using her hands, arms, upper body, body placement, head movements and facial expressions. She connected well with all of the orchestra and remained aware of their every move. Goldie, while being as his mentor said, a phenomenal human being, did not connect with the orchestra. Indeed, I felt as if he was performing something he had learned and his actions would have been identical had the orchestra not been there at all. I can't fathom why the judges awarded him so many points. The sound the orchestra produced was fine, but the sound produced when Sue conducted was far better. It was extremely tiring to sit through two performances of the Beethoven, but it was very interesting to hear the difference in sound between the two.

Maxim Vengerov's performance was sublime; he also used his face, head and body in the same manner as Sue and I found his conducting to be far superior to Sir Roger Norrington's for that very reason. One of the reasons this programme was so interesting is that I knew nothing about the role of a conductor, and clearly my knowledge is still lacking in that I cannot discern the difference between great and good.

All of the people in this programme were thoroughly likeable to the end. With the exception of Zoe Martlew I'm afraid, even tonight when she was being complimentary she was smug and "look at me, I'm giving you an 8, just because I'm lovely", which was annoying. I think all the celebrities came across well - I adored the silliness of the tag-conducting. My final opinion of Katie Derham is that I think I'd like her to be my sister in law. I'd like either Ivor the Mentor or Peter Snow to be my dad, I'd like Sue to be my best friend and I'd like a bigamous marriage to both Goldie and Alex James.

And on that frivolous note, I shall bid farewell to a programme that surprised me pleasantly.

(I know there's a performance on Saturday, but I doubt I'll watch that, I can't cope with Lesley Garrett)

Maestro Vanden Plas

The penultimate episode of Maestro tonight... wonderful telly again. I believe that the contestants are being eliminated in exactly the right order, which is something that rarely happens in these things and is almost certainly down to the fact that the public do not have a say. Sadly it seems that the public get to vote in the grand final, which may mean the wrong winner is picked, rather than leaving it to the people who know best, the orchestra.

(I always disagree with the popular view on just about everything, even the meaning of a novel, so I feel I can state such a thing).

Tonight was opera, not a like of mine, and was less enjoyable as a result of not personally liking the music. Except for the Mozart of course, I adore Mozart. I have no idea what the piece was, I am not familiar with most of Mozart's work, I just know I like it. I feel I should like something less... mainstream? popular? but just about any time I am drawn to a piece of music, it is by he. The same happens with Monet's paintings; I am truly unsophisticated even if I do try.

Aside from that, the show was still extremely watchable, not least because Katie Derham said a dirty word! Three times! Not prissy after all! Zoe Martlew, a panellist and cellist/composer, is quite probably the most patronising person I have ever seen, coming across somewhat like a school monitor, overpleased with the importance of her position. How Jane Asher hasn't thumped her is credit indeed to Ms Asher.

The title of this post is a nod in remembrance to my father's Maestro Vanden Plas, the greatest car that ever drove. Or so he thought.