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
Friday, July 24, 2015
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
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Naumburg (No. 2 of 5) (6/30/15)
pre-concert sprinkles
a freshening of the breeze
thunderstorms held off
When the sprinkles started Tuesday evening at the Naumburg Orchestral Concert presentation of Ensemble LPR with Simone Dinnerstein, piano, I was fearful that the weather would be a repeat of last Tuesday. Fortunately, we heard the entire concert, albeit with some slight dampness. Ensemble LPR is an assemblage of musicians associated with the downtown eclectic venue (Le) Poisson Rouge, hence LPR.
Shaker Loops (1983): I. Shaking and Trembling; II. Hymning Slews;
III. Loops and Verses; IV. A Final Shaking – John Adams (1947–)
Piano Concerto No. 23 in A, K. 488 (1786): I Allegro; II. Adagio;
III. Allegro assai – W. A. Mozart (1756–1791)
Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4 (1899, revised 1943):
I. Sehr langsam; II. Etwas bewegter; III. Schwer betont; IV. Sehr breit und langsam; V. Sehr ruhig – Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951)
Solstice (1980) World Premiere – David Handler
As announced from the stage by Elliott Forrest of WQXR (they’re broadcasting all five Naumburg concerts live), Shaker Loops has several meanings and implications—shaker being some of the sounds stringed instruments can make, loops being repetitious sounds, and religious connotations being congregation members being moved to actually physically move/shake. A work for string orchestra played here without a conductor, I started trying to make sense of each individual movement, but they blended together too much for me to be aware of the separation. The sounds were repetitive in a minimalist way, but easy to listen to, with slight variations in musical phrases that also included shaded dynamics. One slow and relaxed section had individual notes coming forward but not quite creating tunes. Overall, I found the work to be more “new age-y” than minimalist, and blurred in terms of effect.
The Mozart was my favorite part of the evening. Scored for piano, strings, flute, clarinets, bassoons, and horns, the piece was also performed without a conductor. Ms. Dinnerstein played very well, though I was slightly surprised that she played from a score. (It may have been for reference only; I didn’t really see her using it all that much.) The first movement was sweet and pleasant, with a good balance between orchestra and soloist. It had a nice heft to it that I really appreciated, including hints at late Classical, early Romantic style. The second movement was solid and signified and quite beautiful, and then segued into the third, which was graceful and fun. There were nicely shaded dynamics and tempos that ended up being closer to the predictable and routine Mozart that is not always my favorite, but the entire work was very, very enjoyable.
While Schoenberg’s composition has five movements listed, I was hard pressed to hear the distinctions. Lo and behold, when I did a quick online search to double check diacritical marks, I saw that the original was a one-movement string sextet—the version we heard was the 1943 revision to Schoenberg’s conversion of it to a piece for string orchestra. It began with a sort of a brooding feel, creating a sense of drama. It was modern sounding without being overbearingly so. A rocking rhythmic section followed, with shifting moods and tempos. Throughout, I was reminded of a noir film score, with the drama heightened and brought to the forefront from time to time. It’s a programmatic score in that it’s based on a poem, though I did not really get the programmatic elements. I enjoyed it but was not really wowed by it.
Mr. Handler’s piece had actual program notes describing the piece as being “scored for a divided or double string orchestra [that] explores the polarity and ultimately the congruity of light and dark, sacred and profane.” I got the divided orchestra part, but that was about it. But hey, I heard a world premiere! (Even if that word was misused in the program, as premier, and the title of the piece was misspelled, as Solstic.) Weather permitting, the next three Naumburg concerts are already on my calendar.
ConcertMeister
a freshening of the breeze
thunderstorms held off
When the sprinkles started Tuesday evening at the Naumburg Orchestral Concert presentation of Ensemble LPR with Simone Dinnerstein, piano, I was fearful that the weather would be a repeat of last Tuesday. Fortunately, we heard the entire concert, albeit with some slight dampness. Ensemble LPR is an assemblage of musicians associated with the downtown eclectic venue (Le) Poisson Rouge, hence LPR.
Shaker Loops (1983): I. Shaking and Trembling; II. Hymning Slews;
III. Loops and Verses; IV. A Final Shaking – John Adams (1947–)
Piano Concerto No. 23 in A, K. 488 (1786): I Allegro; II. Adagio;
III. Allegro assai – W. A. Mozart (1756–1791)
Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4 (1899, revised 1943):
I. Sehr langsam; II. Etwas bewegter; III. Schwer betont; IV. Sehr breit und langsam; V. Sehr ruhig – Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951)
Solstice (1980) World Premiere – David Handler
As announced from the stage by Elliott Forrest of WQXR (they’re broadcasting all five Naumburg concerts live), Shaker Loops has several meanings and implications—shaker being some of the sounds stringed instruments can make, loops being repetitious sounds, and religious connotations being congregation members being moved to actually physically move/shake. A work for string orchestra played here without a conductor, I started trying to make sense of each individual movement, but they blended together too much for me to be aware of the separation. The sounds were repetitive in a minimalist way, but easy to listen to, with slight variations in musical phrases that also included shaded dynamics. One slow and relaxed section had individual notes coming forward but not quite creating tunes. Overall, I found the work to be more “new age-y” than minimalist, and blurred in terms of effect.
The Mozart was my favorite part of the evening. Scored for piano, strings, flute, clarinets, bassoons, and horns, the piece was also performed without a conductor. Ms. Dinnerstein played very well, though I was slightly surprised that she played from a score. (It may have been for reference only; I didn’t really see her using it all that much.) The first movement was sweet and pleasant, with a good balance between orchestra and soloist. It had a nice heft to it that I really appreciated, including hints at late Classical, early Romantic style. The second movement was solid and signified and quite beautiful, and then segued into the third, which was graceful and fun. There were nicely shaded dynamics and tempos that ended up being closer to the predictable and routine Mozart that is not always my favorite, but the entire work was very, very enjoyable.
While Schoenberg’s composition has five movements listed, I was hard pressed to hear the distinctions. Lo and behold, when I did a quick online search to double check diacritical marks, I saw that the original was a one-movement string sextet—the version we heard was the 1943 revision to Schoenberg’s conversion of it to a piece for string orchestra. It began with a sort of a brooding feel, creating a sense of drama. It was modern sounding without being overbearingly so. A rocking rhythmic section followed, with shifting moods and tempos. Throughout, I was reminded of a noir film score, with the drama heightened and brought to the forefront from time to time. It’s a programmatic score in that it’s based on a poem, though I did not really get the programmatic elements. I enjoyed it but was not really wowed by it.
Mr. Handler’s piece had actual program notes describing the piece as being “scored for a divided or double string orchestra [that] explores the polarity and ultimately the congruity of light and dark, sacred and profane.” I got the divided orchestra part, but that was about it. But hey, I heard a world premiere! (Even if that word was misused in the program, as premier, and the title of the piece was misspelled, as Solstic.) Weather permitting, the next three Naumburg concerts are already on my calendar.
ConcertMeister
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