The company I work at usually gives each person in our department a gift card for the holidays, and this year was no exception. What was an exception is that instead of holding on to mine and using it for mundane things throughout the new year, I treated myself to a splurge after I’d heard about an Off-Broadway production of Once Upon a Mattress. I saw a matinee on the day after Christmas and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. First, the downer. In a 300-seat theater, not every actor needs a microphone; certainly the 12-piece orchestra does not. Unless there was some sort of sound mixing going on. There. Mini-rant over.
The above-the-title names were Jackie Hoffman, as Winnifred the Woebegone, and John “Lypsinka” Epperson, as Queen Aggravain. Both performers were superb. Ms. Hoffman created her own persona that stands apart from the hallmark performance by Carol Burnett in the original. Winnifred’s introduction to the court, where she’ll be tested to prove that she’s a real princess, informs us that she’s SHY! She was a powerhouse in her other numbers as well, and gave a really swell performance. Bringing the “Lypsinka” persona to Aggravain seemed a little odd at first, but in actuality it worked out quite well. She was very, very amusing, without steamrolling the rest of the company.
The plot is a reimagining of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. Here, mummy (Aggravain) is desperately trying not to find a mate for her son Dauntless the Drab. She schemes with a Wizard, while King Sextimus, who is mute, is in cahoots with The Minstrel and The Jester in trying to make sure that Dauntless gets Fred (that’s what her friends call her), if that’s what he really wants. And he does, both wants her and claims her as his bride. The score, by Mary Rodgers, is a little uneven, especially in the second act, where some of the songs seem almost like vaudeville-style fillers. And some of the dance music seemed a little trite and cliché. But once again, those are minor quibbles.
In fairy-tale fashion, the sets were minimal, with line drawings featured for some of the set pieces as well as a curtain that was brought in and out by actors at various times. What was also delightful was that there were line drawings projected on to the back wall of the stage that were then altered by adding details and color—and all of this was done, live, by Ken Fallin, who created all of the illustrations. Very clever.
The score does not have a lot of recognizable song titles (to me, at least), but I especially enjoyed Many Moons Ago, sung by the Minstrel (Hunter Ryan Herdlicka) and The Minstrel, The Jester and I sung by Mr. Herdlicka, Cory Lingner (The Jester), and not sung by David Greenspan (Sextimus). That said, a little mime goes a long way, though it was effectively done. Happily Ever After was also nicely done by Ms. Hoffman, while In a Little While (a duet sung by Jessica Fontana and Zak Resnik) was pretty, if a little on the saccharine side.
I had a wonderful afternoon at a beautiful small theater, seeing a charmer of a musical. And the Prince gets the Princess! I’m really happy I splurged.
ConcertMeister
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Something Old … Something New (12/19-20/15)
As Something Old, for (I think) the fourth year in a row, I went Christmas caroling in Greenwich Village on Saturday. The meeting place was Judson Memorial Church on Washington Square South and the event was under the auspices of the West Village Chorale. Our group leader (I was in Group 3—I’m not sure how many they had in all) was the new conductor of the Chorale and he was certainly very energetic. A few of his starting pitches turned out to be a little on the high side, though none was totally out of range. And some of the carols were less than familiar to some of our group—I Saw Three Ships and Good King Wenceslas were some of those. And we sang Jingle Bells once and Rudolph twice, but no Joy to the World or We Three Kings. Fortunately, the weather was nice, if slightly breezy and chilly. It made singing “Heedless of the wind and weather” quite appropriate. Fa-la-la-la-la, indeed! Depending, of course, on the weather, I’ll probably go back for more next year.
The Something New was actually pretty old. I happened to see a little notice for a reading of “A Visit from Saint Nicholas,” by Clement Clarke Moore. Sunday’s event was the 105th annual reading at the Church of the Intercession at 155th Street and Broadway. The service was at 4:00pm, with a music program (about an hour) as a prelude. Several groups took part, including the Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem Alumni Ensemble; a handbell choir from the Church of the Good Shepherd, Bronx, NY; Uptown Brass (Artists in Residence at Intercession); and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City at Washington Heights. During the service itself, all of those groups performed again, plus singers from the New York Institute for Special Education, the Trinity-St. John’s Liturgical Dancers, and William C. Rhoden (a sportswriter for The New York Times), reading the poem, accompanied by Ron Carter, bass (a Guinness World Record holder as the most recorded jazz bassist).
Highlights of the prelude were Let It Snow!, and an up tempo Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (Alumni Ensemble); various hymns from the handbell choir; a mix of classical and seasonal (Uptown Brass); and Christmastime Is Here (Young People’s Chorus). This may be something that is done with some frequency, but when the choir sang the “loo-loo-loo, loo-loo” portion, they pointed their faces up to the sky, evoking (to me, at least) Snoopy. It was new to me, and it was utterly charming.
As I mentioned earlier, it was indeed a church service, but one that was low key—lots of applause for the various groups, most everyone wearing antlers supplied by the church, and the Priest-in-Charge donning a Rudolph-style red nose at one point. For the reading itself, all of the children were invited to come to the front of the church and sit with Mr. Rhoden and Mr. Carter. The bass added some nice aural punctuation, and Mr. Rhoden’s reading had just the right touches of drama. And of course, the kids joined in with him a couple of times. At the end of the service, there was a procession to Moore’s grave across Broadway for the laying of a wreath. I didn’t actually join in the procession, but I did follow along, saw the wreath and the gravestone, and then skedaddled. I’m glad I went early for the prelude, because the church really filled up, but at an hour it was a bit too long, especially when the service ran about an hour, followed by the procession to the grave. While the whole thing was fun, I don’t think this one will be an annual tradition for me. And that is probably the last of my holiday music fun, although there might be some singing when I volunteer at a senior center on Christmas morning. So, in the spirit of Clement Clarke Moore, “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
ConcertMeister
The Something New was actually pretty old. I happened to see a little notice for a reading of “A Visit from Saint Nicholas,” by Clement Clarke Moore. Sunday’s event was the 105th annual reading at the Church of the Intercession at 155th Street and Broadway. The service was at 4:00pm, with a music program (about an hour) as a prelude. Several groups took part, including the Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem Alumni Ensemble; a handbell choir from the Church of the Good Shepherd, Bronx, NY; Uptown Brass (Artists in Residence at Intercession); and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City at Washington Heights. During the service itself, all of those groups performed again, plus singers from the New York Institute for Special Education, the Trinity-St. John’s Liturgical Dancers, and William C. Rhoden (a sportswriter for The New York Times), reading the poem, accompanied by Ron Carter, bass (a Guinness World Record holder as the most recorded jazz bassist).
Highlights of the prelude were Let It Snow!, and an up tempo Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (Alumni Ensemble); various hymns from the handbell choir; a mix of classical and seasonal (Uptown Brass); and Christmastime Is Here (Young People’s Chorus). This may be something that is done with some frequency, but when the choir sang the “loo-loo-loo, loo-loo” portion, they pointed their faces up to the sky, evoking (to me, at least) Snoopy. It was new to me, and it was utterly charming.
As I mentioned earlier, it was indeed a church service, but one that was low key—lots of applause for the various groups, most everyone wearing antlers supplied by the church, and the Priest-in-Charge donning a Rudolph-style red nose at one point. For the reading itself, all of the children were invited to come to the front of the church and sit with Mr. Rhoden and Mr. Carter. The bass added some nice aural punctuation, and Mr. Rhoden’s reading had just the right touches of drama. And of course, the kids joined in with him a couple of times. At the end of the service, there was a procession to Moore’s grave across Broadway for the laying of a wreath. I didn’t actually join in the procession, but I did follow along, saw the wreath and the gravestone, and then skedaddled. I’m glad I went early for the prelude, because the church really filled up, but at an hour it was a bit too long, especially when the service ran about an hour, followed by the procession to the grave. While the whole thing was fun, I don’t think this one will be an annual tradition for me. And that is probably the last of my holiday music fun, although there might be some singing when I volunteer at a senior center on Christmas morning. So, in the spirit of Clement Clarke Moore, “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
ConcertMeister
Friday, December 18, 2015
Holiday Songbook (12/12/15)
Featuring the music of mostly not-yet-known musical theater composers and lyricists, Songbook is always one of my favorite events, and Holiday Songbook ratchets that up a notch. First off, kudos to Cheryl D. Raymond from Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, John Znidarsic (host), and Erica Ruff (producer), for this excellent concert.
In this case, the songs are composed specifically for this concert or, as the first song on the program showed, from an existing musical. So they were mostly stand-alone songs. Clocking in at fifteen songs, it’s not really feasible to comment on every one of the composers, lyricists, and performers. Highlights it will have to be.
As mentioned above, the first song was One More Day, from the Hanukkah musical Broadway Sings the Odd Potato (music: Gail C. Bluestone; lyrics: Eileen Bluestone Sherman). It was winningly performed, by Andrea McArdle, as a nice ballad contemplating what we would do if we knew that we had one more day (or one more chance). Overall, it had a slightly plaintive melody/theme.
Michael R. Jackson’s Black Christmas was somewhat of a gentle protest song, featuring references to Ferguson/Baltimore, and Trayvon Martin (among others). The recurring refrain of “Black Christmas / Pop! Pop! /Silent Night / Violent Night” was very effective. Not your usual holiday music, but authors and composers need to say what they need to say.
On a slightly humorous note, So Over Santa (music: Natalie Tenenbaum, lyrics: Kevin Wanzor) was about a girl quizzing her single mommy about who her daddy is. Mommy refers to a “mistletoe liaison” and the girl finds out that her daddy is Santa! She finally goes to the North Pole to meet him and learns that he’s not quite entirely who he is perceived to be.
Nick Luckenbaugh’s idea of a Holiday Fix is, according to the lyrics, “Hit every party, make the eggnog stronger, and pour the wine a little longer” over and over and over again. You might just end up with a hangover that lasts ’til October.
What Child Is THIS!, by Katie Thompson, recounts the tale of a harried mom putting her thirteen children to bed. When she gets to tucking in the thirteenth, she realizes that she can’t remember the child’s name—or birthday, even. Finally she recalls that it’s Chris, born on (of course) December 25th, her only hermaphrodite child. Funny, yet touching, stuff.
Christmas in New York (music: Joseph Trefler, lyrics: Bill Nelson) was a
classic throwback to the Tin Pan Alley era of songwriting. Here we had a dynamite
Danyel Fulton singing about taking folks to visit iconic NYC spots at Christmastime—Macy’s, Rockefeller Center, Fifth Avenue, skating in the park—backed up by a crackerjack vocal quartet. You know me, if there’s real vocal harmony it’s high on my list of favorites. This was an A+ (I literally wrote A+ in the margin of my program).
Another crowd pleaser (and ’Meister pleaser) was The Christmas Tree Blues (music: Derek Gregor, lyrics: Sam Carner), given a tour-de-force performance by an, um, imaginatively costumed Kristofer Holz. Indeed, he was as “blue as any evergreen could be.” With an appropriate tribute to an Elvis type of sound, the lyrics also included, “I think I’m on my last ring.” I didn’t take any more notes because I was laughing so much.
Not all of the new songs hit the mark exactly, but there were no real clunkers either. And musical styles ranged from contemporary country to modern classical (an
a cappella quartet version of Ave Maria). And I just realized that there was one more piece from an existing musical. When I Come Home (music: Paul D Mills; lyrics: Danielle Trczinski), from Non-Equity: The Musical, was a nicely constructed quartet that had each individual reiterating the theme that “with you beside me, I’m never alone.” It then morphed into a duet/duet/quartet structure that was quite nice to experience.
Rounding out the concert was Like It’s Christmas Time (music: Jenna Pasqua; lyrics: Jenna Pasqua and Annie Pasqua), about a fellow who has to be away from home every Christmas eve—but promises his wife that he’ll be back before sunrise. Part of its refrain was, “Ho-ho-home, meet me under the mistletoe.” It was fun, if just a bit bittersweet. And sometimes that’s what Christmas is.
ConcertMeister
In this case, the songs are composed specifically for this concert or, as the first song on the program showed, from an existing musical. So they were mostly stand-alone songs. Clocking in at fifteen songs, it’s not really feasible to comment on every one of the composers, lyricists, and performers. Highlights it will have to be.
As mentioned above, the first song was One More Day, from the Hanukkah musical Broadway Sings the Odd Potato (music: Gail C. Bluestone; lyrics: Eileen Bluestone Sherman). It was winningly performed, by Andrea McArdle, as a nice ballad contemplating what we would do if we knew that we had one more day (or one more chance). Overall, it had a slightly plaintive melody/theme.
Michael R. Jackson’s Black Christmas was somewhat of a gentle protest song, featuring references to Ferguson/Baltimore, and Trayvon Martin (among others). The recurring refrain of “Black Christmas / Pop! Pop! /Silent Night / Violent Night” was very effective. Not your usual holiday music, but authors and composers need to say what they need to say.
On a slightly humorous note, So Over Santa (music: Natalie Tenenbaum, lyrics: Kevin Wanzor) was about a girl quizzing her single mommy about who her daddy is. Mommy refers to a “mistletoe liaison” and the girl finds out that her daddy is Santa! She finally goes to the North Pole to meet him and learns that he’s not quite entirely who he is perceived to be.
Nick Luckenbaugh’s idea of a Holiday Fix is, according to the lyrics, “Hit every party, make the eggnog stronger, and pour the wine a little longer” over and over and over again. You might just end up with a hangover that lasts ’til October.
What Child Is THIS!, by Katie Thompson, recounts the tale of a harried mom putting her thirteen children to bed. When she gets to tucking in the thirteenth, she realizes that she can’t remember the child’s name—or birthday, even. Finally she recalls that it’s Chris, born on (of course) December 25th, her only hermaphrodite child. Funny, yet touching, stuff.
Christmas in New York (music: Joseph Trefler, lyrics: Bill Nelson) was a
classic throwback to the Tin Pan Alley era of songwriting. Here we had a dynamite
Danyel Fulton singing about taking folks to visit iconic NYC spots at Christmastime—Macy’s, Rockefeller Center, Fifth Avenue, skating in the park—backed up by a crackerjack vocal quartet. You know me, if there’s real vocal harmony it’s high on my list of favorites. This was an A+ (I literally wrote A+ in the margin of my program).
Another crowd pleaser (and ’Meister pleaser) was The Christmas Tree Blues (music: Derek Gregor, lyrics: Sam Carner), given a tour-de-force performance by an, um, imaginatively costumed Kristofer Holz. Indeed, he was as “blue as any evergreen could be.” With an appropriate tribute to an Elvis type of sound, the lyrics also included, “I think I’m on my last ring.” I didn’t take any more notes because I was laughing so much.
Not all of the new songs hit the mark exactly, but there were no real clunkers either. And musical styles ranged from contemporary country to modern classical (an
a cappella quartet version of Ave Maria). And I just realized that there was one more piece from an existing musical. When I Come Home (music: Paul D Mills; lyrics: Danielle Trczinski), from Non-Equity: The Musical, was a nicely constructed quartet that had each individual reiterating the theme that “with you beside me, I’m never alone.” It then morphed into a duet/duet/quartet structure that was quite nice to experience.
Rounding out the concert was Like It’s Christmas Time (music: Jenna Pasqua; lyrics: Jenna Pasqua and Annie Pasqua), about a fellow who has to be away from home every Christmas eve—but promises his wife that he’ll be back before sunrise. Part of its refrain was, “Ho-ho-home, meet me under the mistletoe.” It was fun, if just a bit bittersweet. And sometimes that’s what Christmas is.
ConcertMeister
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Odds ’n’ Ends (11/21/15; 12/3/15; 12/6/15)
Saturday, 11/21 (pre-Thanksgiving travels), found me at Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, one of my favorite ‘go-to’ venues, for the inaugural concert of Millennium Chamber Symphony’s “Americana Sounds” with Piano & Orchestra. Just three works on the program, but they all had some good things going for them. MCS is a group devoted to developing the talents of aspiring young artists while also exposing them to working with established and international artists, a lofty goal that was pretty well met on the Saturday in question.
Adagio for Strings, Opus 11 (1939) – Samuel Barber (1910–1981);
Daniela Candillari, conductor
Theme and Variations on “Red River Valley” for Flute and Strings (1996) –
David Amram (b. 1930); David Amram, conductor; Marco Granados, flute
Rhapsody in Blue for Piano and Orchestra (1924), Score by Ferde Grofé (Theater Orchestra Version) – George Gershwin (1898–1937); Daniela Candillari, conductor; Alexander Wu, piano
The Adagio is a very transparent work and, while beautiful, suffered a little bit at the hands of the young string players. The playing was just a bit tentative, though that could have been nerves, seeing that this was indeed the inaugural concert.
Mr. Amram conducted his piece, and while hearing the distinction between individual variations was slightly lost, the piece (and his conducting) had a lot of energy, and the players responded accordingly. Mr. Granados also acquitted himself quite well. I liked the piece, and it’s a real joy to hear pieces by living composers, in this case with the composer at the helm of the orchestra. Mr. Amram also spoke from the stage, and it was obvious that he had a real affection for these young artists. I hope I’m as active as he is when I’m 85!
One of the main draws for me is hearing pieces like the Gershwin live, with no sound mixing, the way you would hear them on recordings or even via (I think, though I might be making this part up) live broadcasts, i.e., a radio or TV broadcast of an open air concert. Here, Mr. Wu was at the back of the stage, with the strings and woodwinds stage right and the brass stage left. For the most part, balances were pretty good, though once the brass players got going, their exuberance sometimes overpowered. I think the young musicians learned a bit during the afternoon, and maybe the established musicians did, and definitely the audience did. Win, win, win!
Wednesday, 12/3, found me outdoors after work in northernmost Central Park for a tree lighting. For those of you who know me ‘in person,’ you know that I’m not much of a sweets person. But when in Rome, er, Central Park for a holiday event, go for a small cup of hot chocolate and a sugar cookie—so I did. Santa Claus was on hand, with Mrs. Claus, and the kids seemed to be having a good time. An a cappella quartet, the Mistletones, provided a mix of traditional, doo-wop, and close harmony holiday songs, and there was the requisite politician on hand, as well. But the real star was the BIG wall switch—when flipped, trees out on an island in the Harlem Meer were lit up to applause and oohs, and ahhs. God bless us, every one!
Sunday, 12/6, found me at tree lighting number two—Carl Schurz Park, with the requisite politicians (four! one of whom arrived late and was NOT the mayor), plus I Cantori (singers) and Orbital Brass (duh! brass).
Three or four a cappella songs were followed by a countdown to lighting the tree, sans big light switch, and then a carol/holiday sing-a-long. Lots of fun. This was my third or fourth time attending, and as the weather was really great, I decided to forgo hot chocolate and a cookie. Walking home, the wind picked up a bit, but this was much warmer than in years past.
A couple more community caroling events are in my future, I hope. I'll fill you in.
ConcertMeister
Adagio for Strings, Opus 11 (1939) – Samuel Barber (1910–1981);
Daniela Candillari, conductor
Theme and Variations on “Red River Valley” for Flute and Strings (1996) –
David Amram (b. 1930); David Amram, conductor; Marco Granados, flute
Rhapsody in Blue for Piano and Orchestra (1924), Score by Ferde Grofé (Theater Orchestra Version) – George Gershwin (1898–1937); Daniela Candillari, conductor; Alexander Wu, piano
The Adagio is a very transparent work and, while beautiful, suffered a little bit at the hands of the young string players. The playing was just a bit tentative, though that could have been nerves, seeing that this was indeed the inaugural concert.
Mr. Amram conducted his piece, and while hearing the distinction between individual variations was slightly lost, the piece (and his conducting) had a lot of energy, and the players responded accordingly. Mr. Granados also acquitted himself quite well. I liked the piece, and it’s a real joy to hear pieces by living composers, in this case with the composer at the helm of the orchestra. Mr. Amram also spoke from the stage, and it was obvious that he had a real affection for these young artists. I hope I’m as active as he is when I’m 85!
One of the main draws for me is hearing pieces like the Gershwin live, with no sound mixing, the way you would hear them on recordings or even via (I think, though I might be making this part up) live broadcasts, i.e., a radio or TV broadcast of an open air concert. Here, Mr. Wu was at the back of the stage, with the strings and woodwinds stage right and the brass stage left. For the most part, balances were pretty good, though once the brass players got going, their exuberance sometimes overpowered. I think the young musicians learned a bit during the afternoon, and maybe the established musicians did, and definitely the audience did. Win, win, win!
Wednesday, 12/3, found me outdoors after work in northernmost Central Park for a tree lighting. For those of you who know me ‘in person,’ you know that I’m not much of a sweets person. But when in Rome, er, Central Park for a holiday event, go for a small cup of hot chocolate and a sugar cookie—so I did. Santa Claus was on hand, with Mrs. Claus, and the kids seemed to be having a good time. An a cappella quartet, the Mistletones, provided a mix of traditional, doo-wop, and close harmony holiday songs, and there was the requisite politician on hand, as well. But the real star was the BIG wall switch—when flipped, trees out on an island in the Harlem Meer were lit up to applause and oohs, and ahhs. God bless us, every one!
Sunday, 12/6, found me at tree lighting number two—Carl Schurz Park, with the requisite politicians (four! one of whom arrived late and was NOT the mayor), plus I Cantori (singers) and Orbital Brass (duh! brass).
Three or four a cappella songs were followed by a countdown to lighting the tree, sans big light switch, and then a carol/holiday sing-a-long. Lots of fun. This was my third or fourth time attending, and as the weather was really great, I decided to forgo hot chocolate and a cookie. Walking home, the wind picked up a bit, but this was much warmer than in years past.
A couple more community caroling events are in my future, I hope. I'll fill you in.
ConcertMeister
Thursday, December 3, 2015
November Songbook (11/30/15)
Recorded reminder : Songbook is a showcase for up and coming theater composers.
In this iteration, Matthew Lee Robinson provided book, music and lyrics. Six songs from Happy People and eight from Atlantis were performed on Monday evening. What I really enjoyed this time around was getting a feel for the shows as a whole—some other times, songs by new writers are presented, but sort of scattered throughout the program.
So, Happy People follows the cast of a children’s TV show, both on and off the air, including some backstage intrigue. The opening number on Monday evening was indeed the opening number of Happy People, titled (appropriately enough) Happy People. Each of the four TV characters had a bit of an individual intro and then all four sang together. It was a nice compositional device used to good effect. Sally’s List was an “I Want” number, all about what she’s looking for in the perfect partner, in her case, a man.
We got a touch of drama with See Me, a song sung by the actor who plays a costumed character on the TV show. He wants people to look past the Edison [edited] the Elephant costume and see the man as he really is. Easy for You was an angry duet that worked well enough but probably works a little better in the context of the show. Young was a nice “story” song that I liked but that I wanted to like better than I did.
And then there was Boyband. It’s a song by and about a guy who really, really, really wants to be in a boyband (surprise! this was also taken from the real-life desire of the composer). With clever lyrics that included (and I’m paraphrasing here) “I’m a boy with a hair brush / praying to MTV,” this was a tour de force song and performance. Along the way, we got snippets of story line provided by
Mr. Robinson, who also accompanied all of the pieces on piano, ably assisted by a percussionist, Philip Coiro.
I bring up snippets of story line because that ties in directly with some of the music and tone of Atlantis. In the workshop process for Atlantis, Mr. Robinson has been mentored by Stephen Schwarz and has had some input from representatives of Disney Theatrical Group, among others. In fact, one of the Disney guys said something along the lines of “don’t try to write a Disney musical, write a musical.” Where Happy People has a great deal of upbeat, cute musical styles, owing to the subject matter of a children’s TV show, Atlantis is far more moody.
Prologue was sung by four female performers singing nice harmonies, with a more organic, tribal musical language. Will Run is sung by the heir apparent to the mythical land of Atlantis, and while it’s a nice song, it maybe needs to fight against the Disney style alluded to earlier by the composer.
You Don’t Know Her was a trio by our young hero and his parents, relating to the outsider who has captured the boy’s heart (and certainly his imagination). The song had a nice rhythmic setup that then went into a Stephen Sondheim/Andrew Lloyd Webber groove, in a good way. All of Mr. Robinson’s songs were well crafted, as in you’re not aware of how well crafted they are until after the fact, and they're pretty much all singable and interesting. And while Mr. Robinson is credited with the book, his partner (and recent fiancé) has been contributing greatly to the story line as the creative process continues.
What Are We Waiting For? was an “I/We Want” power duet that was just a bit formulaic, while Let’s Start a War was the real power ballad, dealing with unrequited love, with a slightly dark edge to it. Are You There? was a bit of an emotionally one note existential crisis song that reminded me somewhat of Gethsemane (see ALW, above). No One Will Bruise was also quite powerful (maybe too much of a good thing?) that didn’t quite send me though it was an audience favorite.
Sun brought back our four female singers as the solstice festival approached, and finished with a nice mix of tribal/rock/pop/contemporary soul feeling—plus, once again, some good old-fashioned harmony.
Mr. Robinson is a gifted composer/lyricist who assembled a great, talented cast that presented his music in a great light. He’s got his own website (who doesn’t, except you, ’Meister?), www.matthewleerobinson.com, so you can probably hear some of his stuff for yourselves. Maybe give it a try? I liked an awful lot of what I heard, and I liked it an awful lot.
ConcertMeister
In this iteration, Matthew Lee Robinson provided book, music and lyrics. Six songs from Happy People and eight from Atlantis were performed on Monday evening. What I really enjoyed this time around was getting a feel for the shows as a whole—some other times, songs by new writers are presented, but sort of scattered throughout the program.
So, Happy People follows the cast of a children’s TV show, both on and off the air, including some backstage intrigue. The opening number on Monday evening was indeed the opening number of Happy People, titled (appropriately enough) Happy People. Each of the four TV characters had a bit of an individual intro and then all four sang together. It was a nice compositional device used to good effect. Sally’s List was an “I Want” number, all about what she’s looking for in the perfect partner, in her case, a man.
We got a touch of drama with See Me, a song sung by the actor who plays a costumed character on the TV show. He wants people to look past the Edison [edited] the Elephant costume and see the man as he really is. Easy for You was an angry duet that worked well enough but probably works a little better in the context of the show. Young was a nice “story” song that I liked but that I wanted to like better than I did.
And then there was Boyband. It’s a song by and about a guy who really, really, really wants to be in a boyband (surprise! this was also taken from the real-life desire of the composer). With clever lyrics that included (and I’m paraphrasing here) “I’m a boy with a hair brush / praying to MTV,” this was a tour de force song and performance. Along the way, we got snippets of story line provided by
Mr. Robinson, who also accompanied all of the pieces on piano, ably assisted by a percussionist, Philip Coiro.
I bring up snippets of story line because that ties in directly with some of the music and tone of Atlantis. In the workshop process for Atlantis, Mr. Robinson has been mentored by Stephen Schwarz and has had some input from representatives of Disney Theatrical Group, among others. In fact, one of the Disney guys said something along the lines of “don’t try to write a Disney musical, write a musical.” Where Happy People has a great deal of upbeat, cute musical styles, owing to the subject matter of a children’s TV show, Atlantis is far more moody.
Prologue was sung by four female performers singing nice harmonies, with a more organic, tribal musical language. Will Run is sung by the heir apparent to the mythical land of Atlantis, and while it’s a nice song, it maybe needs to fight against the Disney style alluded to earlier by the composer.
You Don’t Know Her was a trio by our young hero and his parents, relating to the outsider who has captured the boy’s heart (and certainly his imagination). The song had a nice rhythmic setup that then went into a Stephen Sondheim/Andrew Lloyd Webber groove, in a good way. All of Mr. Robinson’s songs were well crafted, as in you’re not aware of how well crafted they are until after the fact, and they're pretty much all singable and interesting. And while Mr. Robinson is credited with the book, his partner (and recent fiancé) has been contributing greatly to the story line as the creative process continues.
What Are We Waiting For? was an “I/We Want” power duet that was just a bit formulaic, while Let’s Start a War was the real power ballad, dealing with unrequited love, with a slightly dark edge to it. Are You There? was a bit of an emotionally one note existential crisis song that reminded me somewhat of Gethsemane (see ALW, above). No One Will Bruise was also quite powerful (maybe too much of a good thing?) that didn’t quite send me though it was an audience favorite.
Sun brought back our four female singers as the solstice festival approached, and finished with a nice mix of tribal/rock/pop/contemporary soul feeling—plus, once again, some good old-fashioned harmony.
Mr. Robinson is a gifted composer/lyricist who assembled a great, talented cast that presented his music in a great light. He’s got his own website (who doesn’t, except you, ’Meister?), www.matthewleerobinson.com, so you can probably hear some of his stuff for yourselves. Maybe give it a try? I liked an awful lot of what I heard, and I liked it an awful lot.
ConcertMeister
Friday, November 20, 2015
Tonality Listens to Itself, A Lecture Recital (11/12/15)
Well, that's quite a mouthful! Pianist Daniel Beliavsky began the evening by tossing that title right out the window, as he said that after having created it months earlier, he realized that it would probably take at least five lecture recitals to fully cover the subject. Instead, he focused on how the listener reacts to tonality, especially the much simpler relationships between tension and resolution of harmony and tonality. I’ve heard Mr. Beliavsky in the past, and I’ve always liked how his recitals have a touch of the lecture recital about them. As an expanded version of that, this was good, but almost a little too formal for me. I guess I just prefer lecture recital lite. [Full disclosure—I have heard Dr. (Ph.D) Beliavsky play some of these pieces (and parts thereof) previously. I actually did a search of my own blog.]
Ballad in Yellow – David Del Tredici (b. 1937)
Impromptu, Op. 90, No. 3 – Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Prelude, Op. 3, No. 2; Prelude, Op. 23, No. 5 – Sergei Rachmaninoff
(1873–1943)
Etude, Op. 2, No. 1; Etude, Op.8, No. 12 – Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915)
Ballade, Op. 23, No. 1 – Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)
Ballad in Yellow was sort of a wash of sounds, with phrases that were recognizable as tunes. While mostly gentle, there were a few more dramatic moments, with a fairly extensive louder, powerful section, finishing with a totally tonal solid chord. In true lecture-recital style, Mr. Beliavsky then discussed the work. It turns out that it is a transcription of a song written by Mr. Del Tredici. Ha! I knew that those phrases were recognizable as tunes—they were tunes. He then played the piece a second time, with a suggestion beforehand that knowing more about the piece might enhance or change our understanding of it. I stuck with my original impressions. Before continuing with the program as printed, Mr. Beliavsky provided examples of the previously discussed tension/resolution/tonality situation by playing a part of J.S. Bach’s Prelude in C Major, which made his case in rather clear-cut fashion.
Schubert’s impromptu was also song-like with a gentle, running, almost perpetual motion accompaniment. An increase in the energy level was brought about via increasing volume and darker harmonies. Subtitled The Bells of Moscow, the first of the Rachmaninoff preludes on the program had a definite sound of tolling bells with chimes-style filigree above. The increase in both tempo and number of notes in the right hand created a very powerful feeling throughout. In remarks from the stage, Mr. Beliavsky stated that he had added octaves to the tolling bells feature. Then in mock shock, he pretended to be us and asked, “How dare you change Rachmaninoff’s composition?” Answering as himself, he told us that since that was something that Rachmaninoff was known to do with some regularity, he felt perfectly justified. Departing once again from the printed program, he played snippets of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, to further cement home the power of bells as a theme in Russian Romantic music. The second prelude that he played was very nice and a bit more fully developed as a composition.
Both of the Scriabin etudes were solidly in the Romantic harmonies vein, but with a bit of stretching of those harmonies to give a hint of Scriabin’s mysticism-tinged qualities. And bells were a recurring theme here, as well. The Chopin is a work that I’ve heard several times (even played by Mr. Beliavsky), and it’s such a joy to listen to that I mostly did so and took very few notes. As I have before, I’d suggest that you do a Youtube search—you’ll probably get lots of hits. Even if you only listen to a bit of it, I think you’ll like, and possibly recognize, it. It began with only octaves at the opening, and then introduced a purely Romantic theme with some chromaticism. It moved easily between bombast and lyricism, displaying a vast difference that somehow all made sense. The very appreciative audience responded with a hearty ovation. This is one performer I keep my eye out for each year.
ConcertMeister
Bonus post (11/15/15)
On the penultimate day of the design competition and exhibition, I visited Canstruction, which challenges teams to build sculptures out of cans of food. There were 20+ exhibits—some of my favorites included a Top Hat, an eight-foot-tall Butterfly, one sculpture titled What’s Up, Doc?, a replica of the well-known Grand Central Terminal clock (the four clock faces themselves, not the entire structure), and a piece titled Good Etiquette Is CANtagious. The last was a sculpture of a bus or subway car. On one side, a figure was seated with obvious “man spread” while on the other side, the seated figure had knees closer together, with personal items on the lap. Not really among my favorites was a Republican Presidential contender piece that displayed Donald Trump on one side and Kanye West on the other. I guess it appealed more to my wordplay fun side, with Republican and Kanye.
Okay, now, here’s one of the really good parts. On Monday the 16th, all of the sculptures were dismantled, with the cans of food being donated to City Harvest to help fight hunger! We’re talking lots and lots of food. Some individual sculptures had upward of 7,000+ cans each. I would say that tuna and sardines constituted about 50%, but tomatoes, pumpkin, green beans, black/kidney/cannellini beans and chickpeas were also represented.
It was quite a trek for me to get to the southern end of Manhattan, way over on the West Side (230 Vesey Street, on the Hudson waterfront) on a windy Sunday, but it was totally worth it. It’s one more thing to keep my eye out for next year.
CM
Ballad in Yellow – David Del Tredici (b. 1937)
Impromptu, Op. 90, No. 3 – Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Prelude, Op. 3, No. 2; Prelude, Op. 23, No. 5 – Sergei Rachmaninoff
(1873–1943)
Etude, Op. 2, No. 1; Etude, Op.8, No. 12 – Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915)
Ballade, Op. 23, No. 1 – Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)
Ballad in Yellow was sort of a wash of sounds, with phrases that were recognizable as tunes. While mostly gentle, there were a few more dramatic moments, with a fairly extensive louder, powerful section, finishing with a totally tonal solid chord. In true lecture-recital style, Mr. Beliavsky then discussed the work. It turns out that it is a transcription of a song written by Mr. Del Tredici. Ha! I knew that those phrases were recognizable as tunes—they were tunes. He then played the piece a second time, with a suggestion beforehand that knowing more about the piece might enhance or change our understanding of it. I stuck with my original impressions. Before continuing with the program as printed, Mr. Beliavsky provided examples of the previously discussed tension/resolution/tonality situation by playing a part of J.S. Bach’s Prelude in C Major, which made his case in rather clear-cut fashion.
Schubert’s impromptu was also song-like with a gentle, running, almost perpetual motion accompaniment. An increase in the energy level was brought about via increasing volume and darker harmonies. Subtitled The Bells of Moscow, the first of the Rachmaninoff preludes on the program had a definite sound of tolling bells with chimes-style filigree above. The increase in both tempo and number of notes in the right hand created a very powerful feeling throughout. In remarks from the stage, Mr. Beliavsky stated that he had added octaves to the tolling bells feature. Then in mock shock, he pretended to be us and asked, “How dare you change Rachmaninoff’s composition?” Answering as himself, he told us that since that was something that Rachmaninoff was known to do with some regularity, he felt perfectly justified. Departing once again from the printed program, he played snippets of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, to further cement home the power of bells as a theme in Russian Romantic music. The second prelude that he played was very nice and a bit more fully developed as a composition.
Both of the Scriabin etudes were solidly in the Romantic harmonies vein, but with a bit of stretching of those harmonies to give a hint of Scriabin’s mysticism-tinged qualities. And bells were a recurring theme here, as well. The Chopin is a work that I’ve heard several times (even played by Mr. Beliavsky), and it’s such a joy to listen to that I mostly did so and took very few notes. As I have before, I’d suggest that you do a Youtube search—you’ll probably get lots of hits. Even if you only listen to a bit of it, I think you’ll like, and possibly recognize, it. It began with only octaves at the opening, and then introduced a purely Romantic theme with some chromaticism. It moved easily between bombast and lyricism, displaying a vast difference that somehow all made sense. The very appreciative audience responded with a hearty ovation. This is one performer I keep my eye out for each year.
ConcertMeister
Bonus post (11/15/15)
On the penultimate day of the design competition and exhibition, I visited Canstruction, which challenges teams to build sculptures out of cans of food. There were 20+ exhibits—some of my favorites included a Top Hat, an eight-foot-tall Butterfly, one sculpture titled What’s Up, Doc?, a replica of the well-known Grand Central Terminal clock (the four clock faces themselves, not the entire structure), and a piece titled Good Etiquette Is CANtagious. The last was a sculpture of a bus or subway car. On one side, a figure was seated with obvious “man spread” while on the other side, the seated figure had knees closer together, with personal items on the lap. Not really among my favorites was a Republican Presidential contender piece that displayed Donald Trump on one side and Kanye West on the other. I guess it appealed more to my wordplay fun side, with Republican and Kanye.
Okay, now, here’s one of the really good parts. On Monday the 16th, all of the sculptures were dismantled, with the cans of food being donated to City Harvest to help fight hunger! We’re talking lots and lots of food. Some individual sculptures had upward of 7,000+ cans each. I would say that tuna and sardines constituted about 50%, but tomatoes, pumpkin, green beans, black/kidney/cannellini beans and chickpeas were also represented.
It was quite a trek for me to get to the southern end of Manhattan, way over on the West Side (230 Vesey Street, on the Hudson waterfront) on a windy Sunday, but it was totally worth it. It’s one more thing to keep my eye out for next year.
CM
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Cantus (11/8/15)
Sunday evening, I attended a concert that was part of the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert series, a series of free concerts in all five boroughs under the auspices of Carnegie Hall. I almost talked myself out of going (it’s a bit of a trek up to 187th Street on the West Side for a concert beginning at 5:00 p.m.) but I’m glad that I went. Cantus is an all-male a cappella ensemble that sang a program of mostly modern and contemporary classical music. It’s sort of a take on the King’s Singers, except in the case of Cantus there are no countertenors. The group consists of five tenors, two baritones, and two basses. I’ll concentrate on the highlights, since they sang seventeen (mostly short) pieces.
The concert kicked off with But Beautiful (1947), by Jimmy Van Heusen, a close harmony piece that reminded me of groups like the Modernaires. Performing without a conductor, Cantus’ vocal blend and control of phrasing and tempos is quite good, if a little odd. Individual singers tend to gaze at one another to achieve unity. It works—it’s just a little odd. Ludwig van Beethoven’s Abschiedsgesang (1814) followed. It opened with a trio, followed shortly by a section for a sextet, before concluding with all nine singers.
When I Would Muse, from Housman Songs (1982), by Richard Peaslee, was next. It was a straightforward setting of text in a solid choral setting, with a few modern harmonies. The choral setting referenced above is sort of like an English choir school sound—not necessarily total straight tone singing, but very little vibrato so that the chords and various individual lines ring true, if that makes any sense. That was the style of many pieces on the program, and it’s one that I happen to like a great deal. An Arnold Schoenberg piece, Verbundenheit, Op. 35,
No. 6 (1929), was sung by just four of the singers. Par for the course, it was very modern sounding, with some jarring harmonies that periodically resolved to clear, tonal locked chords.
All nine were back on stage for a very touching Last Letter Home (2006) by
Lee Hoiby. The text was by United States Army Private First-Class Jesse Givens (1969–2003), and ended with, “Do me one favor, after you tuck the children in, give them hugs and kisses from me. Go outside and look at the stars and count them. Don’t forget to smile. Love Always, Your husband, Jess.”
Interspersed throughout the program were a few folk songs, including two by
A. R. Rahman. Wedding Qawwali and Zikr, both arranged by Ethan Sperry (2004) were accompanied by guitar, drums (one similar to a bongo and one a simple hand drum), and a three-pronged tambourine-like shaker—just the metal shaker parts. Both were energetic, with Zikr revving up with several tempo changes. The guitar was also used in a nice novelty number with close harmonies, Little Potato (1983), by Malcolm Dalglish. It alternated a tenor soloist with the group in various smaller sections. Sometimes just a few and sometimes all eight parrying with the soloist.
A trio of sacred songs was also included—Sim Shalom, from Two Hebraic Prayers in Memory of Solomon B. Freehof (1991), by Joseph Willcox Jenkins; Seigneur, je vous en prie, from Quatres petite prières de Saint François d’Assise (1948), by Francis Poulenc; and a shape note hymn, What Wondrous Love Is This. Also heard were pieces by Bobby Troup, Michael McGlynn, Eric Whitacre, Maura Bosch, and Ysaye Maria Barnwell.
A pseudo doo-wop song, Those Clouds Are Heavy, You Dig? (1995), by
Kurt Elling, was interesting and amusing, and I’m using both of those words literally. The text is based on a Rainer Maria Rilke short story, How the Thimble Came to Be God. The previously mentioned Zikr closed out the early evening performance. I’ve been to a few Carnegie Neighborhood Concerts at Our Savior’s Atonement Lutheran Church and, as noted by one of the hosts, this was definitely the most well attended that they’ve sponsored and that I’ve been to. And it was a very appreciative audience, as well. Cantus is based out of Minneapolis, so I don’t know whether I’ll have an opportunity to hear them live again. Their website is cantussings.org, if you want to check them out for yourselves.
The concert kicked off with But Beautiful (1947), by Jimmy Van Heusen, a close harmony piece that reminded me of groups like the Modernaires. Performing without a conductor, Cantus’ vocal blend and control of phrasing and tempos is quite good, if a little odd. Individual singers tend to gaze at one another to achieve unity. It works—it’s just a little odd. Ludwig van Beethoven’s Abschiedsgesang (1814) followed. It opened with a trio, followed shortly by a section for a sextet, before concluding with all nine singers.
When I Would Muse, from Housman Songs (1982), by Richard Peaslee, was next. It was a straightforward setting of text in a solid choral setting, with a few modern harmonies. The choral setting referenced above is sort of like an English choir school sound—not necessarily total straight tone singing, but very little vibrato so that the chords and various individual lines ring true, if that makes any sense. That was the style of many pieces on the program, and it’s one that I happen to like a great deal. An Arnold Schoenberg piece, Verbundenheit, Op. 35,
No. 6 (1929), was sung by just four of the singers. Par for the course, it was very modern sounding, with some jarring harmonies that periodically resolved to clear, tonal locked chords.
All nine were back on stage for a very touching Last Letter Home (2006) by
Lee Hoiby. The text was by United States Army Private First-Class Jesse Givens (1969–2003), and ended with, “Do me one favor, after you tuck the children in, give them hugs and kisses from me. Go outside and look at the stars and count them. Don’t forget to smile. Love Always, Your husband, Jess.”
Interspersed throughout the program were a few folk songs, including two by
A. R. Rahman. Wedding Qawwali and Zikr, both arranged by Ethan Sperry (2004) were accompanied by guitar, drums (one similar to a bongo and one a simple hand drum), and a three-pronged tambourine-like shaker—just the metal shaker parts. Both were energetic, with Zikr revving up with several tempo changes. The guitar was also used in a nice novelty number with close harmonies, Little Potato (1983), by Malcolm Dalglish. It alternated a tenor soloist with the group in various smaller sections. Sometimes just a few and sometimes all eight parrying with the soloist.
A trio of sacred songs was also included—Sim Shalom, from Two Hebraic Prayers in Memory of Solomon B. Freehof (1991), by Joseph Willcox Jenkins; Seigneur, je vous en prie, from Quatres petite prières de Saint François d’Assise (1948), by Francis Poulenc; and a shape note hymn, What Wondrous Love Is This. Also heard were pieces by Bobby Troup, Michael McGlynn, Eric Whitacre, Maura Bosch, and Ysaye Maria Barnwell.
A pseudo doo-wop song, Those Clouds Are Heavy, You Dig? (1995), by
Kurt Elling, was interesting and amusing, and I’m using both of those words literally. The text is based on a Rainer Maria Rilke short story, How the Thimble Came to Be God. The previously mentioned Zikr closed out the early evening performance. I’ve been to a few Carnegie Neighborhood Concerts at Our Savior’s Atonement Lutheran Church and, as noted by one of the hosts, this was definitely the most well attended that they’ve sponsored and that I’ve been to. And it was a very appreciative audience, as well. Cantus is based out of Minneapolis, so I don’t know whether I’ll have an opportunity to hear them live again. Their website is cantussings.org, if you want to check them out for yourselves.
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Hungarian Rhapsody (10/31/15)
Sarah E Geller (violin) and Wenhan Anderson (piano) performed a variety of pieces on Halloween afternoon. While all of the pieces had hints of gypsy themes, I didn’t quite get the fireworks that I was expecting.
Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30, No. 3 – Allegro assai; Tempo di Minuetto: ma molto moderato e grazioso; Rondo – Allegro molto – Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Nocturne, Cortège – Lili Boulanger (1893–1918)
Sonate in g minor – Allegro vivo; Intermède: Fantasque et léger; Finale: Très animé – Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Sonata in c# minor, Op. 21 – Allegro appassionato; Allegro ma con tenerezza; Vivace assai – Ernst von Dohnányi (1877–1960)
Tzigane, rhapsodie de concert – Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)
The first movement of the Beethoven began with bubbling runs for both violin and piano that were at times jaunty and at times darkly dramatic. Mostly, though, it was bright and energetic, interspersed with small islands of calm. The piano took the lead to start the second movement followed by a nice give and take back and forth. Indeed, it was very graceful and a true partnership. The last movement was energetic and once again very collaborative, although each player got a chance
to shine.
Ms. Geller retuned before the second grouping of pieces (in fact, she did a lot of retuning throughout the afternoon). An interesting little bit of information announced from the stage was that Lili Boulanger, younger sister of Nadia Boulanger, was the first woman to win the Prix de Rome, a very important competition, across various disciplines in the arts. Nocturne was gentle and contemplative, with an ostinato (repetitive) accompaniment, that then blossomed into fuller, richer sounds before returning to a calm ending. Cortège was perky, especially in the piano writing, with a nice mix of changing tempos.
Debussy’s first movement had short, fragmented ideas at the beginning, then some longer melodic lines, with shifting moods and a dramatic ending. The second movement was a mix of phrases, techniques and rhythms that could possibly be perceived as new and somewhat radical for the time (harmonically, too). The Finale was subdued at first, then picked up a lot of steam, and then bounced back and forth, in terms of mood. It was a nice piece that didn’t really seem to tie together
for me.
After intermission, the Dohnányi sonata had a rich, dark opening with some very expressive lines and themes. As mentioned from the stage, there were hints of Brahms that were then expanded upon. The movement was really very touching. The second movement was a little more energetic with a gently dancelike section followed by a touch of a gypsy theme. It was slightly segmented but did manage to fit together pretty well. After a couple of false endings, it finished with a cute pizzicato real ending. The brisk start of the third movement included more hints of gypsy themes. A gentle section was then introduced by the piano, with the violin joining in. This was followed by another energetic section, one more quiet sequence, and then a tranquil ending.
Ravel’s rhapsodie de concert had a muscular, extended violin solo to begin with. The piano eventually joined in with a harp-like accompaniment. Then we finally got to the more tuneful portion of the music. If this sounds like a lot of jumping around, that’s exactly what it was. Not knowing a whole lot about the actual technique involved in playing the violin, this seemed to me to be technically very challenging—and Ms. Geller was up to the task (Ms. Anderson, too, at the piano). That said, the piece did not hold together for me very well at all. I wish I had liked
it better.
The concert was enjoyable. I just wish it had been a little more enjoyable. However, this was my first ever hearing of Lili Boulanger, and it’s quite possible that it was my first ever live hearing of Dohnányi. So I came away with two solid checkmarks in the ‘plus’ column. Not too shabby an achievement if I do say so myself.
ConcertMeister
Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30, No. 3 – Allegro assai; Tempo di Minuetto: ma molto moderato e grazioso; Rondo – Allegro molto – Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Nocturne, Cortège – Lili Boulanger (1893–1918)
Sonate in g minor – Allegro vivo; Intermède: Fantasque et léger; Finale: Très animé – Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Sonata in c# minor, Op. 21 – Allegro appassionato; Allegro ma con tenerezza; Vivace assai – Ernst von Dohnányi (1877–1960)
Tzigane, rhapsodie de concert – Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)
The first movement of the Beethoven began with bubbling runs for both violin and piano that were at times jaunty and at times darkly dramatic. Mostly, though, it was bright and energetic, interspersed with small islands of calm. The piano took the lead to start the second movement followed by a nice give and take back and forth. Indeed, it was very graceful and a true partnership. The last movement was energetic and once again very collaborative, although each player got a chance
to shine.
Ms. Geller retuned before the second grouping of pieces (in fact, she did a lot of retuning throughout the afternoon). An interesting little bit of information announced from the stage was that Lili Boulanger, younger sister of Nadia Boulanger, was the first woman to win the Prix de Rome, a very important competition, across various disciplines in the arts. Nocturne was gentle and contemplative, with an ostinato (repetitive) accompaniment, that then blossomed into fuller, richer sounds before returning to a calm ending. Cortège was perky, especially in the piano writing, with a nice mix of changing tempos.
Debussy’s first movement had short, fragmented ideas at the beginning, then some longer melodic lines, with shifting moods and a dramatic ending. The second movement was a mix of phrases, techniques and rhythms that could possibly be perceived as new and somewhat radical for the time (harmonically, too). The Finale was subdued at first, then picked up a lot of steam, and then bounced back and forth, in terms of mood. It was a nice piece that didn’t really seem to tie together
for me.
After intermission, the Dohnányi sonata had a rich, dark opening with some very expressive lines and themes. As mentioned from the stage, there were hints of Brahms that were then expanded upon. The movement was really very touching. The second movement was a little more energetic with a gently dancelike section followed by a touch of a gypsy theme. It was slightly segmented but did manage to fit together pretty well. After a couple of false endings, it finished with a cute pizzicato real ending. The brisk start of the third movement included more hints of gypsy themes. A gentle section was then introduced by the piano, with the violin joining in. This was followed by another energetic section, one more quiet sequence, and then a tranquil ending.
Ravel’s rhapsodie de concert had a muscular, extended violin solo to begin with. The piano eventually joined in with a harp-like accompaniment. Then we finally got to the more tuneful portion of the music. If this sounds like a lot of jumping around, that’s exactly what it was. Not knowing a whole lot about the actual technique involved in playing the violin, this seemed to me to be technically very challenging—and Ms. Geller was up to the task (Ms. Anderson, too, at the piano). That said, the piece did not hold together for me very well at all. I wish I had liked
it better.
The concert was enjoyable. I just wish it had been a little more enjoyable. However, this was my first ever hearing of Lili Boulanger, and it’s quite possible that it was my first ever live hearing of Dohnányi. So I came away with two solid checkmarks in the ‘plus’ column. Not too shabby an achievement if I do say so myself.
ConcertMeister
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Gotham Radio Theatre (10/24/15)
This was a terrific program. The members of GRT re-created an episode of the radio drama, “The Adventures of Ellery Queen – The Last Man Club,” with a Bernard Herrmann score played by an 11-piece band. Scott Klavan played Ellery Queen, Laura Leopard was Nikki Porter (and others), Martin McGeachy was Inspector Queen, Ellery’s father (and others), with Vince Trani as Multiple Roles (I’m not making this up, you know). Oh, and just for giggles, Nyssa Duchow, the violinist in the band, popped in as Lucille Cherry, and the conductor, Jacob Thomas Carr, also doubled in a couple of acting roles.
This group has this style down pat—multiple accents coming out of people at the drop of a hat; a “sound effects” table with glasses, spoons, water, shoes (for that clip-clop sound); a little door (for, d’oh!, slamming doors); etc. It was like watching a bona fide 1940s radio studio broadcast. As another cool aside, since this was performed at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, they had the actual Bernard Herrmann score on display in the lobby, with the composer’s handwritten cues.
The convoluted case of The Last Man Club was eventually solved by Ellery Queen. Before the murderer was announced (and there may have been an additional clue for us audience members), we were invited to circle our choice on a supplied list of suspects. I voted for the wrong one. SPOILER: Though I doubt you’ll get to see or hear the tale of The Last Man Club, go “la-la-la-la” for awhile. One twist is that the man who was killed was the murderer, even though he didn’t actually murder anyone. As a member of The Last Man Club, he meant to kill the other members in order to achieve financial gain when there was a final disbursement of funds to the club members. (I said ahead of time that it was convoluted.) He swapped out a cut-glass cordial bottle (no labels, only an identifying mark on the bottle) of poisoned créme de menthe for the usual cherry liqueur used for the celebratory toast at the club’s once-a-year meeting.
Ellery solved the case by proving that the murderer had to be color blind; therefore when all of the other suspects were able to be cleared by Inspector Queen via a color-blind visual test, only the dead man was left. The twist was that the dead man was really a victim of a hit-and-run accident, even though it was strongly implied that he had been murdered. His dying breath was a warning to the other club members to be wary of murder, since he wouldn’t be there for the final toast. Ellery saved the day, no one drank the poisoned cordials, and the dead man was unmasked as the (potential) murderer.
The Bernard Herrmann score was terse, and slightly jagged, for dramatic effect. And unlike film scores, it was mostly used as interludes to set up scene breaks, rather than being used as underscoring. It was played and conducted very well, exactly filling the bill it was designed for.
All in all, a really great afternoon of theater and music. I’ll be on the lookout for Gotham Radio Theatre in the future.
ConcertMeister
This group has this style down pat—multiple accents coming out of people at the drop of a hat; a “sound effects” table with glasses, spoons, water, shoes (for that clip-clop sound); a little door (for, d’oh!, slamming doors); etc. It was like watching a bona fide 1940s radio studio broadcast. As another cool aside, since this was performed at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, they had the actual Bernard Herrmann score on display in the lobby, with the composer’s handwritten cues.
The convoluted case of The Last Man Club was eventually solved by Ellery Queen. Before the murderer was announced (and there may have been an additional clue for us audience members), we were invited to circle our choice on a supplied list of suspects. I voted for the wrong one. SPOILER: Though I doubt you’ll get to see or hear the tale of The Last Man Club, go “la-la-la-la” for awhile. One twist is that the man who was killed was the murderer, even though he didn’t actually murder anyone. As a member of The Last Man Club, he meant to kill the other members in order to achieve financial gain when there was a final disbursement of funds to the club members. (I said ahead of time that it was convoluted.) He swapped out a cut-glass cordial bottle (no labels, only an identifying mark on the bottle) of poisoned créme de menthe for the usual cherry liqueur used for the celebratory toast at the club’s once-a-year meeting.
Ellery solved the case by proving that the murderer had to be color blind; therefore when all of the other suspects were able to be cleared by Inspector Queen via a color-blind visual test, only the dead man was left. The twist was that the dead man was really a victim of a hit-and-run accident, even though it was strongly implied that he had been murdered. His dying breath was a warning to the other club members to be wary of murder, since he wouldn’t be there for the final toast. Ellery saved the day, no one drank the poisoned cordials, and the dead man was unmasked as the (potential) murderer.
The Bernard Herrmann score was terse, and slightly jagged, for dramatic effect. And unlike film scores, it was mostly used as interludes to set up scene breaks, rather than being used as underscoring. It was played and conducted very well, exactly filling the bill it was designed for.
All in all, a really great afternoon of theater and music. I’ll be on the lookout for Gotham Radio Theatre in the future.
ConcertMeister
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Piano & Violin (10/15/15)
Raskin & Fleischmann performed at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York recently. Philippe Raskin, piano, and Johannes Fleischmann, violin, presented a varied and interesting program.
Sonata for Piano and Violin in E minor, KV 304 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Phantasy for Violin with Piano Accompaniment, op. 47 – Arnold Schönberg
Matsushima Fantasy, op. 21 – Christoph Ehrenfellner
Sonata for Violin and Piano in E-flat major, op. 18 – Richard Strauss
The first movement of the Mozart opened with the piano and violin playing completely in unison followed by an interesting mix of phrases and filigree. At times, repeated chords were used to drive the rhythm forward. The second movement was fairly gentle, yet still with forward energy, just not some of the heavy, dramatic type of the first movement. I rather enjoyed this sonata. Schönberg’s Phantasy was atonal from the very beginning. It was sort of playful but very harsh—even when the violin phrases were longer and smoother, there was still an awful lot of dissonance. Although it was played well, I didn’t really enjoy it.
Christoph Ehrenfellner’s fantasy had a dramatic opening for solo piano, with deep, full chords. This was followed by long, dramatic lines for solo violin, then for violin with piano accompaniment. The piece was definitely modern—contemporary classical, I’d say—but not quite as jarring as the Schönberg. I also heard hints of a “water music” feeling along the lines of some dramatic Debussy. This was followed by separate sections that were connected in a cohesive way. There was a brief pizzicato section, one section that was bombastic and frantic, and then the piece closed with a section that had the sound that I can best describe as breathing on the strings. For a modern, contemporary piece, this one came off pretty well.
From the pen of 23-year-old Richard Strauss, the sonata’s first movement opened with a full, quasi-Romantic sound. You could really hear and sense the beginnings of the passion that would show up later in his operas. It was rather lengthy and had some themes that kept recurring from time to time. The second movement had a sweet tone to begin with. In general, it was very pretty and accessible in terms of just sitting back and listening. A slightly more rhythmic and dramatic section followed before returning, and ending, gently and tuneful. There was a martial feel to the beginning of the finale. The movement had lots of energy, even when settling into more tuneful sections. And there were many different types of ideas floating around—maybe too many? Still, it was a very nice piece, once again showcasing the more fully developed composer that Strauss would become.
After a bit of rhythmic clapping, the type that European-style audiences are so fond of, the duo played a couple of improvised encores. Even though they were improvised, the pair seemed to have a too pat rapport—I have a feeling that their improvisations are almost slightly scripted. Nevertheless, it was a very interesting program played by two very talented musicians.
ConcertMeister
Sonata for Piano and Violin in E minor, KV 304 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Phantasy for Violin with Piano Accompaniment, op. 47 – Arnold Schönberg
Matsushima Fantasy, op. 21 – Christoph Ehrenfellner
Sonata for Violin and Piano in E-flat major, op. 18 – Richard Strauss
The first movement of the Mozart opened with the piano and violin playing completely in unison followed by an interesting mix of phrases and filigree. At times, repeated chords were used to drive the rhythm forward. The second movement was fairly gentle, yet still with forward energy, just not some of the heavy, dramatic type of the first movement. I rather enjoyed this sonata. Schönberg’s Phantasy was atonal from the very beginning. It was sort of playful but very harsh—even when the violin phrases were longer and smoother, there was still an awful lot of dissonance. Although it was played well, I didn’t really enjoy it.
Christoph Ehrenfellner’s fantasy had a dramatic opening for solo piano, with deep, full chords. This was followed by long, dramatic lines for solo violin, then for violin with piano accompaniment. The piece was definitely modern—contemporary classical, I’d say—but not quite as jarring as the Schönberg. I also heard hints of a “water music” feeling along the lines of some dramatic Debussy. This was followed by separate sections that were connected in a cohesive way. There was a brief pizzicato section, one section that was bombastic and frantic, and then the piece closed with a section that had the sound that I can best describe as breathing on the strings. For a modern, contemporary piece, this one came off pretty well.
From the pen of 23-year-old Richard Strauss, the sonata’s first movement opened with a full, quasi-Romantic sound. You could really hear and sense the beginnings of the passion that would show up later in his operas. It was rather lengthy and had some themes that kept recurring from time to time. The second movement had a sweet tone to begin with. In general, it was very pretty and accessible in terms of just sitting back and listening. A slightly more rhythmic and dramatic section followed before returning, and ending, gently and tuneful. There was a martial feel to the beginning of the finale. The movement had lots of energy, even when settling into more tuneful sections. And there were many different types of ideas floating around—maybe too many? Still, it was a very nice piece, once again showcasing the more fully developed composer that Strauss would become.
After a bit of rhythmic clapping, the type that European-style audiences are so fond of, the duo played a couple of improvised encores. Even though they were improvised, the pair seemed to have a too pat rapport—I have a feeling that their improvisations are almost slightly scripted. Nevertheless, it was a very interesting program played by two very talented musicians.
ConcertMeister
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Movie and Concert (10/10/15)
Saturday afternoon found me watching the silent version of The Mark of Zorro (1920), starring Douglas Fairbanks. I found it very interesting, especially with Mr. Fairbanks in the dual roles of schlub and swashbuckler. He played both of them quite well, which also added a touch of humor from time to time. Because I grew up seeing only serial versions of Zorro on television as a child, it came as a bit of a surprise to me that Zorro is unmasked at the end of the film as Don Diego Vega (the schlub)—but he still gets the girl.
While I didn’t stay very long at the Q&A afterwards, I did hear that during the rehearsals for the film, it was discovered at what height the jumps and other stunts could be safely be performed, and then the set pieces involved in the stunts were shortened by a couple of inches for the final filming, to better showcase the flair of the derring-do. Another interesting item, this one gleaned from Steve Massa’s program notes, is that United Artists was co-founded in 1919 by Mr. Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, and D. W. Griffith. As always, Ben Model provided the thoroughly delightful score—and in this case, for a much longer film than the usual two or three short comedies presented by Silent Cinema Presentations, Inc.
Saturday evening found me at a new, to me, venue, Baruch Performing Arts Center. The construction was concrete block walls and ceiling, with pale wooden baffling framing the stage, and pale wooden sound panels attached to the center of the ceiling of the hall. The effect was slightly modern, without being harsh. Due to horrific traffic (I had to give up trying to get on the subway, and took a slow-as-molasses-going-uphill-in-January bus), I still got to the theater just in time. That said, I also got there before the printed programs did! so the concert was delayed by just a bit.
Now, on to the concert, performed under the auspices of The New York Piano Society. This is an organization whose members are not professional musicians; they’re talented amateurs who have “real” lives, as it were, outside of the music world. Since there were seven pianists and thirteen pieces on the program, I’ve decided not to list the pianists’ names and not to comment on every piece. But I did hear Beethoven, Brahms, and Bach, along with Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Franck, Kabalevsky, Scriabin, and Liszt, performed by a mathematician, a biostatistician, a professor of English, an M.D., a lawyer, and an accountant. So it was sort of like a smorgasbord.
First up was Beethoven’s Sonata in D Major, Op. 10, No. 3, played with a nice fluidity and a firm control of dynamics. The next piece had the same pianist accompanying Filip Pogády, a professional violinist who is the current NYPS Artist in Residence. Meditation, from Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op. 42, by Tchaikovsky, began with a solo piano opening in a calm mood, with a lovely melody that had a touch of sadness. The violin, when it joined in, reminded me of melancholy tinged with positive sentiments. Rondo, Op. 59, by Kabalevsky, was pretty much an exercise in perpetual motion with modern, though not jarring, harmonies that were contrasted with a section that had slower rhythms, especially for the left hand. This was played by Sabina Marra, who is the NYPS 2015 Young Guest Artists Audition Winner. She played very well; she’s currently continuing intensive studies in music and academics.
Of the four Liszt pieces on the program, I liked the Concert Étude, “Waldesrauschen,” which had a uniform structure with lots of notes, yet was neither overpowering nor overbearing; Libesträume No. 3, which was very sweet and immediately recognizable (an online search will probably get you lots of hits); and, for piano and violin, Paganini-Liszt La Campanella, with its gazillion (not a technical term) notes.
Also of note and of interest was the four-movement Bach Partita No. 2 in c minor, BWV 826 for solo piano. The Sinfonia had nice two-part writing, after a chordal opening, while the Allemande that followed was relatively gentle. The Courante was more energetic, and the Capriccio finished with more clearly defined rhythms in the left hand.
So for a smorgasbord, the evening turned out quite nicely. Not everything was to my liking, but a lot of it was. And it’s good to know that “real” people are dedicated to making music.
ConcertMeister
While I didn’t stay very long at the Q&A afterwards, I did hear that during the rehearsals for the film, it was discovered at what height the jumps and other stunts could be safely be performed, and then the set pieces involved in the stunts were shortened by a couple of inches for the final filming, to better showcase the flair of the derring-do. Another interesting item, this one gleaned from Steve Massa’s program notes, is that United Artists was co-founded in 1919 by Mr. Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, and D. W. Griffith. As always, Ben Model provided the thoroughly delightful score—and in this case, for a much longer film than the usual two or three short comedies presented by Silent Cinema Presentations, Inc.
Saturday evening found me at a new, to me, venue, Baruch Performing Arts Center. The construction was concrete block walls and ceiling, with pale wooden baffling framing the stage, and pale wooden sound panels attached to the center of the ceiling of the hall. The effect was slightly modern, without being harsh. Due to horrific traffic (I had to give up trying to get on the subway, and took a slow-as-molasses-going-uphill-in-January bus), I still got to the theater just in time. That said, I also got there before the printed programs did! so the concert was delayed by just a bit.
Now, on to the concert, performed under the auspices of The New York Piano Society. This is an organization whose members are not professional musicians; they’re talented amateurs who have “real” lives, as it were, outside of the music world. Since there were seven pianists and thirteen pieces on the program, I’ve decided not to list the pianists’ names and not to comment on every piece. But I did hear Beethoven, Brahms, and Bach, along with Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Franck, Kabalevsky, Scriabin, and Liszt, performed by a mathematician, a biostatistician, a professor of English, an M.D., a lawyer, and an accountant. So it was sort of like a smorgasbord.
First up was Beethoven’s Sonata in D Major, Op. 10, No. 3, played with a nice fluidity and a firm control of dynamics. The next piece had the same pianist accompanying Filip Pogády, a professional violinist who is the current NYPS Artist in Residence. Meditation, from Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op. 42, by Tchaikovsky, began with a solo piano opening in a calm mood, with a lovely melody that had a touch of sadness. The violin, when it joined in, reminded me of melancholy tinged with positive sentiments. Rondo, Op. 59, by Kabalevsky, was pretty much an exercise in perpetual motion with modern, though not jarring, harmonies that were contrasted with a section that had slower rhythms, especially for the left hand. This was played by Sabina Marra, who is the NYPS 2015 Young Guest Artists Audition Winner. She played very well; she’s currently continuing intensive studies in music and academics.
Of the four Liszt pieces on the program, I liked the Concert Étude, “Waldesrauschen,” which had a uniform structure with lots of notes, yet was neither overpowering nor overbearing; Libesträume No. 3, which was very sweet and immediately recognizable (an online search will probably get you lots of hits); and, for piano and violin, Paganini-Liszt La Campanella, with its gazillion (not a technical term) notes.
Also of note and of interest was the four-movement Bach Partita No. 2 in c minor, BWV 826 for solo piano. The Sinfonia had nice two-part writing, after a chordal opening, while the Allemande that followed was relatively gentle. The Courante was more energetic, and the Capriccio finished with more clearly defined rhythms in the left hand.
So for a smorgasbord, the evening turned out quite nicely. Not everything was to my liking, but a lot of it was. And it’s good to know that “real” people are dedicated to making music.
ConcertMeister
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Beethoven and Brass (10/3-4/15)
Saturday was the first of a three-part series titled Beethoven Encounters. Members of the New York Classical Players played three Beethoven string quartets. Ken Hamao (violin), Grace Park (violin), Wei-Yang Andy Lin (viola), and Michael Katz (cello) performed String Quartet Opus 18, No. 6, No. 3, and No. 2.
No. 6 – I. Allegro con brio; II. Adagio ma non troppo; III. Scherzo: Allegro; IV. La Malinconia: Adagio – Allegretto quasi Allegro
No. 3 – I. Allegro; II. Andante con moto; III. Allegro; IV. Presto
No. 2 – I. Allegro; II. Adagio cantabile – Allegro – Tempo I; III. Scherzo: Allegro; IV. Allegro molto, quasi presto
As we can see from the movement titles (and later from my comments) all three quartets are pretty much fast, slow, fast, and fast (excepting the Malinconia). But all three were also very different.
The first movement of No. 6 was bright and bubbly, with some experimentation in the way Beethoven moved melodic phrases from one player to the next. The second movement was slower, though not exactly stately, and had nicely filigreed turns of phrases, some of which were quietly dramatic. While also moving the melody from player to player, it had a lovely winding down to a pizzicato ending. The Scherzo was pleasant—at times a bit spare, at others, fuller—ending once again with a very light touch. The final movement opened slowly with just the two violins and the viola, followed by a brief section with one violin, the viola and the cello. This Malinconia section was interrupted by a couple of instances of harmonic angst, before eventually slipping into the Allegretto that then bounced its way to the conclusion.
Quartet No. 3 opened with fuller, denser writing and was at times very energetic. As a side note, I have not explored whether the numbering system of the six quartets is strictly chronological or was arranged by some other method. The second movement had a chorale-like feel to it before developing into more individual lines, creating the whole, with a feeling of solidity that then led to a calm ending. The third movement was once again pleasantly solid but with a rather abrupt ending (i.e., short but not unnaturally cut off). The final movement here had a quite brisk, but not frantic, opening, with pretty much a constant forward motion, while including a few dramatic pauses. It didn’t quite have the bang-up ending that I was expecting, instead closing out with a very effective lower energy finish.
Quartet No. 2 began with graceful, pleasant sections that featured strong accents as well as strong unison phrases, including some rich, romantic harmonies. For all of that, it had a fairly quiet ending. The second movement also had a chorale-like opening followed by a section that was jaunty yet restrained (maybe contained is a better word). The return to a slower tempo introduced some new thematic material before closing out quietly. This Scherzo was bright and graceful, yet also with some accented sections that were similar to, though not exactly mirroring, those of the first movement. This movement seemed more fully formed than some of the others, to my ear. The final movement made use of strong sudden accents again. Some of the extremely fast writing toward the end seemed almost overdone, to me, although it, and the entire concert, was played extremely well. The next installment of the Encounters, in early December, will be the other three quartets of Opus 18.
The Brass of Beethoven and Brass was the second of the Overlook Concerts in Riverside Park. On a breezy and chilly Sunday afternoon, the Manhattan School of Music Brass Quintet presented a well-rounded performance of eleven pieces for brass quintet. A quick Wikipedia look told me pretty much what I thought I knew—there are the “usual suspects” but there is also flexibility in the makeup of a brass quintet. Here, we had Nolan Tsang (trumpet), Jerome Burns (trumpet), Corinne Judd (horn), Preston Judd (trombone), and Aden Brooks (tenor trombone). In addition, Mr. Burns played an E-flat trumpet in one of the pieces.
This is a student quartet and, as a result, some of the playing was a bit sketchy, although the afternoon was a total delight. Mr. Tsang carried the emcee responsibilities for most of the afternoon, assisted by Mr. Brooks and Mr. Burns. All three acquitted themselves well, even allowing for a mis-speak of a composer’s name at one point.
Selections ranged from Gabrieli (1500s) to a nifty arrangement of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square; from an arrangement of Debussy’s The Girl with the Flaxen Hair to Jazz Suite #1 by Dmitri Shostakovich; and from Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (with the E-flat trumpet) to Amparito Roca (1925), by Jaime Texidor (1884–1957).
Along with Señor Texidor, I was also introduced to other composers—J. Pezel
(1639–1694) and Ludwig Maurer (1859–1927)—whose Six Pieces and Three Pieces, respectively, were quite interesting.
Bluegrass is on the agenda for next Sunday, which I may or may not attend. Still and all, it was a fun weekend (with some Alice at 150 thrown in for good measure; maybe more about that later).
No. 6 – I. Allegro con brio; II. Adagio ma non troppo; III. Scherzo: Allegro; IV. La Malinconia: Adagio – Allegretto quasi Allegro
No. 3 – I. Allegro; II. Andante con moto; III. Allegro; IV. Presto
No. 2 – I. Allegro; II. Adagio cantabile – Allegro – Tempo I; III. Scherzo: Allegro; IV. Allegro molto, quasi presto
As we can see from the movement titles (and later from my comments) all three quartets are pretty much fast, slow, fast, and fast (excepting the Malinconia). But all three were also very different.
The first movement of No. 6 was bright and bubbly, with some experimentation in the way Beethoven moved melodic phrases from one player to the next. The second movement was slower, though not exactly stately, and had nicely filigreed turns of phrases, some of which were quietly dramatic. While also moving the melody from player to player, it had a lovely winding down to a pizzicato ending. The Scherzo was pleasant—at times a bit spare, at others, fuller—ending once again with a very light touch. The final movement opened slowly with just the two violins and the viola, followed by a brief section with one violin, the viola and the cello. This Malinconia section was interrupted by a couple of instances of harmonic angst, before eventually slipping into the Allegretto that then bounced its way to the conclusion.
Quartet No. 3 opened with fuller, denser writing and was at times very energetic. As a side note, I have not explored whether the numbering system of the six quartets is strictly chronological or was arranged by some other method. The second movement had a chorale-like feel to it before developing into more individual lines, creating the whole, with a feeling of solidity that then led to a calm ending. The third movement was once again pleasantly solid but with a rather abrupt ending (i.e., short but not unnaturally cut off). The final movement here had a quite brisk, but not frantic, opening, with pretty much a constant forward motion, while including a few dramatic pauses. It didn’t quite have the bang-up ending that I was expecting, instead closing out with a very effective lower energy finish.
Quartet No. 2 began with graceful, pleasant sections that featured strong accents as well as strong unison phrases, including some rich, romantic harmonies. For all of that, it had a fairly quiet ending. The second movement also had a chorale-like opening followed by a section that was jaunty yet restrained (maybe contained is a better word). The return to a slower tempo introduced some new thematic material before closing out quietly. This Scherzo was bright and graceful, yet also with some accented sections that were similar to, though not exactly mirroring, those of the first movement. This movement seemed more fully formed than some of the others, to my ear. The final movement made use of strong sudden accents again. Some of the extremely fast writing toward the end seemed almost overdone, to me, although it, and the entire concert, was played extremely well. The next installment of the Encounters, in early December, will be the other three quartets of Opus 18.
The Brass of Beethoven and Brass was the second of the Overlook Concerts in Riverside Park. On a breezy and chilly Sunday afternoon, the Manhattan School of Music Brass Quintet presented a well-rounded performance of eleven pieces for brass quintet. A quick Wikipedia look told me pretty much what I thought I knew—there are the “usual suspects” but there is also flexibility in the makeup of a brass quintet. Here, we had Nolan Tsang (trumpet), Jerome Burns (trumpet), Corinne Judd (horn), Preston Judd (trombone), and Aden Brooks (tenor trombone). In addition, Mr. Burns played an E-flat trumpet in one of the pieces.
This is a student quartet and, as a result, some of the playing was a bit sketchy, although the afternoon was a total delight. Mr. Tsang carried the emcee responsibilities for most of the afternoon, assisted by Mr. Brooks and Mr. Burns. All three acquitted themselves well, even allowing for a mis-speak of a composer’s name at one point.
Selections ranged from Gabrieli (1500s) to a nifty arrangement of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square; from an arrangement of Debussy’s The Girl with the Flaxen Hair to Jazz Suite #1 by Dmitri Shostakovich; and from Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (with the E-flat trumpet) to Amparito Roca (1925), by Jaime Texidor (1884–1957).
Along with Señor Texidor, I was also introduced to other composers—J. Pezel
(1639–1694) and Ludwig Maurer (1859–1927)—whose Six Pieces and Three Pieces, respectively, were quite interesting.
Bluegrass is on the agenda for next Sunday, which I may or may not attend. Still and all, it was a fun weekend (with some Alice at 150 thrown in for good measure; maybe more about that later).
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Songbook – September 2015 – The Music of Robert Lindsey-Nassif
A reminder, Songbook is a concert featuring the music of up and coming theater composers and lyricists—except when it isn’t. The current iteration was a combination concert and celebration of the 25th anniversary of Songbook. In fact, Mr. Lindsey-Nassif performed in the inaugural concert. So, though he’s not a fully established composer, he’s further along than many who appear in the series, e.g., his Flight of the Lawnchair Man (3hree) has already had several productions, at least one of which was directed by Hal Prince.
This was a plus and a minus for this concert, in my opinion, because while we heard some songs from current projects that he’s working on, we also heard songs from earlier works that have had many staged performances, so a little freshness was lacking (once again, in my opinion). And a few of the songs had that build up to the end followed by holding the last note a long, long, long time. It’s effective but, maybe because of the evening’s song selections, a bit overused. But those are minor quibbles in an evening filled with good songs that were well composed and very well performed. There were thirteen selections, so I’ll report on what I considered the highlights.
The concert started with a high-energy performance by Eddie Korbich of PersonaliTNT from Hoods and Hoofers, a show set in the 1920s. Very, very up tempo and quite humorous as well. Two songs from Eliot Ness: The Man Who Broke Capone (I’ve also found the title to be Eliot Ness in Cleveland) were sung by Adam Shorsten, who was in fine voice if a bit “over-singy” from time to time. Starting to Disappear began in an introspective mood that turned into much more of a rock feel. Will It Matter that I Was was a strong personal anthem.
A set of four songs from Opal followed. Opal is a young girl whose parents die in a storm at sea; Opal washes ashore and ends up in an Oregon logging camp. It’s loosely based on a true story. In Mother, Father, a ten-year-old powerhouse, Lily Adams, sings a plaintive lament to her lost parents. Send You a Sign followed, a duet by Miss Adams and Marni Nixon—yes, the Marni Nixon. She was a joy to see and hear and the duet was quite effective, with Ms. Nixon explaining that the girl’s parents will send a message to say that they’re gone … but they’re not gone. If the pipes aren’t quite what they used to be, there were still flashes of sheer brilliance in her singing. Joshua Dixon added a nice touch as a bumpkin with real sincerity in Sears and Roebuck Wedding Band.
Mr. Korbich returned with I Want to Fly, from Lawnchair Man, expressing the joy of actually making it up into the air, and Brandi Chavonne Massey sang The Air Is Free strongly, as a sort of diatribe to/against an FAA agent.
Castles in the Air, from Hoods and Hoofers, was convincingly sung by Scarlett Strallen, though the song itself suffered a bit from the range and the setting of the text. Often, it’s very difficult to clearly get, as in understand, the lyrics when sung in extremely high ranges; that said her soprano was lovely.
Music in This Mountain, from Honky-Tonk Highway and set in a roadhouse in Tennessee during the 1970s, had Erin Hill playing the harp and singing, joined by the ensemble of Jacob Christopher, Penelope Deen, Michael Penick, and Mikki Sodergren. In a somewhat boisterous fashion, it showed us that the universal feelings of music are all around us—and in us.
And here’s a shout out to John Znidarsic (Producer) and all of the performers, vocalists and instrumentalists, who volunteered their time and energy to this worthwhile effort known as Songbook. While I only came across it in recent years, it’s great to know that it’s still going strong in its 25th year. I’ll most likely be returning to more of the presentations throughout the rest of the season.
ConcertMeister
This was a plus and a minus for this concert, in my opinion, because while we heard some songs from current projects that he’s working on, we also heard songs from earlier works that have had many staged performances, so a little freshness was lacking (once again, in my opinion). And a few of the songs had that build up to the end followed by holding the last note a long, long, long time. It’s effective but, maybe because of the evening’s song selections, a bit overused. But those are minor quibbles in an evening filled with good songs that were well composed and very well performed. There were thirteen selections, so I’ll report on what I considered the highlights.
The concert started with a high-energy performance by Eddie Korbich of PersonaliTNT from Hoods and Hoofers, a show set in the 1920s. Very, very up tempo and quite humorous as well. Two songs from Eliot Ness: The Man Who Broke Capone (I’ve also found the title to be Eliot Ness in Cleveland) were sung by Adam Shorsten, who was in fine voice if a bit “over-singy” from time to time. Starting to Disappear began in an introspective mood that turned into much more of a rock feel. Will It Matter that I Was was a strong personal anthem.
A set of four songs from Opal followed. Opal is a young girl whose parents die in a storm at sea; Opal washes ashore and ends up in an Oregon logging camp. It’s loosely based on a true story. In Mother, Father, a ten-year-old powerhouse, Lily Adams, sings a plaintive lament to her lost parents. Send You a Sign followed, a duet by Miss Adams and Marni Nixon—yes, the Marni Nixon. She was a joy to see and hear and the duet was quite effective, with Ms. Nixon explaining that the girl’s parents will send a message to say that they’re gone … but they’re not gone. If the pipes aren’t quite what they used to be, there were still flashes of sheer brilliance in her singing. Joshua Dixon added a nice touch as a bumpkin with real sincerity in Sears and Roebuck Wedding Band.
Mr. Korbich returned with I Want to Fly, from Lawnchair Man, expressing the joy of actually making it up into the air, and Brandi Chavonne Massey sang The Air Is Free strongly, as a sort of diatribe to/against an FAA agent.
Castles in the Air, from Hoods and Hoofers, was convincingly sung by Scarlett Strallen, though the song itself suffered a bit from the range and the setting of the text. Often, it’s very difficult to clearly get, as in understand, the lyrics when sung in extremely high ranges; that said her soprano was lovely.
Music in This Mountain, from Honky-Tonk Highway and set in a roadhouse in Tennessee during the 1970s, had Erin Hill playing the harp and singing, joined by the ensemble of Jacob Christopher, Penelope Deen, Michael Penick, and Mikki Sodergren. In a somewhat boisterous fashion, it showed us that the universal feelings of music are all around us—and in us.
And here’s a shout out to John Znidarsic (Producer) and all of the performers, vocalists and instrumentalists, who volunteered their time and energy to this worthwhile effort known as Songbook. While I only came across it in recent years, it’s great to know that it’s still going strong in its 25th year. I’ll most likely be returning to more of the presentations throughout the rest of the season.
ConcertMeister
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
A Pair of Concerts (9/26-27/15)
Saturday afternoon found me at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts for a concert Celebrating Samuel Barber’s 105th Anniversary. Interestingly, earlier in the day I celebrated “Alice: 150 Years of Wonderland” at the Morgan Library & Museum. The Barber concert featured Maxim Anikushin, piano, carillon, and organ; Eric Silberger, violin; and Thelma Ithier-Sterling, soprano.
All of the music was composed by Samuel Barber (1910–1981), but most of the featured works were from his early years, including one that was written when he was seven years old. The first piece on the program was Souvenirs, Op. 28 (1952), a suite of six dances for solo piano. Waltz had a bright opening, and was modern but easy to listen to. Schottische was lively, and still had modern harmonies and rhythms. Pas de deux, gentler in tone and tempo, had a slightly ethereal ending. Two-step showed a bit of Latin flair and rhythm, while Hesitation-Tango gave us the full Latin treatment of a tango, but without being in-your-face aggressive. Galop was a return to bright, energetic rhythms that put me in the mind of fractured, modernist carousel music.
Much of the early piano solo music—Three Themes (1923), “Petite Berceuse”
(1923), and Essay II (1926)—gave insight into the budding mind of a young composer, but seemed a bit too repetitive in style and theme. Essay II was my favorite of this bunch, with its hints of imitating Stravinsky and Debussy. Still, it was more of a compositional character study as opposed to music for music’s sake. A pair of very simplistic childhood compositions followed. They could easily have been omitted, in my opinion.
Videos of Mr. Anikushin playing on two different carillons followed, and they were quite interesting. Who knew that you play a carillon by hitting batons. The three carillon pieces were written by Barber between 1930 and 1933. Four more videos followed after intermission, including Mr. Anikushin playing piano, organ, harpsichord and, again, carillon. The works were from 1926, 1927, and 1930 to 1933.
Live music returned with the Violin Sonata in F minor (1928), Allegro Agitato (movement III) performed by Mr. Silberger and Mr. Anikushin. It was pretty modern, for music of an 18-year-old composer—very dramatic, interesting, though not my favorite style, and included a more lyrical middle section that I liked better. That said, it was played extremely well by both performers. Messrs. Silberger and Anikushin followed this with Gypsy Dance from the opera The Rose Tree (1922), which was quite the showpiece, written at the age of 12! Parts of it were a bit cliché, so I just sat back and enjoyed it.
Of the six Early Songs performed by Ms. Ithier-Sterling, “The Daisies,” from Three Songs, Op. 2 (1927) and “The Slumber Song of the Madonna” (1925) were my favorites. Some earlier songs from 1917 and 1919 were included, possibly to show Barber’s growth in compositional techniques of Art Songs. Ms. Ithier-Sterling sang nicely, but didn’t really showcase these songs very well. The song Why Not? closed out the concert. It was a bit of a novelty song, and was quite amusing and—why not? It was from the pen and mind of a seven-year-old composer.
Sunday afternoon turned into a sort of history tour of the blues, courtesy of
The Overlook Concerts’ presenting the French Cookin’ Blues Band—Dave “Doc” French, guitar and vocals; Glen Bob Allen, drums; Margey Peters, bass; and Josh Goldberg, harmonica, guitar and vocals. Luckily it was a perfect afternoon for an outdoor concert. Ms. Peters was subbing for the quartet’s regular bass player, and she did a fine job. First things first, the amplification was just too loud. I was not the only person to pick up my plastic chair and move farther away from the speakers. The music itself was well performed, and “Doc” walked us through the history lesson part with charm and not a bit of school teacher–type stuff.
How Happy Am I (“Doc” French) was slow blues, with the harmonica featured quite prominently, in the style of delta blues. With its quicker tempo, Daytime Blues (D. French) had more of a country music feel, and included a nicely composed closing section. Without naming every name, we moved through to Chicago blues, with more of a driving rhythm and raw vocals. After adding a touch of R&B, Goldberg (“Brother G”) took over vocals from “Doc” in a nice rendition of Willie Dixon’s You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover. Marie, by Dave Alvin, and Bo Diddley, by Ellis McDaniels, roared us firmly into blues/rock before returning to a slower blues feel (with a classic walking bass line) with Old Sun Blues (D. French). The concert closed out with an instrumental version of French’s Waggin’—and there were some dogs in attendance, and their tails were a-waggin’.
There are two more Overlook Concerts (2pm on Oct. 4 and 11 at the Overlook in Riverside Park, near 116th Street) in case you’re interested. Oct. 4 is The Manhattan School of Music Brass Quintet, while the Oct. 11 is the Columbia University Bluegrass Band. Weather permitting, I’ll probably give both a try.
All of the music was composed by Samuel Barber (1910–1981), but most of the featured works were from his early years, including one that was written when he was seven years old. The first piece on the program was Souvenirs, Op. 28 (1952), a suite of six dances for solo piano. Waltz had a bright opening, and was modern but easy to listen to. Schottische was lively, and still had modern harmonies and rhythms. Pas de deux, gentler in tone and tempo, had a slightly ethereal ending. Two-step showed a bit of Latin flair and rhythm, while Hesitation-Tango gave us the full Latin treatment of a tango, but without being in-your-face aggressive. Galop was a return to bright, energetic rhythms that put me in the mind of fractured, modernist carousel music.
Much of the early piano solo music—Three Themes (1923), “Petite Berceuse”
(1923), and Essay II (1926)—gave insight into the budding mind of a young composer, but seemed a bit too repetitive in style and theme. Essay II was my favorite of this bunch, with its hints of imitating Stravinsky and Debussy. Still, it was more of a compositional character study as opposed to music for music’s sake. A pair of very simplistic childhood compositions followed. They could easily have been omitted, in my opinion.
Videos of Mr. Anikushin playing on two different carillons followed, and they were quite interesting. Who knew that you play a carillon by hitting batons. The three carillon pieces were written by Barber between 1930 and 1933. Four more videos followed after intermission, including Mr. Anikushin playing piano, organ, harpsichord and, again, carillon. The works were from 1926, 1927, and 1930 to 1933.
Live music returned with the Violin Sonata in F minor (1928), Allegro Agitato (movement III) performed by Mr. Silberger and Mr. Anikushin. It was pretty modern, for music of an 18-year-old composer—very dramatic, interesting, though not my favorite style, and included a more lyrical middle section that I liked better. That said, it was played extremely well by both performers. Messrs. Silberger and Anikushin followed this with Gypsy Dance from the opera The Rose Tree (1922), which was quite the showpiece, written at the age of 12! Parts of it were a bit cliché, so I just sat back and enjoyed it.
Of the six Early Songs performed by Ms. Ithier-Sterling, “The Daisies,” from Three Songs, Op. 2 (1927) and “The Slumber Song of the Madonna” (1925) were my favorites. Some earlier songs from 1917 and 1919 were included, possibly to show Barber’s growth in compositional techniques of Art Songs. Ms. Ithier-Sterling sang nicely, but didn’t really showcase these songs very well. The song Why Not? closed out the concert. It was a bit of a novelty song, and was quite amusing and—why not? It was from the pen and mind of a seven-year-old composer.
Sunday afternoon turned into a sort of history tour of the blues, courtesy of
The Overlook Concerts’ presenting the French Cookin’ Blues Band—Dave “Doc” French, guitar and vocals; Glen Bob Allen, drums; Margey Peters, bass; and Josh Goldberg, harmonica, guitar and vocals. Luckily it was a perfect afternoon for an outdoor concert. Ms. Peters was subbing for the quartet’s regular bass player, and she did a fine job. First things first, the amplification was just too loud. I was not the only person to pick up my plastic chair and move farther away from the speakers. The music itself was well performed, and “Doc” walked us through the history lesson part with charm and not a bit of school teacher–type stuff.
How Happy Am I (“Doc” French) was slow blues, with the harmonica featured quite prominently, in the style of delta blues. With its quicker tempo, Daytime Blues (D. French) had more of a country music feel, and included a nicely composed closing section. Without naming every name, we moved through to Chicago blues, with more of a driving rhythm and raw vocals. After adding a touch of R&B, Goldberg (“Brother G”) took over vocals from “Doc” in a nice rendition of Willie Dixon’s You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover. Marie, by Dave Alvin, and Bo Diddley, by Ellis McDaniels, roared us firmly into blues/rock before returning to a slower blues feel (with a classic walking bass line) with Old Sun Blues (D. French). The concert closed out with an instrumental version of French’s Waggin’—and there were some dogs in attendance, and their tails were a-waggin’.
There are two more Overlook Concerts (2pm on Oct. 4 and 11 at the Overlook in Riverside Park, near 116th Street) in case you’re interested. Oct. 4 is The Manhattan School of Music Brass Quintet, while the Oct. 11 is the Columbia University Bluegrass Band. Weather permitting, I’ll probably give both a try.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Open House Times Two (9/12-13/15)
No, not Open House New York, yet. Saturday found me at the Mark Morris Dance Center Open House, for a three o’clock concert. It’s a great building, with ample, clean, bright studio space and a flexible performance area on the fifth floor. In addition to the concert, there were free dance classes throughout the day, though I didn’t take any. They also had small servings of baked ziti, baby carrots (which aren’t really baby carrots, you know) and dip, and some salty chip-style snacks later on.
Oh, right, the performance. In addition to dance, they also have singing classes, and a small group of youngsters started off the program with “It’s a Hard Knock Life,” from Annie. They did a pretty darn good job, and I was tickled to hear one of my all-time favorite forced musical theater rhymes—“No one cares for you a smidge / When you’re in an or-pha-nage.” The songsters were followed by a pair of break dancing brothers who performed with lots of style and who really got the crowd going. I’m not good at guessing ages, but I’d put the older brother at about nine or ten, with the younger one at about six or seven.
The performance then moved on to two youth companies from the dance program. Student Company II performed The Vault, choreographed by Mireille Obert, which was a nice performance in the modern ballet style. It was mostly upbeat, and the eleven young ladies performed with grace and energy. Student Company I was slightly more advanced, and they performed excerpts from Words, choreographed by Mark Morris. With somber music to begin with, the piece advanced into a brighter tempo, and the twelve ladies performed with style and wit.
Oh, you want style and wit? The performance culminated with “Flowers” from The Hard Nut, also choreographed by Mr. Morris. Clara’s mother oversaw the antics of the flowers—and in this case the flowers were both male and female, all costumed alike in flowing floral dresses while on their heads they wore what looked like flower buds. Actually, they looked more like bathing caps, which was quite appropriate as some of the choreography was reminiscent of a Busby Berkeley, Esther Williams routine! Oh, and they all had on gold lame dance pants. I know this because at some point or another they all had their legs over their heads while lying on their backs. Did I mention that this was humorous? Oh yes, it was most definitely humorous. And yes, the Mark Morris Dance Group is performing The Hard Nut at Brooklyn Academy of Music this upcoming holiday season.
Sunday found me at the Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum in Long Island City, just across the East River from Manhattan, in Queens. Go. There. I went on a family Open House day (free), but this museum is worth the price of admission. I went because of the Open House and the free cello concert, but the museum won me over. OK, the concert. Ashley Bathgate, a Bang on a Can Music member, played Stories for Ocean Shells by Australian composer Kate Moore. The music was lovely; the treatment of it, not so much. The cello sounds were beautiful but the electronic sounds and amplification (and loops, loops, loops) did the compositions a disservice. At one point, I just left the concert proper (um, sitting on a concrete floor or a little bamboo mat) and wandered, looking at Isamu Noguchi’s sculptures while listening to essentially background music. I don't usually do background music at concerts. Noguchi’s (1904–1988) sculptures on display were created in granite, basalt, raw marble, and polished marble. Alas, the museum’s sculpture garden is under renovation—I’ll probably go back to see it in its full glory.
That said, both Open Houses were well worth spending time at, and I may seek both out again. I might even take a class or two at the Mark Morris Dance Center next year.
ConcertMeister
Oh, right, the performance. In addition to dance, they also have singing classes, and a small group of youngsters started off the program with “It’s a Hard Knock Life,” from Annie. They did a pretty darn good job, and I was tickled to hear one of my all-time favorite forced musical theater rhymes—“No one cares for you a smidge / When you’re in an or-pha-nage.” The songsters were followed by a pair of break dancing brothers who performed with lots of style and who really got the crowd going. I’m not good at guessing ages, but I’d put the older brother at about nine or ten, with the younger one at about six or seven.
The performance then moved on to two youth companies from the dance program. Student Company II performed The Vault, choreographed by Mireille Obert, which was a nice performance in the modern ballet style. It was mostly upbeat, and the eleven young ladies performed with grace and energy. Student Company I was slightly more advanced, and they performed excerpts from Words, choreographed by Mark Morris. With somber music to begin with, the piece advanced into a brighter tempo, and the twelve ladies performed with style and wit.
Oh, you want style and wit? The performance culminated with “Flowers” from The Hard Nut, also choreographed by Mr. Morris. Clara’s mother oversaw the antics of the flowers—and in this case the flowers were both male and female, all costumed alike in flowing floral dresses while on their heads they wore what looked like flower buds. Actually, they looked more like bathing caps, which was quite appropriate as some of the choreography was reminiscent of a Busby Berkeley, Esther Williams routine! Oh, and they all had on gold lame dance pants. I know this because at some point or another they all had their legs over their heads while lying on their backs. Did I mention that this was humorous? Oh yes, it was most definitely humorous. And yes, the Mark Morris Dance Group is performing The Hard Nut at Brooklyn Academy of Music this upcoming holiday season.
Sunday found me at the Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum in Long Island City, just across the East River from Manhattan, in Queens. Go. There. I went on a family Open House day (free), but this museum is worth the price of admission. I went because of the Open House and the free cello concert, but the museum won me over. OK, the concert. Ashley Bathgate, a Bang on a Can Music member, played Stories for Ocean Shells by Australian composer Kate Moore. The music was lovely; the treatment of it, not so much. The cello sounds were beautiful but the electronic sounds and amplification (and loops, loops, loops) did the compositions a disservice. At one point, I just left the concert proper (um, sitting on a concrete floor or a little bamboo mat) and wandered, looking at Isamu Noguchi’s sculptures while listening to essentially background music. I don't usually do background music at concerts. Noguchi’s (1904–1988) sculptures on display were created in granite, basalt, raw marble, and polished marble. Alas, the museum’s sculpture garden is under renovation—I’ll probably go back to see it in its full glory.
That said, both Open Houses were well worth spending time at, and I may seek both out again. I might even take a class or two at the Mark Morris Dance Center next year.
ConcertMeister
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
10th-Anniversary Harlem Garden Tour (8/29/15)
This was year three for me. And only year two for the full tour. The first year I attended, I joined mid-tour; last year, I did the whole she-bang—including breakfast and a Harlem cookout! Last year, I had gumbo for breakfast for the first time, so this year I had to add ratatouille to the gumbo for breakfast. (Yes, I did make a donation to this free event.)
Many of the gardens—and they are all community gardens—were repeats this year. I happened to know about the cotton and peanuts, planted in a public space, from last year. That information was not presented this year, partially due to the much larger turnout. See 10th-anniversary, above. Repeat standouts for me were the Joseph Daniel Wilson Memorial Garden (W. 122nd St.), Clayton Williams Garden and PCB William B. Washington Garden (both on W. 126th St.), Linnette C. Williamson/Unity Garden (W. 128th St.) (though they had some condition issues because of a condemned building next door and the re-seeding of their Harlem Village Green space), and the always stunning and educational Success Garden/Harlem Grown space (W. 134th St.). Success Garden/Harlem Grown works in conjunction with the school across the street; the students do the gardening, and all of the produce goes home with them or is donated to the community. How cool is that?
The first stop this year was new to the tour—Chenchita's Garden, at 112th St. and Madison Ave. This is a large, beautiful spot that incorporates teaching, yarn projects, and sharing produce (for a slight fee) with the community. This place made a huge impression on me. At the end of the tour, I celebrated with rotisserie chicken, cole slaw, pasta salad, and yellow rice. Oh, also along the way they provided water, and some of the individual gardens provided tea, snacks, and infused waters. Did I mention that this was free?
This year, there were two yellow school buses for patrons who needed transportation, a bicycling contingent, and a walking contingent. I was part of that one, though I didn't make the trek from W. 134th St. to W. 162nd St. and then back down to 151st St. Instead, I sought out an Ethiopian restaurant and had a 'Renaissance Wit' beer, brewed by the Harlem Brewing Co., based out of Saratoga, NY. Lest I forget, though I forgot to go there during rose season, the tour also had a stop at the Harlem Rose Garden on E. 129th St.
Ah, the gardens. I saw the following growing: collards, cabbage, thyme, basil, sage, corn, okra, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, hard squash (butternut, I think), broccoli, chard, kale, pea plants, sunflowers, marigolds, and snapdragons. As for trees, I saw (and many with fruit) apple, crabapple, peach, pear, blueberry, weeping willow, Rose of Sharon, crape myrtle, and bamboo (technically, a grass).
As for other interesting tidbits, the Success Garden/Harlem Grown also has a hydroponic greenhouse (alas, it may have to be dismantled because the plot of land it sits on has been sold). Oh, duh! Community gardens are undeveloped land that the city owns, but that citizens have reclaimed. Some operate under contracts with the city, while others are technically squatters. Also of note, the Linnette C. Williamson Garden is celebrating its 50th! year in 2015, and is presumed to be the first vest-pocket park in the nation.
I feel compelled to note that these gardens are not always open to the public. In fact, because most of them are run by volunteers, they might not even be open during the hours that are posted as "open." Still, even viewed from behind a fence, many of them are interesting and quite beautiful.
Did I mention that they fed me? Twice! Yeah, I'll check them out again next year.
ConcertMeister
Many of the gardens—and they are all community gardens—were repeats this year. I happened to know about the cotton and peanuts, planted in a public space, from last year. That information was not presented this year, partially due to the much larger turnout. See 10th-anniversary, above. Repeat standouts for me were the Joseph Daniel Wilson Memorial Garden (W. 122nd St.), Clayton Williams Garden and PCB William B. Washington Garden (both on W. 126th St.), Linnette C. Williamson/Unity Garden (W. 128th St.) (though they had some condition issues because of a condemned building next door and the re-seeding of their Harlem Village Green space), and the always stunning and educational Success Garden/Harlem Grown space (W. 134th St.). Success Garden/Harlem Grown works in conjunction with the school across the street; the students do the gardening, and all of the produce goes home with them or is donated to the community. How cool is that?
The first stop this year was new to the tour—Chenchita's Garden, at 112th St. and Madison Ave. This is a large, beautiful spot that incorporates teaching, yarn projects, and sharing produce (for a slight fee) with the community. This place made a huge impression on me. At the end of the tour, I celebrated with rotisserie chicken, cole slaw, pasta salad, and yellow rice. Oh, also along the way they provided water, and some of the individual gardens provided tea, snacks, and infused waters. Did I mention that this was free?
This year, there were two yellow school buses for patrons who needed transportation, a bicycling contingent, and a walking contingent. I was part of that one, though I didn't make the trek from W. 134th St. to W. 162nd St. and then back down to 151st St. Instead, I sought out an Ethiopian restaurant and had a 'Renaissance Wit' beer, brewed by the Harlem Brewing Co., based out of Saratoga, NY. Lest I forget, though I forgot to go there during rose season, the tour also had a stop at the Harlem Rose Garden on E. 129th St.
Ah, the gardens. I saw the following growing: collards, cabbage, thyme, basil, sage, corn, okra, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, hard squash (butternut, I think), broccoli, chard, kale, pea plants, sunflowers, marigolds, and snapdragons. As for trees, I saw (and many with fruit) apple, crabapple, peach, pear, blueberry, weeping willow, Rose of Sharon, crape myrtle, and bamboo (technically, a grass).
As for other interesting tidbits, the Success Garden/Harlem Grown also has a hydroponic greenhouse (alas, it may have to be dismantled because the plot of land it sits on has been sold). Oh, duh! Community gardens are undeveloped land that the city owns, but that citizens have reclaimed. Some operate under contracts with the city, while others are technically squatters. Also of note, the Linnette C. Williamson Garden is celebrating its 50th! year in 2015, and is presumed to be the first vest-pocket park in the nation.
I feel compelled to note that these gardens are not always open to the public. In fact, because most of them are run by volunteers, they might not even be open during the hours that are posted as "open." Still, even viewed from behind a fence, many of them are interesting and quite beautiful.
Did I mention that they fed me? Twice! Yeah, I'll check them out again next year.
ConcertMeister
Friday, August 21, 2015
Mostly Mozart Festival (8/19/15)
Wait a minute, ’Meister! That can’t have been free or low cost—and Mozart’s not even your favorite! Hold your horses, folks. Every once in a while I splurge, and this was one of those times. For my birthday, I took myself to hear Joshua Bell.
Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K.546 (1788) – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Violin Concerto in E major, BWV 1042 (before 1730) – Allegro; Adagio; Allegro assai – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Chaconne, from Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 (1720) – Bach
(arr. 1847, Felix Mendelssohn; arr. 2013, Julian Milone)
Symphony No. 2 in C major (1845–46) – Sostenuto assai—Allegro, ma non troppo; Scherzo: Allegro vivace; Adagio espressivo; Allegro molto vivace –
Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
So, not only was it not mostly Mozart, the Mozart piece on the program even gave a nod to Bach. The fugue part was written, as a Bachian fugue, in 1783 for two pianos. The adagio was added in 1788 with the original fugue arranged for string quartet or orchestra—the string orchestra version was heard Wednesday night. The piece was dramatic and mysterious, with the fugue full of drama all the way through to the final chord.
The Bach concerto was scored for a smaller group of strings plus harpsichord. The first movement was bright and energetic, while my note for the second movement is simply, plaintive. In keeping it simple, the third movement was ebullient. Throughout the piece I was really intrigued with the incredibly smooth character of Mr. Bell’s playing. The fireworks were there, but in a smooth, concentrated way.
Okay, now on to the Chaconne. Originally written for solo violin, Mendelssohn added a piano part, to discreetly flesh out some of the harmonies. (Mendelssohn was quite a force in the resurgence of Bach’s music.) Milone created the orchestral version of that piano version. [Note: I usually don’t read reviews of concerts that I’m going to write about; however, I did read the New York Times review of Tuesday night’s performance. And I just have to steal this snippet about why
Mr. Bell used the orchestral version of Mendelssohn’s piano version instead of playing Bach’s solo version: Before beginning the piece, Mr. Bell said that for “those of you who think Bach would turn in his grave” to hear these “strange harmonies” added to his Chaconne, “the good news is that we’re playing it again tomorrow.” So, he added, “Bach will turn back over.”] The piece is multiple variations of variations, including a couple of false endings, that were all masterfully played.
A shout out here to another Bach connection with this concert. As fate would have it, my relatives Mr. and Mrs. Himelsbach (get it? Himelsbach?), were celebrating their wedding anniversary by attending this concert on the exact same night I attended, celebrating my birthday! We were able to chat before the concert, during intermission, and even on the cross-town bus back to the East Side, afterwards.
After intermission, the strings were bulked up with woodwinds and brass for the Schumann symphony. I liked the opening movement, and it was interesting to hear it followed by the bright scherzo. The adagio was highly effective in creating a slightly brooding quality, reinforced by exposed horn writing. The final movement was strong and finished off with a bang. Andrew Manze conducted the Mozart and the Schumann, while Mr. Bell was the leader for the Bach pieces.
All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable concert, performed magnificently. It’s the first time I’ve heard Mr. Bell live, in concert, and it was the perfect celebration for my birthday and Pat and Jim’s anniversary. Spending time with them was the icing on the cake though, alas, no cake was involved.
ConcertMeister
Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K.546 (1788) – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Violin Concerto in E major, BWV 1042 (before 1730) – Allegro; Adagio; Allegro assai – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Chaconne, from Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 (1720) – Bach
(arr. 1847, Felix Mendelssohn; arr. 2013, Julian Milone)
Symphony No. 2 in C major (1845–46) – Sostenuto assai—Allegro, ma non troppo; Scherzo: Allegro vivace; Adagio espressivo; Allegro molto vivace –
Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
So, not only was it not mostly Mozart, the Mozart piece on the program even gave a nod to Bach. The fugue part was written, as a Bachian fugue, in 1783 for two pianos. The adagio was added in 1788 with the original fugue arranged for string quartet or orchestra—the string orchestra version was heard Wednesday night. The piece was dramatic and mysterious, with the fugue full of drama all the way through to the final chord.
The Bach concerto was scored for a smaller group of strings plus harpsichord. The first movement was bright and energetic, while my note for the second movement is simply, plaintive. In keeping it simple, the third movement was ebullient. Throughout the piece I was really intrigued with the incredibly smooth character of Mr. Bell’s playing. The fireworks were there, but in a smooth, concentrated way.
Okay, now on to the Chaconne. Originally written for solo violin, Mendelssohn added a piano part, to discreetly flesh out some of the harmonies. (Mendelssohn was quite a force in the resurgence of Bach’s music.) Milone created the orchestral version of that piano version. [Note: I usually don’t read reviews of concerts that I’m going to write about; however, I did read the New York Times review of Tuesday night’s performance. And I just have to steal this snippet about why
Mr. Bell used the orchestral version of Mendelssohn’s piano version instead of playing Bach’s solo version: Before beginning the piece, Mr. Bell said that for “those of you who think Bach would turn in his grave” to hear these “strange harmonies” added to his Chaconne, “the good news is that we’re playing it again tomorrow.” So, he added, “Bach will turn back over.”] The piece is multiple variations of variations, including a couple of false endings, that were all masterfully played.
A shout out here to another Bach connection with this concert. As fate would have it, my relatives Mr. and Mrs. Himelsbach (get it? Himelsbach?), were celebrating their wedding anniversary by attending this concert on the exact same night I attended, celebrating my birthday! We were able to chat before the concert, during intermission, and even on the cross-town bus back to the East Side, afterwards.
After intermission, the strings were bulked up with woodwinds and brass for the Schumann symphony. I liked the opening movement, and it was interesting to hear it followed by the bright scherzo. The adagio was highly effective in creating a slightly brooding quality, reinforced by exposed horn writing. The final movement was strong and finished off with a bang. Andrew Manze conducted the Mozart and the Schumann, while Mr. Bell was the leader for the Bach pieces.
All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable concert, performed magnificently. It’s the first time I’ve heard Mr. Bell live, in concert, and it was the perfect celebration for my birthday and Pat and Jim’s anniversary. Spending time with them was the icing on the cake though, alas, no cake was involved.
ConcertMeister
Monday, August 17, 2015
The Plantation (8/16/15)
Sunday afternoon found me on Governors Island for a site-specific production of The Plantation, an adaptation of Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard, set in Reconstruction 1870s Virginia. As a concept, it worked well. I’m somewhat chagrined to admit, though, that I have zero experience with Chekov—never read him and never seen a production of any of the plays. So when I say that as a concept, it worked, this is based on my after-the-fact reading about The Cherry Orchard.
Claire Beckman adapted and directed the production, which was a staged reading with scripts in hand. In this case, it was close to being fully staged. Many of the sixteen actors involved have appeared at Brave New World Rep, in Brooklyn, where Ms. Beckman was the producing artistic director for many years (she’s also a co-founder). In a sense this was a plus, as the company on Sunday seemed to have a good rapport.
The specific site for The Plantation was the Commanding Officers House in Nolan Park on the island. With its stately white columns, slightly cramped back yard, and many-roomed interior, parts of the site-specific concept worked better than others. After what threatened to be a washout, courtesy of a rather violent ten- to fifteen-minute thunderstorm, the play got under way just slightly behind schedule.
Those stately white columns and broad front porch were just about perfect for Act I, which also made use of the narrow space just down the few steps from the porch. The transition to Act II, at the rear of the house, was a little ungainly, perhaps because the performance was pretty well attended, meaning that a lot of people had to travel. These transitions (all three of them) slowed down the action a little too much for my taste. Act III took place inside the house, and this was the least effective in terms of blocking and spacing because there were very few ways to view all of the action. I was able to move around a couple of times to see better but most audience members didn’t have that option. Act IV was in the front yard again, and gave a nice feel of the play running full circle.
The acting, costumes, and direction all came off very well. The amplified sound (body microphones) did not fare quite as well. Part of that may have been due to the weather—moisture has a way of affecting electronics, and not in a good way. Another aspect that seemed like a good idea on paper but didn’t pan out too well was the use of Fisk Jubilee Singers to transition from act to act. Traveling the distances during the transitions caused the singing to be out of synch from time to time. It’s a good concept that needs better execution.
The company hopes to continue their Indiegogo campaign in order to raise funds for fully mounted performances in the same space next summer. If they’re successful in their fundraising, I hope to see the real deal then—and, of course, fill you all in. Once again, there’s a lot of stuff out there, and I plan on continuing to search for more.
ConcertMeister (or, PlayMeister)
Claire Beckman adapted and directed the production, which was a staged reading with scripts in hand. In this case, it was close to being fully staged. Many of the sixteen actors involved have appeared at Brave New World Rep, in Brooklyn, where Ms. Beckman was the producing artistic director for many years (she’s also a co-founder). In a sense this was a plus, as the company on Sunday seemed to have a good rapport.
The specific site for The Plantation was the Commanding Officers House in Nolan Park on the island. With its stately white columns, slightly cramped back yard, and many-roomed interior, parts of the site-specific concept worked better than others. After what threatened to be a washout, courtesy of a rather violent ten- to fifteen-minute thunderstorm, the play got under way just slightly behind schedule.
Those stately white columns and broad front porch were just about perfect for Act I, which also made use of the narrow space just down the few steps from the porch. The transition to Act II, at the rear of the house, was a little ungainly, perhaps because the performance was pretty well attended, meaning that a lot of people had to travel. These transitions (all three of them) slowed down the action a little too much for my taste. Act III took place inside the house, and this was the least effective in terms of blocking and spacing because there were very few ways to view all of the action. I was able to move around a couple of times to see better but most audience members didn’t have that option. Act IV was in the front yard again, and gave a nice feel of the play running full circle.
The acting, costumes, and direction all came off very well. The amplified sound (body microphones) did not fare quite as well. Part of that may have been due to the weather—moisture has a way of affecting electronics, and not in a good way. Another aspect that seemed like a good idea on paper but didn’t pan out too well was the use of Fisk Jubilee Singers to transition from act to act. Traveling the distances during the transitions caused the singing to be out of synch from time to time. It’s a good concept that needs better execution.
The company hopes to continue their Indiegogo campaign in order to raise funds for fully mounted performances in the same space next summer. If they’re successful in their fundraising, I hope to see the real deal then—and, of course, fill you all in. Once again, there’s a lot of stuff out there, and I plan on continuing to search for more.
ConcertMeister (or, PlayMeister)
Thursday, August 13, 2015
A Weekend in the Country (Or ... Music in Central Park) (8/8 (and 9)/15)
After volunteering for Summer Streets on Saturday the 8th, I caught four silent films at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts. And after that, I stopped by to hear some of the Great Jazz on the Great Hill concert, presented by the Central Park Conservancy and the Jazzmobile, as part of the Conservancy’s 35th anniversary. The Great Hill is in upper Central Park, accessed via either West 103rd or West 106th Streets. I heard performances by the George Gee Orchestra and the Solomon Hicks Quintet. Both groups were very good, but the amplification proved too loud for me, so I didn’t stay very long. Also, the large-ish crowd was not quite my cup of tea.
Sunday, however, found me at the northern tip of Central Park—the Harlem Meer—for a performance by the Harlem Blues & Jazz Band, a group that has been playing together for at least 40 years. But talk about longevity, the saxophonist recently celebrated his 100th birthday! And he can still swing with the younger guys. At various times the group consisted of guitar, electric keyboard, double bass, trumpet, tuba, trombone, saxophone, and harmonica. A female vocalist was also on hand, and some of the instrumentalists contributed vocals, as well. The band did a great job, people in the audience were urged to (and did) dance, and the audience thoroughly enjoyed themselves, including me. I happened to have stumbled on a listing for performances at the Meer a couple of weeks ago, so I missed out on earlier Sunday afternoons, going back to June 21. I may skip Aug. 16 (Cuban) and Aug. 30 (African Peoples of Central America), but Aug. 23 (The Ebony Hillbillies—Bluegrass/Appalachian) and Sept. 6 (Dee Dee LeVant Gospel Ensemble) both hold a lot of appeal for me.
The performance I read about and experienced on Aug. 2 was Famoro Dioubate & Kakande, performing West African music. The driving rhythms seemed to compel some of the audience members to get up and dance. There was also a somewhat religious aspect to the quality of the music, as well, played on guitar, double bass, drum set, and an African hand drum, along with a female vocalist, and
Mr. Dioubate playing the balafon.
And that’s what interested me. During a break in the sets, I asked him about it and he told me that he would be discussing the instrument when the band started up again.
The balafon is a xylophone-like melodic percussion instrument with keys made of béné wood (though I can’t find a good description of that) strung over a fixed frame. The individual keys have a calabash gourd beneath them, graduated in size to match the keys, acting as a resonator. A small hole in each gourd is covered with a membrane (usually thin paper or thin plastic film), which gives the instrument a buzzy sound to go along with the pitch of the keys. The keys are struck with mallets that have rubber heads. The sound was really intriguing and interesting. The music itself ended up being too much sameness for me, so I didn’t stay for the entire performance. But the balafon stuck with me for quite some time. There’s a whole new/different world out there, and I’m going exploring.
ConcertMeister
Sunday, however, found me at the northern tip of Central Park—the Harlem Meer—for a performance by the Harlem Blues & Jazz Band, a group that has been playing together for at least 40 years. But talk about longevity, the saxophonist recently celebrated his 100th birthday! And he can still swing with the younger guys. At various times the group consisted of guitar, electric keyboard, double bass, trumpet, tuba, trombone, saxophone, and harmonica. A female vocalist was also on hand, and some of the instrumentalists contributed vocals, as well. The band did a great job, people in the audience were urged to (and did) dance, and the audience thoroughly enjoyed themselves, including me. I happened to have stumbled on a listing for performances at the Meer a couple of weeks ago, so I missed out on earlier Sunday afternoons, going back to June 21. I may skip Aug. 16 (Cuban) and Aug. 30 (African Peoples of Central America), but Aug. 23 (The Ebony Hillbillies—Bluegrass/Appalachian) and Sept. 6 (Dee Dee LeVant Gospel Ensemble) both hold a lot of appeal for me.
The performance I read about and experienced on Aug. 2 was Famoro Dioubate & Kakande, performing West African music. The driving rhythms seemed to compel some of the audience members to get up and dance. There was also a somewhat religious aspect to the quality of the music, as well, played on guitar, double bass, drum set, and an African hand drum, along with a female vocalist, and
Mr. Dioubate playing the balafon.
And that’s what interested me. During a break in the sets, I asked him about it and he told me that he would be discussing the instrument when the band started up again.
The balafon is a xylophone-like melodic percussion instrument with keys made of béné wood (though I can’t find a good description of that) strung over a fixed frame. The individual keys have a calabash gourd beneath them, graduated in size to match the keys, acting as a resonator. A small hole in each gourd is covered with a membrane (usually thin paper or thin plastic film), which gives the instrument a buzzy sound to go along with the pitch of the keys. The keys are struck with mallets that have rubber heads. The sound was really intriguing and interesting. The music itself ended up being too much sameness for me, so I didn’t stay for the entire performance. But the balafon stuck with me for quite some time. There’s a whole new/different world out there, and I’m going exploring.
ConcertMeister
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Naumburg (No. 5 of 5) (8/4/15)
Finally, a totally beautiful evening, weather-wise. And music-wise. The Naumburg Orchestral Concerts presented ECCO (East Coast Chamber Orchestra) in its Naumburg debut.
Four on the Floor (2006) – Judd Greenstein (1979–)
Battalia à 10 in D Major, C. 61 (1673) I. Sonata; II. Die liederliche Gesellschaft von allerley Humor; III. Presto; IV. Der Mars; V. Presto; VI. Aria; VII. Die Schlacht; VIII. Adagio. Lamento der Verwundten Musquetirer – Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644–1704)
“La Follia” Variations for String Orchestra – Francesco Geminiani/
Michi Wiancko (1687–1762)/(1976–)
Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48 (1880) I. Pezzo in forma di Sonatina: Andante non troppo – Allegro moderato – Andante non troppo; II. Waltz: Moderato; III. Elégie: Larghetto elegiac; IV. Finale: (Théma russe): Andante – Allegro con spirito – Molto meno mosso – Allegro con spirito – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)
All four of the pieces on the program were for string orchestra (18 players), though the first was originally written for string quartet. The composer was in the audience and spoke briefly after the performance, quipping that maybe it should have been renamed 18 on the Floor on Tuesday night. Described as “18 players rock out,” the piece had driving rhythms, almost like an updating of the way Telemann or Vivaldi created forward energy with string writing. I also got echoes of Stravinsky’s rhythmic phrasing. That said, it was just an OK curtain raiser, as far as I was concerned.
Fortunately, the evening’s host, Naomi Lewin from WQXR, gave us a little background info on Biber’s Battalia—without it I would have had no idea what was going on in the second movement (eight different folk tunes in eight different keys and time signatures, to portray drunken soldiers). The eight movements of the piece mostly flowed with minimal breaks between them. I. Bright, crisp, including the musicians tapping their instruments and stamping on the floor; II. See eight tunes, eight keys, eight time signatures, above; III. Brief and pleasant; IV. Indeed, martial, with a piece of paper used by the double basses to imitate the sound of a snare drum; V. Dance-like and pleasant [ringing phone in the audience!]; VI. Gentle, calm song form with even phrases and a pretty tune; VII. Brusque, with more percussive playing, including plucked strings to imitate cannons; and VIII. Calmer, with sweet tunes—even slightly syrupy but not overdone. All in all, a very interesting piece, very well played.
The La Follia Variations were Ms. Wiancko’s arrangement after Geminiani’s Concerto Grosso No. 12 in D minor. It had a dark, severe opening with very rich, full scoring that then expanded some of the original phrases, adding rhythmic fillips and shifting dynamics—sort of mini variations throughout. A second section had one of the violinists using what seemed to be claves (those wooden bars you played with in elementary school music class), giving a slightly Moorish or Northern African flavor to the section, heightened by a violist adding light tambourine accents. A third section tied it all together into a neat little package.
And now, the Tchaikovsky Serenade. This is one of my favorite pieces, dating back to when I danced a ballet set to the score (with some judicious cuts). I’m not an all-caps kind of guy, but during the third movement I wrote “THEY KNOW THIS WORK!” in my notes. Yeah, it was that good.
The first movement started out lush and formidable, full of heart, and then swept forward with more rich harmonies and a pickup in tempo. As a side note, it was lovely to see the sky darkening to that l’heure bleu shade while listening to this, al fresco. A return to the opening theme rounded the movement out quite nicely. Next we had that gentle waltz bubbling along with a slight touch of a Viennese pause once in a while, with the secondary theme adding a bit of Russian drama, all combined with nicely nuanced phrasing. The third movement was somber but not depressingly so. The full, deep sound of the secondary theme had a light pizzicato accompaniment. As in the waltz, each iteration of a theme had interesting touches added one by one. With a quiet theme as an introduction, the fourth movement lulls you and then really takes off. New idea upon new idea is added until the orchestra is going full throttle. After a slight pull back, it winds up again, leading to the opening theme from the first movement—ending with a brilliant use of the theme. ECCO’s first commercial recording, from 2012, includes this Serenade. I may just be on the lookout for it.
Major kudos to Christopher London on the 110th! anniversary of Naumburg Orchestral Concerts and to WQXR as a broadcast sponsor. I'm already looking forward to 2016.
ConcertMeister
Four on the Floor (2006) – Judd Greenstein (1979–)
Battalia à 10 in D Major, C. 61 (1673) I. Sonata; II. Die liederliche Gesellschaft von allerley Humor; III. Presto; IV. Der Mars; V. Presto; VI. Aria; VII. Die Schlacht; VIII. Adagio. Lamento der Verwundten Musquetirer – Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644–1704)
“La Follia” Variations for String Orchestra – Francesco Geminiani/
Michi Wiancko (1687–1762)/(1976–)
Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48 (1880) I. Pezzo in forma di Sonatina: Andante non troppo – Allegro moderato – Andante non troppo; II. Waltz: Moderato; III. Elégie: Larghetto elegiac; IV. Finale: (Théma russe): Andante – Allegro con spirito – Molto meno mosso – Allegro con spirito – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)
All four of the pieces on the program were for string orchestra (18 players), though the first was originally written for string quartet. The composer was in the audience and spoke briefly after the performance, quipping that maybe it should have been renamed 18 on the Floor on Tuesday night. Described as “18 players rock out,” the piece had driving rhythms, almost like an updating of the way Telemann or Vivaldi created forward energy with string writing. I also got echoes of Stravinsky’s rhythmic phrasing. That said, it was just an OK curtain raiser, as far as I was concerned.
Fortunately, the evening’s host, Naomi Lewin from WQXR, gave us a little background info on Biber’s Battalia—without it I would have had no idea what was going on in the second movement (eight different folk tunes in eight different keys and time signatures, to portray drunken soldiers). The eight movements of the piece mostly flowed with minimal breaks between them. I. Bright, crisp, including the musicians tapping their instruments and stamping on the floor; II. See eight tunes, eight keys, eight time signatures, above; III. Brief and pleasant; IV. Indeed, martial, with a piece of paper used by the double basses to imitate the sound of a snare drum; V. Dance-like and pleasant [ringing phone in the audience!]; VI. Gentle, calm song form with even phrases and a pretty tune; VII. Brusque, with more percussive playing, including plucked strings to imitate cannons; and VIII. Calmer, with sweet tunes—even slightly syrupy but not overdone. All in all, a very interesting piece, very well played.
The La Follia Variations were Ms. Wiancko’s arrangement after Geminiani’s Concerto Grosso No. 12 in D minor. It had a dark, severe opening with very rich, full scoring that then expanded some of the original phrases, adding rhythmic fillips and shifting dynamics—sort of mini variations throughout. A second section had one of the violinists using what seemed to be claves (those wooden bars you played with in elementary school music class), giving a slightly Moorish or Northern African flavor to the section, heightened by a violist adding light tambourine accents. A third section tied it all together into a neat little package.
And now, the Tchaikovsky Serenade. This is one of my favorite pieces, dating back to when I danced a ballet set to the score (with some judicious cuts). I’m not an all-caps kind of guy, but during the third movement I wrote “THEY KNOW THIS WORK!” in my notes. Yeah, it was that good.
The first movement started out lush and formidable, full of heart, and then swept forward with more rich harmonies and a pickup in tempo. As a side note, it was lovely to see the sky darkening to that l’heure bleu shade while listening to this, al fresco. A return to the opening theme rounded the movement out quite nicely. Next we had that gentle waltz bubbling along with a slight touch of a Viennese pause once in a while, with the secondary theme adding a bit of Russian drama, all combined with nicely nuanced phrasing. The third movement was somber but not depressingly so. The full, deep sound of the secondary theme had a light pizzicato accompaniment. As in the waltz, each iteration of a theme had interesting touches added one by one. With a quiet theme as an introduction, the fourth movement lulls you and then really takes off. New idea upon new idea is added until the orchestra is going full throttle. After a slight pull back, it winds up again, leading to the opening theme from the first movement—ending with a brilliant use of the theme. ECCO’s first commercial recording, from 2012, includes this Serenade. I may just be on the lookout for it.
Major kudos to Christopher London on the 110th! anniversary of Naumburg Orchestral Concerts and to WQXR as a broadcast sponsor. I'm already looking forward to 2016.
ConcertMeister
Friday, July 24, 2015
Naumburg (No. 4 of 5) (7/21/15)
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Symphony No. 1 in D Major (1759) – I. Presto, II. Andante, III. Presto –
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Sigfried Idyll (1870) – Richard Wagner (1813–1883)
Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 (1813) – I. Poco sostenuto-Vivace,
II. Allegretto, III. Presto-Assai meno presto (trio), IV. Allegro con brio –
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Orpheus, performing without a conductor (their modus operandi), performed a well balanced and varied program on Tuesday evening. The Haydn began with a nice, delicate touch, slightly offset by an ominous breeze, in a bright and pleasant first movement. It had quite a happy feel to it. The second movement, even with its slower tempo and its bouncing rhythms, continued the pleasant atmosphere. The recurring touches of delicacy were a defining quality, leading to an absolutely lovely finish to the movement. The third movement was also rhythmically interesting and forward moving, with its sunny themes and rhythms (in contrast to the sky—see ominous, above).
Wagner’s Idyll had a gentle opening with rich harmonies, with the woodwind instruments featured more prominently from time to time. There was a nice build of orchestral texture, as well as a graceful ebb and flow. Typical of Wagner, motifs kept repeating and building, featuring effective horn writing, plus woodwinds, as well. Looking at the treetops, blue sky, and grayish-white clouds, I felt as though I were actually in a plein air painting. Idyllic, indeed.
After intermission, the Beethoven began with a fuller sound and orchestration, still with the winds featured from time to time. There was a rather lengthy introduction, the Sostenuto, followed by a really full orchestral sound, the Vivace. The second movement had a brooding and poignant quality to begin with, slowly building in intensity. In form, it was almost a cross between a canon and a theme and variations. The third movement opened with dance-like themes, still with nice back and forth dynamics. After a contrasting section, there was a return to the opening theme. The fourth movement was very energetic with interesting writing for the brass instruments. A dramatic theme was introduced and helped to build the intensity. That intensity seemed to flag a little, but I attribute that to the size of the chamber orchestra. While allowing contrasts to be shown clearly, the sheer number of the forces couldn’t quite supply the oomph that I felt was slightly lacking. But that’s a minor quibble. Throughout, the playing was top notch and very enjoyable.
And for all of the ominous weather that began the evening, there were only the briefest of sprinkles in an evening that turned out to be the perfect way to spend time in Central Park—sitting amid hundreds of listeners enjoying a wonderful performance. Thanks, again to the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts organization and to WQXR for hosting and broadcasting the concert. I’m very much looking forward to the next, and final, concert.
ConcertMeister
Symphony No. 1 in D Major (1759) – I. Presto, II. Andante, III. Presto –
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Sigfried Idyll (1870) – Richard Wagner (1813–1883)
Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 (1813) – I. Poco sostenuto-Vivace,
II. Allegretto, III. Presto-Assai meno presto (trio), IV. Allegro con brio –
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Orpheus, performing without a conductor (their modus operandi), performed a well balanced and varied program on Tuesday evening. The Haydn began with a nice, delicate touch, slightly offset by an ominous breeze, in a bright and pleasant first movement. It had quite a happy feel to it. The second movement, even with its slower tempo and its bouncing rhythms, continued the pleasant atmosphere. The recurring touches of delicacy were a defining quality, leading to an absolutely lovely finish to the movement. The third movement was also rhythmically interesting and forward moving, with its sunny themes and rhythms (in contrast to the sky—see ominous, above).
Wagner’s Idyll had a gentle opening with rich harmonies, with the woodwind instruments featured more prominently from time to time. There was a nice build of orchestral texture, as well as a graceful ebb and flow. Typical of Wagner, motifs kept repeating and building, featuring effective horn writing, plus woodwinds, as well. Looking at the treetops, blue sky, and grayish-white clouds, I felt as though I were actually in a plein air painting. Idyllic, indeed.
After intermission, the Beethoven began with a fuller sound and orchestration, still with the winds featured from time to time. There was a rather lengthy introduction, the Sostenuto, followed by a really full orchestral sound, the Vivace. The second movement had a brooding and poignant quality to begin with, slowly building in intensity. In form, it was almost a cross between a canon and a theme and variations. The third movement opened with dance-like themes, still with nice back and forth dynamics. After a contrasting section, there was a return to the opening theme. The fourth movement was very energetic with interesting writing for the brass instruments. A dramatic theme was introduced and helped to build the intensity. That intensity seemed to flag a little, but I attribute that to the size of the chamber orchestra. While allowing contrasts to be shown clearly, the sheer number of the forces couldn’t quite supply the oomph that I felt was slightly lacking. But that’s a minor quibble. Throughout, the playing was top notch and very enjoyable.
And for all of the ominous weather that began the evening, there were only the briefest of sprinkles in an evening that turned out to be the perfect way to spend time in Central Park—sitting amid hundreds of listeners enjoying a wonderful performance. Thanks, again to the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts organization and to WQXR for hosting and broadcasting the concert. I’m very much looking forward to the next, and final, concert.
ConcertMeister
Monday, July 20, 2015
ArtMeister (7/18–19/15)
With summer upon us, there are lots of things happening, but a few of the musical events seem to be at times that are not tremendously convenient for me, so I’ve been exploring art. Saturday found me at the Socrates Sculpture Park, in Queens, a place I’ve often considered visiting. While I’m glad I went, I was a little surprised at the size of the park. It was quite a bit smaller than I expected. There were four site-specific installations, each interesting, but each slightly unsatisfying, as well.
The Living Pyramid (2015) by Agnes Denes, is indeed a large pyramid with living plants in tiers, but it wasn’t as impressive as I expected. And it certainly wasn’t as impressive as depicted in the brochure that I picked up.
Two Trees in Balance (2015), by Gabriela Albergaria, was two tree stumps connected by wires to a cinder block wall. Meh. A large installation by IK Studio was not the piece depicted in the brochure. It was pleasant enough—sort of like large wooden flowers alternating facing in and facing out.
Suspect Terrain (2015), by Heide Fasnacht, was my favorite of the four. The painted wooden structural pieces were designed to show the aftermath of a sinkhole. It was impressive but lacked a certain spark because there was no way to view it from above (once again, as depicted in the brochure). I did enjoy Degas Horses (2014), by Vera Lutter, which is on display at the main gate to the park.
To the park’s credit, it is maintained very nicely, and there are structures used for hands-on art projects designed for children, as well as what appear to be additional workshop areas. There was also a small farmer’s market on the day I was there. I’ll probably schedule another visit after August 30, when this display is ending. I’ll just have different expectations—and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
On Sunday, I wandered through a rather fun block party sponsored by the
Rubin Museum of Art on West 17th Street in Manhattan. There were lots of hands-on activities for children, and the kids were having a great time. The block party also included free admission to the museum, and I took full advantage of that (both to see the museum again and to beat the heat).
Dedicated to art from Asia’s varied places, the permanent collection focuses on the Himalayan region. Special exhibitions include Becoming Another: The Power of Masks; Collecting Paradise: Buddhist Art of Kashmir and Its Legacies; and Art with Benefits: The Drigung Tradition. I especially liked a lot of the masks, and they were a big hit with the children in the museum. In Collecting Paradise and Art with Benefits, my favorites were the figurines of the gods and goddesses, as opposed to the paintings on cloth and paper. And I was particularly drawn to the following text: “Blazing Razor of Extreme Repelling.” It just resonated with me for some reason.
So, art it was, this past weekend. There are still concerts ahead and maybe even some outdoor theater, as well.
ArtMeister (aka ConcertMeister)
The Living Pyramid (2015) by Agnes Denes, is indeed a large pyramid with living plants in tiers, but it wasn’t as impressive as I expected. And it certainly wasn’t as impressive as depicted in the brochure that I picked up.
Two Trees in Balance (2015), by Gabriela Albergaria, was two tree stumps connected by wires to a cinder block wall. Meh. A large installation by IK Studio was not the piece depicted in the brochure. It was pleasant enough—sort of like large wooden flowers alternating facing in and facing out.
Suspect Terrain (2015), by Heide Fasnacht, was my favorite of the four. The painted wooden structural pieces were designed to show the aftermath of a sinkhole. It was impressive but lacked a certain spark because there was no way to view it from above (once again, as depicted in the brochure). I did enjoy Degas Horses (2014), by Vera Lutter, which is on display at the main gate to the park.
To the park’s credit, it is maintained very nicely, and there are structures used for hands-on art projects designed for children, as well as what appear to be additional workshop areas. There was also a small farmer’s market on the day I was there. I’ll probably schedule another visit after August 30, when this display is ending. I’ll just have different expectations—and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
On Sunday, I wandered through a rather fun block party sponsored by the
Rubin Museum of Art on West 17th Street in Manhattan. There were lots of hands-on activities for children, and the kids were having a great time. The block party also included free admission to the museum, and I took full advantage of that (both to see the museum again and to beat the heat).
Dedicated to art from Asia’s varied places, the permanent collection focuses on the Himalayan region. Special exhibitions include Becoming Another: The Power of Masks; Collecting Paradise: Buddhist Art of Kashmir and Its Legacies; and Art with Benefits: The Drigung Tradition. I especially liked a lot of the masks, and they were a big hit with the children in the museum. In Collecting Paradise and Art with Benefits, my favorites were the figurines of the gods and goddesses, as opposed to the paintings on cloth and paper. And I was particularly drawn to the following text: “Blazing Razor of Extreme Repelling.” It just resonated with me for some reason.
So, art it was, this past weekend. There are still concerts ahead and maybe even some outdoor theater, as well.
ArtMeister (aka ConcertMeister)
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Naumburg (No. 3 of 5) (7/14/15)
Boston Symphony Chamber Players
Quartet in F for oboe, violin, viola, and cello, K.370 (1781) – I. Allegro,
II. Adagio, III Rondeau. Allegro – W. A. Mozart (1756–1791)
John Ferrillo, oboe; Malcolm Lowe, violin; Steven Ansell, viola; Jules Eskin, cello
Quintet for Winds, Op. 43 (1922) – Allegro ben moderato, II. Menuet,
III. Praeludium (Adagio)—Tema con variazioni – Carl Nielsen (1865–1931)
Elizabeth Rowe, flute; Ferrillo, oboe; William R. Hudgins, clarinet; Richard Svoboda, bassoon; James Sommerville, horn
Serenade No. 1 in D, Op. 11 (1857–58), arranged for chamber ensemble by
Alan Boustead – I. Allegro molto, II. Scherzo: Allegro non troppo; Trio: Poco piú mosso, III. Adagio non troppo, IV. Menuetto I; Menuetto II, V. Scherzo: Allegro,
VI. Rondo: Allegro – Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Rowe, flute; Hudgins, clarinet; Michael Wayne, clarinet; Svoboda, bassoon; Sommerville, horn; Lowe, violin; Ansell, viola; Eskin, cello; Edwin Barker, double bass
First things first, there was no rain! Tuesday evening also saw the debut of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players at the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts. In general, the balance and mixing of the amplified sound was good—a bumpy start but it smoothed out quickly enough. Unfortunately, there was some static, or other white noise, during the Brahms Serenade that marred the sound a little bit. And that’s it for any quibbling.
The Mozart started out jaunty, in a reserved way; it sounded exactly like the evening, pleasant and enjoyable. After some retuning (hey, no rain but still plenty of humidity), the second movement started in a slower tempo with the three string players as a sort of background chorus for the oboe, although there was a feeling of more equality as the movement progressed. The third movement was in a bright tempo and allowed more of a chance for the oboe to shine. There was enough of a distinct character to the entire work to make it enjoyable for me (I'm not a huge Mozart fan).
Nielsen’s Quintet, described in the program notes as a serenade, had a slightly airy quality at the beginning, with some added oomph from the horn. At times it perked along, with more modern sounding harmonies, yet still was easy to listen to. The second movement opened with a clarinet/flute duet, eventually joined by the horn. A flute/oboe duet with horn added followed, leading to the full quintet bouncing some nice tunes back and forth. The Praeludium followed—a slow staid opening with deeper modern harmonies, and then a chorale-like section laying out the theme. The variations, in a slightly segmented way, were just that—varied in tempo, dynamics, intensity, and more modern harmonies—ending with a return to the chorale. I liked it a lot.
The overall feeling of the Brahms was a hint of Scottish flavor. Originally scored as a nonet, Brahms later reworked it for orchestra. This arrangement was a return to a nonet. The first movement had a bit of a folk dance flavor, and the nonet had enough heft to seem like a small orchestra. As a side note, it was lovely to hear a serenade in an outdoor setting while watching fireflies flitting by. The second movement was darker in tone but still pretty, while the third had a quiet opening that was gentle, even as more instruments joined in. The two menuets did not seem all that distinct to me; the scherzo that followed was much fuller. The rondo at the end was not quite a romp but it did end the piece, and the concert, with a nice flourish. I had a wonderful evening, especially as my umbrella was not involved! Kudos to the Boston Symphony Chamber Players for providing such a treat—and thanks, as always, to the Naumburg organization.
ConcertMeister
Quartet in F for oboe, violin, viola, and cello, K.370 (1781) – I. Allegro,
II. Adagio, III Rondeau. Allegro – W. A. Mozart (1756–1791)
John Ferrillo, oboe; Malcolm Lowe, violin; Steven Ansell, viola; Jules Eskin, cello
Quintet for Winds, Op. 43 (1922) – Allegro ben moderato, II. Menuet,
III. Praeludium (Adagio)—Tema con variazioni – Carl Nielsen (1865–1931)
Elizabeth Rowe, flute; Ferrillo, oboe; William R. Hudgins, clarinet; Richard Svoboda, bassoon; James Sommerville, horn
Serenade No. 1 in D, Op. 11 (1857–58), arranged for chamber ensemble by
Alan Boustead – I. Allegro molto, II. Scherzo: Allegro non troppo; Trio: Poco piú mosso, III. Adagio non troppo, IV. Menuetto I; Menuetto II, V. Scherzo: Allegro,
VI. Rondo: Allegro – Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Rowe, flute; Hudgins, clarinet; Michael Wayne, clarinet; Svoboda, bassoon; Sommerville, horn; Lowe, violin; Ansell, viola; Eskin, cello; Edwin Barker, double bass
First things first, there was no rain! Tuesday evening also saw the debut of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players at the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts. In general, the balance and mixing of the amplified sound was good—a bumpy start but it smoothed out quickly enough. Unfortunately, there was some static, or other white noise, during the Brahms Serenade that marred the sound a little bit. And that’s it for any quibbling.
The Mozart started out jaunty, in a reserved way; it sounded exactly like the evening, pleasant and enjoyable. After some retuning (hey, no rain but still plenty of humidity), the second movement started in a slower tempo with the three string players as a sort of background chorus for the oboe, although there was a feeling of more equality as the movement progressed. The third movement was in a bright tempo and allowed more of a chance for the oboe to shine. There was enough of a distinct character to the entire work to make it enjoyable for me (I'm not a huge Mozart fan).
Nielsen’s Quintet, described in the program notes as a serenade, had a slightly airy quality at the beginning, with some added oomph from the horn. At times it perked along, with more modern sounding harmonies, yet still was easy to listen to. The second movement opened with a clarinet/flute duet, eventually joined by the horn. A flute/oboe duet with horn added followed, leading to the full quintet bouncing some nice tunes back and forth. The Praeludium followed—a slow staid opening with deeper modern harmonies, and then a chorale-like section laying out the theme. The variations, in a slightly segmented way, were just that—varied in tempo, dynamics, intensity, and more modern harmonies—ending with a return to the chorale. I liked it a lot.
The overall feeling of the Brahms was a hint of Scottish flavor. Originally scored as a nonet, Brahms later reworked it for orchestra. This arrangement was a return to a nonet. The first movement had a bit of a folk dance flavor, and the nonet had enough heft to seem like a small orchestra. As a side note, it was lovely to hear a serenade in an outdoor setting while watching fireflies flitting by. The second movement was darker in tone but still pretty, while the third had a quiet opening that was gentle, even as more instruments joined in. The two menuets did not seem all that distinct to me; the scherzo that followed was much fuller. The rondo at the end was not quite a romp but it did end the piece, and the concert, with a nice flourish. I had a wonderful evening, especially as my umbrella was not involved! Kudos to the Boston Symphony Chamber Players for providing such a treat—and thanks, as always, to the Naumburg organization.
ConcertMeister
Monday, July 13, 2015
Roach All-Star Rareties [sic] (7/11/15)
Saturday found me at the movies—the silent movies, that is. I saw five silents from the Hal Roach studio, starring Toto (not the one you’re thinking of), Will Rogers, Charles Murray, Lucien Littlefield, Arthur Stone, and Clyde Cook. Not exactly household names, but they made some very funny movies.
Do Husbands Deceive? (1918) was essentially a vehicle for Toto, as a pint-sized, pseudo-Keystone Kop, who got into all types of shenanigans as he ended up assisting and then thwarting a burglar. The print, from the Library of Congress, as were all five of Saturday’s showings, had some quality issues and ended rather abruptly, but it was very interesting to see Toto. Apparently, in real life he was quite an eccentric—even having a clause in his contract that said, “Toto will not have to jump in the water at any time.” Kudos to Steve Massa for the informative and well-written program notes, and to Ben Model for the superb live piano accompaniments.
Jus’ Passin’ Through (1923) starred Will Rogers as a tramp who arrived via train in a town that prided itself on the fact that no tramps were allowed. It turns out that he arrived on the day before Thanksgiving, and the town was providing a special meal for all of the men in jail. So Will sets out to get himself arrested but that doesn’t work out too well, and he gets on the bad side of the sheriff. Then, as fate would have it, he gets invited to the sheriff's house for Thanksgiving dinner because they had thirteen people at table and that was just too unlucky. The sheriff returns, Will skedaddles with his food, and finally gets to eat it on the next train out of town.
Somewhere in Somewhere (1925) was pretty funny, for a story about two hapless soldiers in the trenches during World War I. The special effects were interesting to see, involving mortar shells, explosions, and dirigibles. At one point, our sad sacks were sitting atop what was left of a brick building. A mortar shell hits the building, and the top shifts to the right. The next shell tilts it back to just about even keel, and then the third destroys the building and sets the soldiers soaring.
Sherlock Sleuth (1925) had Arthur Stone as a house detective in a fancy-schmancy hotel. Unfortunately, there was also a burglar casing the joint, assisted by his moll who worked her charms on our detective hero. A very funny bit involved a dog tearing a hole in the moll’s stocking and stealing a wad of cash, depositing it into our hero's hat (the dog was retrieving the hat—hey, it’s a slapstick comedy!), and returning the hat and the cash to our hero. A masked ball at the hotel creates lots of mayhem, including when our hero, in a lion costume, is confronted by a real live lion. All ends well, as the hero catches the crooks, but only after the lion has driven a paddy wagon through the countryside (hey, it’s a slapstick comedy!).
Starvation Blues (1925) has two itinerant musicians trying to scrape up some dough in the middle of winter. Most of the funny stuff involves the winter weather—massive amounts of snow falling off of roofs and building awnings, one of our musicians becoming a human popsicle, and a fire hydrant gushing water (and a cop) upwards and then freezing solid, with the cop atop the frozen tower.
All in all, a fun and funny afternoon.
ConcertMeister
Do Husbands Deceive? (1918) was essentially a vehicle for Toto, as a pint-sized, pseudo-Keystone Kop, who got into all types of shenanigans as he ended up assisting and then thwarting a burglar. The print, from the Library of Congress, as were all five of Saturday’s showings, had some quality issues and ended rather abruptly, but it was very interesting to see Toto. Apparently, in real life he was quite an eccentric—even having a clause in his contract that said, “Toto will not have to jump in the water at any time.” Kudos to Steve Massa for the informative and well-written program notes, and to Ben Model for the superb live piano accompaniments.
Jus’ Passin’ Through (1923) starred Will Rogers as a tramp who arrived via train in a town that prided itself on the fact that no tramps were allowed. It turns out that he arrived on the day before Thanksgiving, and the town was providing a special meal for all of the men in jail. So Will sets out to get himself arrested but that doesn’t work out too well, and he gets on the bad side of the sheriff. Then, as fate would have it, he gets invited to the sheriff's house for Thanksgiving dinner because they had thirteen people at table and that was just too unlucky. The sheriff returns, Will skedaddles with his food, and finally gets to eat it on the next train out of town.
Somewhere in Somewhere (1925) was pretty funny, for a story about two hapless soldiers in the trenches during World War I. The special effects were interesting to see, involving mortar shells, explosions, and dirigibles. At one point, our sad sacks were sitting atop what was left of a brick building. A mortar shell hits the building, and the top shifts to the right. The next shell tilts it back to just about even keel, and then the third destroys the building and sets the soldiers soaring.
Sherlock Sleuth (1925) had Arthur Stone as a house detective in a fancy-schmancy hotel. Unfortunately, there was also a burglar casing the joint, assisted by his moll who worked her charms on our detective hero. A very funny bit involved a dog tearing a hole in the moll’s stocking and stealing a wad of cash, depositing it into our hero's hat (the dog was retrieving the hat—hey, it’s a slapstick comedy!), and returning the hat and the cash to our hero. A masked ball at the hotel creates lots of mayhem, including when our hero, in a lion costume, is confronted by a real live lion. All ends well, as the hero catches the crooks, but only after the lion has driven a paddy wagon through the countryside (hey, it’s a slapstick comedy!).
Starvation Blues (1925) has two itinerant musicians trying to scrape up some dough in the middle of winter. Most of the funny stuff involves the winter weather—massive amounts of snow falling off of roofs and building awnings, one of our musicians becoming a human popsicle, and a fire hydrant gushing water (and a cop) upwards and then freezing solid, with the cop atop the frozen tower.
All in all, a fun and funny afternoon.
ConcertMeister
Monday, July 6, 2015
A Walking Weekend (7/3–5/15)
For the long holiday weekend, I thought I’d do a couple of things not concert related. On Friday, I caught one of the last days of an exhibit at the American Folk Art Museum, located in the Lincoln Center area. This free museum (donations always gladly accepted) is small and easy to amble through. Many of the interesting works (sorry, the exhibit is now closed) were created by artists who had been in mental or rehabilitation institutions. Quite a few of the works were incredibly detailed, and most, if not all of the artists, as far as I can remember, were self-taught. This is a great place to check out if you have a little bit of time on your hands. I’ve pretty much enjoyed every exhibit I’ve seen there.
On Saturday, I was most definitely not going to brave the long, long hours and huge, huge crowds in order to ooh and ahh for twenty to twenty-five minutes. And I was not going to fire up a grill for a burger or two, so I decided on a walking tour of outdoor art on Randall’s Island. I can easily get there via a bridge that crosses the Harlem River at 103rd Street. FLOW 2015 presented installations by five artists: Rica Takashima(El Barrio Comes in All Colors, Shapes and Sizes), Sharon Ma (hello), Nicholas Fraser (All Consuming), David Wilson (Etherwave Architecture #1), and Rob Swainston (Who Owns the Sky?). I’ve wandered FLOW in the past and found myself somewhat underwhelmed; the 2015 version broke out of that mold. All five pieces were interesting enough to hold my attention.
On Sunday, I went over to the Hudson River at 26th Street for a Waterfront Walking Tour. I missed the very beginning of the tour due to a slow cross-town bus (my brother and sister will be aghast—aghast, I tell you—to know that I was late!), but I easily caught up with the group. This was the first of many iterations of this tour, and you can check on them at the Hudson River Park website. Because it was the first tour of the season, it was slightly disorganized and scattered. As a result, I might give the tour one more try later during the summer—both to catch the entire thing and to see what kinds of improvements will have been made.
All three of my excursions were relatively short in duration, though you can always spend more time if you’d like at the Folk Museum or at FLOW. And both FLOW and the Waterfront Walking Tour can be combined with other outdoor activities since they both take place in parks. Somehow, they turned out to be just the right things for me to do as part of my long weekend.
ConcertMeister
On Saturday, I was most definitely not going to brave the long, long hours and huge, huge crowds in order to ooh and ahh for twenty to twenty-five minutes. And I was not going to fire up a grill for a burger or two, so I decided on a walking tour of outdoor art on Randall’s Island. I can easily get there via a bridge that crosses the Harlem River at 103rd Street. FLOW 2015 presented installations by five artists: Rica Takashima(El Barrio Comes in All Colors, Shapes and Sizes), Sharon Ma (hello), Nicholas Fraser (All Consuming), David Wilson (Etherwave Architecture #1), and Rob Swainston (Who Owns the Sky?). I’ve wandered FLOW in the past and found myself somewhat underwhelmed; the 2015 version broke out of that mold. All five pieces were interesting enough to hold my attention.
On Sunday, I went over to the Hudson River at 26th Street for a Waterfront Walking Tour. I missed the very beginning of the tour due to a slow cross-town bus (my brother and sister will be aghast—aghast, I tell you—to know that I was late!), but I easily caught up with the group. This was the first of many iterations of this tour, and you can check on them at the Hudson River Park website. Because it was the first tour of the season, it was slightly disorganized and scattered. As a result, I might give the tour one more try later during the summer—both to catch the entire thing and to see what kinds of improvements will have been made.
All three of my excursions were relatively short in duration, though you can always spend more time if you’d like at the Folk Museum or at FLOW. And both FLOW and the Waterfront Walking Tour can be combined with other outdoor activities since they both take place in parks. Somehow, they turned out to be just the right things for me to do as part of my long weekend.
ConcertMeister
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