Bargemusic (5/25/13)

OK. So I’m late. Sue me. Oh wait, this is a free blog. Never mind. Our performers were
Olga Vinokur (piano) and Gregory Singer (violin)—how weird is that, Singer a violinist. But I digress. The concert actually started with Mark Peskanov playing a very beautiful Bach violin solo.

Consequently, I found Mr. Singer’s violin sound a little bit less fully developed. That said, this free concert included music of Ravel, Debussy, Fritz Kreisler, William Bolcom (more on that later), impromptu bluegrass, Singer (as composer), Bartok, and more Bolcom. We’re talking eclectic here, folks.

As always, Bargemusic Saturday concerts don’t have a printed program. I’ll do some online research but I’m not going to go crazy. The Ravel sounded like a Rhapsody, with Spanish influences. The Debussy was a sweet, wistful waltz with an interesting doubling of piano/violin lines that were sometimes expansive.

The first Kreisler piece was less flashy than some I’ve heard, while the second was a pure Viennese waltz, with the appropriate hes-i-ta-tions between phrases.

There was much more on the program, but I was most taken with contemporary rags written by William Bolcom (b. 1938). Here’s the “Graceful Ghost” rag, which was played in a piano/violin arrangement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQVoY3f-Ctc

In addition, Ms. Vinokur played another solo Bolcom rag (and I cannot for the life of me find the name of it) where she played the keyboard and in addition (similar to the string players in a Rossini overture tapping their music stands with their bows), tapped the piano keyboard cover with her knuckles—making the piano even more of a hybrid string/percussion instrument. This was one of the highlights of the afternoon.

Bargemusic concerts are informal, family oriented, and usually have a Q&A session attached. While I can deal with children learning to experience a live music concert, there were two fellows near me who had no problem conversing with each other during the concert. I physically had to move. That said, some of the kids had some good questions during the Q&A session, and the “talkers” voiced their opinions on violin/bluegrass/fiddle definitions. All valid. I just wish they hadn’t been discussing it during the concert.

This was a great Saturday afternoon concert with incredibly varied music. A+, New York/Brooklyn!

ConcertMeister
p.s. I have since used some ThankYou Points to acquire three Bolcom CDs.

New York Repertory Orchestra (5/18/13)

I seem to have forgotten about this fun group, and caught their final concert of the season. It is an all-volunteer orchestra, composed of professional and amateur players, conducted by David Leibowitz. The performance took place at Church of St. Mary the Virgin (affectionately known as “Smoky Mary’s”). The program consisted of Illuminations of the Night (World Premiere) by Peri Mauer; Three Nocturnes: Nuages (“Clouds”), Fêtes (“Festivals”), Sirénes (“Sirens”) by Claude Debussy [sorry, couldn't get ssy to be bold] (1862–1918); and Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47: Allegro moderato, Adagio di molto, Allegro, ma non tanto by Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), with Airi Yoshioka as violin soloist.

The first piece opened with chaotic sounds that had some organization but then rambled on a bit. It was okay as a brief curtain raiser though I’m not sure I would seek it out for a second hearing. I suppose there was a thin connection between the Night of the first piece and the Nocturnes that followed.

Nuages had a slightly amorphous, lush sound, yet here it works—it feels as though it’s taking us somewhere. And it had some very nice playing from the wind section. Fêtes had a fuller, bright sound, with a quiet ending. Sirénes seemed to tie all three movements together—lush, full, ethereal, with a wash of choral sound being used as an additional instrument. The NYRO Women’s Chorus did a fine job.

The violin concerto’s shimmering opening included very pretty solo violin writing. My notes also have “very rich orchestrally, for the soloist as well.” The second movement was calm, without being too plaintive. And the third began with virtuosic solo violin writing that was nicely done, followed by a full orchestra response. Toward the end there were a few balance problems, with the orchestra threatening to overwhelm the soloist. I think, however, that the church-as-concert-hall contributed to that, and I’m not sure it could have been totally avoided. Ms. Yoshioka played very well throughout, as did the orchestra throughout the entire evening.

Of note to me is the fact that this was my first live hearing of the Nocturnes (and I really enjoyed them), and, I think, my first live hearing of Sibelius, at least on this grand a scale. Also of note, there was a gentleman near me following along with orchestra score reductions of both the Debussy and the Sibelius. Oddly, a person behind me was reading a book throughout the entire concert—now, I love to read, but I know that I could never concentrate on both book and music for that long a period of time. And, thankfully, even though the handheld devices weren’t making any noise, they are still intrusive. I guess some people feel the need to be plugged in at all times. For me, I need to sit back and listen to (and enjoy) the music. And I did.

ConcertMeister

p.s. Maybe I should be careful about “casting the first stone,” but I try to be discreet in my note taking.

Wall to Wall Harlem Renaissance (5/11/13)

{{Why, yes, this slightly out of order. Some blog posts write themselves more easily than others.}}

Saturday, May 11, brought my second Wall to Wall at Symphony Space. This is always an ambitious program—varied programming from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. You can see it all or come and go as you please. For free! The overall arc was Harlem Prelude (10:30a–11:00a); Next Stop, Harlem (11:00a–2:00p); Here in Harlem (2:00p–5:00p); Harlem Speaks (5:00p–8:00p); and Harlem Nights (8:00p–11:00p).

I arrived around noon and stayed till about 5:00. I had thought about returning for the 8:00 session, but I was pretty tuckered out by then and the weather didn’t seem too encouraging for making another round trip to the West Side. However, what I saw was enjoyable, fun, and quite varied.

Once inside the theater, I was listening to the US premiere of a song cycle by Laura Kaminsky (1956–), Five Songs on Texts by Fauset and Grimké—music and texts by women writers. The cycle was a little esoteric for my taste and it was good that the English texts were shown on a screen. Even though tenor Christopher Preston Thompson’s diction was good, the actual setting of the texts made them difficult to hear and understand clearly. Margaret Kampmeier’s accompaniment was strong and supportive. Not my favorite work but still it’s good to hear works by living composers.

A series of poetry and prose from women writers followed, performed by Francois Battiste, Chuck Cooper, Adriane Lenox, and Sonia Manzano. Some powerful words and powerful performances. A trio of Spirituals was next, arranged by Margaret Bonds and further arranged for harp by Ashley Jackson (the harpist here) and sung by La-Rose Saxon (soprano). I liked the arrangements. The range was a little bit of a problem for Ms. Saxon, but when she was able to soar, there were some very pretty sounds.

The Mimi Jones Quintet (Ms. Jones, bass; Camille Thurman, sax and reeds; a substitute trumpeter, who was spot on; Luis Perdomo, piano; and Allison Miller, drums) put on quite a solid show. The five songs they did were also woven into a little story of steppin’ out for an evening in Harlem. This was deftly done, with great sounds from all five individually and as a quintet.

We then saw a segment of the film St. Louis Blues (1929) with Bessie Smith. Another powerful performance by a powerful actress/singer.

Here in Harlem started almost on the dot of two o’clock with Julie Bullock, soprano, accompanied by Bretton Brown on the piano, with “Summertime” (1935, Gershwin) from Porgy and Bess and a trio of songs from Genius Child (1993, Ricky Ian Gordon). This woman can sing. “Summertime” was straightforward and beautifully sung, and “Border Line,”
“My People,” and “Joy” by Gordon were songs that made me sit up and take note. You know how there’s always some person who jumps the gun and starts the applause a fraction of a second too soon? That was me. I want to hear all of Genius Child some day.

The spoken word was next, introduced by Walter Dean Myers, author of Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices (2008), his riff on Spoon River Anthology, by Edgar Lee Masters. As
Mr. Myers said, he wanted to tell the stories of the people he knew. Portions of his poems were interspersed with poems commissioned by Symphony Space. These vignettes were funny, boisterous, introspective, and very interestingly put together. As I wrote in my
notes—“... we need to remember that there’s music in the words, too.”

The next segment featured piano rags—three by Scott Joplin (1867–1917) and one three-movement work by Darius Milhaud (1892–1974). Joplin’s “Pine Apple Rag” (1908) was gentle, with a nice contrasting second section. “Rose Leaf Rag” (1907) was a bit more florid—as if written by Chopin, with more filigree than rhythmic drive, though it perked up toward the end. (As a side note, I am currently reading a novel where Scott Joplin is a character and I’ve learned a few facts about him, including that he really saw his ragtime music as an extension of American classical music.) “Scott Joplin’s New Rag” (1912) was much more energetic. The Milhaud “Trois Rag-Caprices” (1922) were sort of like ragtime music deconstructed. The pianist Cheryl Seltzer played a nice set.

More jazz followed from the Columbia University Jazz Ensemble, with Duke Ellington’s
(1899–1974) “Sophisticated Lady,” Reid Jenkins’ (1991–) “Seek and You Shall Find,” and Ellington’s “The Star-Crossed Lovers.” These students played jazz pretty well, but they’re students playing jazz. I’m pretty sure that they’ll grow into it a little more with a little more experience. And it’s great that they had this experience—that’s how you get experience and break out of the Catch-22. Been there, done that.

What followed was a few sections from a play, Renaissance in the Belly of the Whale. Here, as in other spoken portions of the part of the day that I saw, there was a fine line between reflecting credible street/Harlem talk and parody or stereotype. In general, I think the balance was handled pretty well. I’m paraphrasing my trusty Strunk and White, but while dialect is to be avoided, sometimes it’s exactly what’s needed. Whew! Off of my soapbox.

The last portion that I saw presented a real stylist—Dee Daniels, piano and vocals. The segment was titled Singing the Blues and Jazz, and she did just that. “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ but the Blues,” Ellington), truly bluesy; “Almost Like Being in Love” (Lerner & Loewe), truly jazzy; (Lost in) “This Masquerade” (Leon Russell), truly both; and “What Is This?” (Rance Allen), gospel—real gospel—I mean, stand up, shout along, clap your hands, real gospel. This gal knew exactly what she was doing and how to really do it.

These Wall to Walls seem to come around once a year. I’ll be on the lookout for the next one.

ConcertMeister

PhilHallmonics—The Lusty Month of May (5/13/13)

Phil Hall and the Ladies were back at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, and what a treat they were. For the record, the Ladies are: Karen Arlington, Lynette Baiocco, Mary Lou Barber, Mandy Brown, Dolly Ellen Friedman, Lenore Fuerstman, Alyson Reim, Diana Silva, Laurie Sondermeyer, and Becca Yuré. Each had a solo moment; all took part in the opening, The Lusty Month of May (from Camelot); Love Is in the Air (nicely staged by Sharon Halley), and the finale, Make Our Garden Grow (from Candide); and there was a superb version of Triplets (those three wacky, singing & dancing babies).

Highlights of the 23(!) songs on the program included Stormy Weather, Singin’ in the Rain, and World on a String/It’s Only a Paper Moon. Along the way, we also heard The Lady Is a Tramp, Put on a Happy Face, It’s a Good Day, Feelin’ Good, and Splish Splash, among others. On the plus side, renditions of Over the Rainbow and Don’t Rain on My Parade were treated as songs in their own right, not as tribute/faithful reproduction performances. Also, the staging for Triplets and Singin’ in the Rain was delightful. On the minus side, there were a few too many “stand (or sit on a stool) center stage” numbers while using a cordless microphone. A little bit of stage movement would have been nice.

One place that stand and sing was quite effective was the simple, straightforward, The Rainbow Connection. “The lovers, the dreamers, and me” gets me every time. One more plus was that even though some of the voices weren’t as strong as some of the others, the styling of those songs played to the strengths of each individual soloist. For that, and for the indefatigable accompaniments, we have Phil Hall to thank—maybe that’s the biggest plus
of all.

ConcertMeister

Metropolitan Opera Redux

It’s funny, I don’t go to the opera all that often, but I was intrigued by the Frenchies this season, so after seeing Faust a little while back, I decided to see Dialogues of the Carmélites by Francis Poulenc (1899–1963). Premiered in 1957, this is not your momma’s opera. There are no soaring arias, grand quartets, very few choruses and none of the standard love duos/triangles, et al. Instead, we have sung dialogue.

This is essentially a coming of age story for Blanche de la Force. Unfortunately, that age is the French Revolution. The Marquis de la Force and his son, the Chevalier, are worried about their daughter/sister Blanche—her carriage has been held up by a mob as she is returning home. She makes light of it but is really spooked later and decides to become a nun.

Even though she truly is seeking refuge, she convinces the prioress, Madame de Croissy, that she is totally dedicated. As a novice, Blanche befriends another novice, Sister Constance, and they discuss their fears of death. Blanche is put to the test while caring for the aging and ill Mme. de Croissy. After Mme. de Croissy dies, Sister Blanche and Sister Constance are required to keep vigil. Blanche is so upset that she almost runs away but is calmed by mother Marie.

Things in the country are taking a turn for the worse, and Blanche’s brother comes to visit her at the convent. Their scene, as he tells her that he is fleeing the country and tries to convince her to return to her father, is the closest thing we get to a duet. Blanche is worried and also tempted, but remains adamant about staying with her sisters. Next, the chaplain is denied being able to perform his duties, and the nuns soon are to be expelled from their convent. The sisters decide to take a secret vote, which needs to be unanimous, to take a vow of martyrdom. There is concern that Blanche may dissent; there is indeed one dissenting vote. Sister Constance claims that it was hers and wants to change it. Blanche, fearing to live and fearing to die, flees the convent. The sisters are led away.

When Blanche returns home, she is forced to work as a servant—her father has been sent to the guillotine. Mother Marie finds Blanche and takes her back to join her sisters, who have just been read their death sentence.

At the Place de la Revolution, a crowd has gathered to see the nuns martyred. The new prioress, Madame Lidoine, leads the procession as the sisters sing the Salve Regina. With each thunk of the guillotine, the sound of the sisters weakens. Just as Sister Constance, the last one heading upstage, begins her walk, Blanche arrives and decides that, yes, she must be with her sisters. Sister Constance disappears upstage; then Blanche leaves the stage, and this world, too. The Salve Regina has ended and so has the opera.

The singing throughout was very good, with an evenly strong cast. One interesting point is that the characters were differentiated mainly by the style of vocal writing, as they were all costumed so similarly. Poulenc’s music was always compelling, and some of the orchestral writing reminded me of the harmonies and chord progressions found in his sacred choral compositions. The staging was clean and clear, including the opening, where all of the nuns were prostrate on the cross-shaped floor of their convent. This is a challenging opera, with a gripping story, that was given a very good performance. At the curtain call, Mme. de Croissy, Felicity Palmer, got the biggest ovation. Amazing what an onstage death scene will get you.

I had bought a standing room ticket and it was a long evening, but one that I’m very glad I spent at the Metropolitan Opera. Brava, indeed!

ConcertMeister

Canta Libre Chamber Ensemble (5/5/13)

This was a delightful program with Francisca Mendoza (violin), Veronica Salas (viola), Bernard Tomosaitis (cello), Karen Lindquist (harp), and Sally Shorrock (flute). The entire quintet played most of the works but there was also a variety of other groupings.

The Program

Cinq Sonates de Domenico Scarlatti (Alla burlesca, Andante mosso, Vivacissimo, risoluto, Pastorale, Vivo), Jean Francaix (1912–1997); Claire de Lune, Claude Debussy (1862–1918), arr. by Brian Noel; Prelude, Marine et Chansons (Ben moderato, Adagietto, Allegro giocoso),
J. Guy Ropartz (1864–1955); Deux Interludes (Andante Espressive, Allegro Vivo), Jacques Ibert (1890–1962); Passacaglia on a Theme by G.F. Handel, Johan Halvorsen (1864–1935); and Suite of Five Dances (Passepied-Promenade, Minuet, Samba, Waltz, Country Reel), Michael Amorosi (1947–2000).

The Francaix’s movements were (1) cheerful, slightly frisky, (2) chorale like—sober but not somber, (3) perky, with a sort of holiday vibe, (4) gentle and charming, and (5) pleasant. This work, and the entire afternoon, was generally very tonal with music that was fun to listen to. Clair de Lune, sans harp, was a nicely lush arrangement that didn’t go overboard at all.

The Ropartz had a rolling, forward movement feeling without being too frantic. In the second movement, there was a hint of darkness/danger followed by a return to lightness. The third movement had fragments of sea shanties, and a slightly spikier feeling that I bet seemed trés moderne to the original audiences.

The Ibert was a flute, harp, viola trio that had good interplay between the instruments. I especially liked the way that most of the phrases and sections ended fully, without fading away. The second movement had very rapid playing for harp and viola, then for the flute as well. There were also some Spanish influences toward the end.

The Halvorsen was a violin, cello duo, with a dramatic opening, shifting phrases, and variations being tossed back and forth. Though there was bravura writing and playing, this piece was not really my favorite of the afternoon.

The Amorosi dances were, respectively, (1) bright and brisk, but not taken too far;
(2) classical in form with sweet phrases; (3) driven by a Latin beat provided by pizzicato cello—no bow used throughout—themes with a Latin flair, and a nice flourish to end with;
(4) dreamy via themes at the opening and, per spoken program notes, bittersweet, brief, and pretty; (5) providing an almost-perpetual-motion feel, perking along but also with a few more relaxed moments along the way.

Throughout the afternoon, I really did get a chamber music feeling—these players were attuned to each others’ rhythms and performances. The concert was a great combination of instruments and a nice combination of pieces—some similarities but with the right touch of variety.

ConcertMeister

More Silents, Please! (5/4/13)

Saturday saw the last of a three-part series dedicated to Harold Lloyd’s 120th birthday celebration from The Silent Clowns. The short was Never Weaken (1921) followed by For Heaven’s Sake (1926). Both were chosen to show two aspects of Mr. Lloyd’s “glasses” character as well as to highlight the work of two of his three major leading ladies.

Never Weaken, a three-reel “thrill” comedy, has Harold as an office worker trying to come up in the world. His girlfriend, Mildred (Mildred Davies, eventually the real Mrs. Harold Lloyd) is a worker in the office next to his. They are smitten with each other and he assumes that they will be man and wife. When he sees her jump into the arms of another man who says, “Of course I will marry you!” he is despondent and decides to end his life. Poison is just too distasteful (literally) so he rigs a gun to go off and shoot him when his office door is opened from the outside. Blindfolded and waiting, he is startled when he hears a bang, which was only a light bulb exploding, and suddenly he feels himself soaring into the air. A girder from a nearby construction site has sailed in through his window and carted his chair and him high above the city.

After taking the blindfold off, seeing an angel, which is really statuary as a decoration on another building, the “thrill” portion begins, as he cavorts from one beam to another, having many close calls, and finally making it down to earth again. At that point, he learns what we’ve known all along—the “other man” is really Mildred’s brother who has just been ordained, so of course he’ll be happy to marry her—to Harold!

For Heaven’s Sake has Harold as an uptown swell, J. Harold Manners, who manages to have an expensive car ruined when his chauffer wrecks it. Nonplussed, he goes right out and buys a second expensive car and proceeds to ruin that one as well. Meanwhile, he also manages to ruin Brother Paul’s mission coffee cart by pouring gasoline on a small fire! In making up for that, he gives Brother Paul a check for $1,000—enough to actually start a mission, instead of just another coffee cart.

When he finds his name attached to the mission, he goes right downtown to tear the sign down. (Apparently not knowing the value of a coffee cart versus an actual building, he didn’t realize that he was, indeed, responsible.) When he meets Brother John’s daughter, Hope (Jobyna Ralston, the third of Mr. Lloyd’s leading ladies), he falls for her, and hard. In trying to make sure that the mission has enough clientele, J. Harold  goes through a hilarious scene where he gets all sorts of fellas to chase him, then they chase someone else, then they finally chase him to the mission and become quite the congregation.

With J. Harold planning to marry Hope, his uptown swells kidnap him on his wedding day and take him back uptown. After the downtown thugs, decked out in their rented finery, have consumed quite a bit of alcohol, they hightail it uptown, rescue J. Harold from the uptown swells and hilarity ensues as J. Harold shepherds them back to the mission—just in time to marry Hope. All’s well that ends well!

From some of the onstage program notes before the films were shown, we learned that For Heaven’s Sake, while not being one of Lloyd’s favorites, and having portions of it re-shot and re-edited, was extremely popular and made more than $2 million—in 1926. As usual, Ben Model offered great piano accompaniment, though there was one flub when some sheet music fell off of the music desk. Also of note was that there were specific songs referred to in the film—Onward Christian Soldiers (if I’m remembering correctly) and I’m Falling in Love with Someone (by Victor Herbert); Mr. Model eased into and out of them effortlessly through his improvised score. Fun films, with lots of laughs. Happy 120th,
Mr. Lloyd!

ConcertMeister

p.s. It was probably the nice weather, but this was the first time that this series was not a full house. There weren't tons of empty seats but there were a few.