Good Knights (6/24/14)

A beautiful summer evening saw the first concert in the 109th season of the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, featuring The Knights, a nifty small orchestra based in New York.

Quintet in C major Op. 30, No. 6, “La Musica Notturna delle strade di Madrid” – Luigi Boccherini (1743–1805)
Mozart “Coronation” Concerto – Re-Composition – I. Allegro, II. (Larghetto), III. (Allegretto) – Timo Andres (1985–)
Light Screens – Andrew Norman (1979–)
Three Places in New England – I. The “St. Gaudens” in Boston Common
(Col. Shaw and his colored Regiment), II. Putnam’s Camp, Redding Connecticut,
III. The Housatonic at Stockbridge – Charles Ives (1874–1954)

The Andres and Ives were conducted by Eric Jacobsen while the Boccherini and the Norman (a quartet) were played sans conductor. A thoroughly charming piece, the Boccherini had eight small (not quite miniature) movements—the first had plucked pizzicato chords, simulating bells, and the second was all, or mostly all, percussion/drums. These were followed by a gentle dance, a simple but beautiful fourth movement, a fifth that was repetitive and increased in volume and speed, martial drums in the sixth, and capping off with the final movement of quite rhythmic, full string sound, tying everything together.

The re-composed Mozart concerto was a hit, as far as I’m concerned. Here’s the deal—as originally published, Mozart had many, many empty bars for the left hand of the solo piano part. He was playing it; he knew what he wanted to do; he did it. Later, publishers filled in those bars with what they thought Mozart would have done. The pianist/“composer” here played his own version of music for the left hand. Yes, indeed, the orchestra played pure Mozart, while the pianist played Mozart (right hand) and Andres (left hand). So we had jazz riffs, different types of scales, etc. I had an “Aha!” moment when I realized that it was akin to an organist re-harmonizing a hymn tune. It reminded me of Victor Borge, but not played for laughs. I’m sure there are many who feel that Mozart’s music should not be trifled with. I didn’t consider this trifling at all.

After intermission, Alex Sopp, flute; Colin Jacobsen, violin; Miranda Sielaff, viola; and Eric Jacobsen, cello played Light Screens (apparently inspired by stained glass window designs of Frank Lloyd Wright). The piece was modern in style, rhythmic, with a slight touch of bluegrass. I was sensing forward motion—maybe a train? The openness of the writing could signify light screens and stained glass, but it seemed a little forced to me. I also got echoes of Aaron Copland.

The first of the three movements of the Ives was slightly amorphous with a pastiche of dissonances. I found myself wondering what type of reception it might have gotten at its premiere in 1931—by that, I mean that while sounding modern to me (but not too far out or inaccessible), I wonder how a ‘new’ style like that fared back then. Just musing. The second movement was much more focused though still with pastiche qualities. The final movement was calm, similar to the first movement, but then had a tighter control and was, at times, shimmering and liquid. I liked the piece but was not bowled over.

That said, The Knights are top notch in my book (they’re also playing the third of this five-concert series), and I aim to be at all five of the Naumburg concerts this summer. They are a real New York treasure—both the concerts and The Knights.

ConcertMeister