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
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