Naumburg Orchestral Concerts 2015 (6/23/15)

This was the opening concert of their 110th season! And, no, I have not attended all 110 years, but I think I’ve been going for four or five seasons. Because the weather created problems, the first concert of the season was rain shortened. The Knights, a Brooklyn-based orchestral collective (though they are now well established far beyond Brooklyn), presented a varied and interesting program. During the setup, there were showers, bordering on steady rain, but nothing really heavy. Though I didn’t see any lightning, we were asked to take cover under the Bethesda Terrace. In what turned out to be a clever bit of programming, the string quintet that was scheduled for the second half of the program was performed on the covered terrace.

Chinese Folk Songs (1998) – Zhou Long (1953–)
I. Driving the mule team (Shaanxi); II. The flowing stream (Yunnan); III. A single bamboo can easily bend (Hunan); IV. Lan hua-hua (Shaanbei) – Colin Jacobsen & Ariana Kim, violin; Nicholas Cords, viola; Caitlin Sullivan, cello;
Shawn Conley, bass

The first movement had sort of clip-clop sounds, reminiscent of Aaron Copland’s western-themed music, paired with Asian scales and intervals, painting a pretty aural picture. The flowing stream had undulating string writing that also seemed to be creating a real sense of moving water. Movements three and four followed along nicely, though my memory at this time can’t really recall any specifics.

By the time the piece ended, the weather had improved and the show went on, although Tabula Rasa (1977) by Arvo Pärt (1935–) was not performed, and neither were three of the four movements of a Ligeti piece.

Five German Dances, D.90, for String Orchestra (1814) –
Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Czech Suite, Op.39, B.93 D Major (1879) – Antonin Dvořák (1841–1904)
I. Preludium (Pastorale): Allegro moderato; II. Polka: Allegretto grazioso;
III. Sousedská (Minuetto): Allegro giusto; IV. Romance: Andante con moto;
V. Finále (Furiant): Presto
Concert Romanesc (1951) – Geörgy Ligeti (1923–2006)
IV. Molto Vivace

The Schubert dances were played conductorless, as often happens with The Knights. All of the dances were in the style of a Ländler, a specific style of a waltz-like German dance. They were graceful, and lovely to hear. Dvořák’s suite was also very enjoyable. The Pastorale was in a perfect setting in the middle of Central Park, and it was nice of the tweeting (literally!) birds to join in. The Polka was a bit of a romp, without being too rambunctious. The Sousedská was also a lot of fun, while the Romance was a pleasant, softening change of pace. After some weather-related tuning, the Finále was a rousing romp. The real rambunctiousness, though, took place in the Ligeti Molto vivace, with its wasp-like string sounds and pops of percussion, along with folk song themes.

The Knights, with Eric Jacobsen conducting the Dvořák and Ligeti, made the best of weather-shortened evening, and we were all the better for it. Kudos also to Jeff Spurgeon and the WQXR team (105.9FM) for broadcasting these concerts live.

ConcertMeister