Monday, December 31, 2018

Caroling, Caroling through the ... oh (12/22/18)

Oh, as in, we didn’t go anywhere; we stayed put in one place. This outing was sponsored by the Fulton Area Business Alliance and took place only about a block away from the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where I went the very next day for a non-Meister performance of The Hard Nut. I wore my new Christmas hat with elf ears, although the wind wreaked havoc with it a few times.

This wasn’t the greatest caroling experience—the keys were set either too high or too low for comfortable amateur singing, but it was still a lot of fun. We sang a lot of the usual suspects, including Angels We Have Heard on High and Frosty the Snowman. We even managed a Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree!

Will I go again next year? Possibly. As always with outdoor caroling, a lot will depend on the weather. In fact, this event was supposed to have taken place on December 15, if memory serves, and that was the weekend with bad weather (I didn’t even try caroling in the Village on December 16).

And, of course, my ‘silver bell’ made the trek to Brooklyn as well as my red clown nose, for Rudolph. As I said, fun but not great. The organizers, however, did a very good job.

ConcertMeister

Friday, December 21, 2018

Holiday Songbook II (12/17/18)

Okay, the full title was Broadway’s Future 2018, Holiday Songbook – All New Holiday Songs. Sixteen songs and thirty-one performers (not counting multiple pianists), so you know the drill. The evening kicked off with Cozy Time of Year, a charming, relatively simple song about someone who does not like the cold. It had a sort of Kander and Ebb vamp-style accompaniment.

The second song was a bit of a downer but it offered hope, as well. Next up was Judah Maccabee (A.K.A. That Thing with the Oil), a rap retelling of the Hanukkah oil miracle. A rapper with two back-up gals. Not my cup of tea, though the audience really enjoyed it.

When the Rain Falls in December had a nice way of weaving the main phrase from Do You Hear What I Hear? into a new song. And it happened the classic three times. A side note, here. While I was searching to make sure that I had the title correct, I learned that Do You Hear What I Hear? was written in 1962 as a plea for peace during the Cuban missile crisis. Underneath the Mistletoe was a classic pop-style duet, with real harmonies and a great feel-good vibe.

Then we got to Camel’s Lament, a song about those children’s Christmas pageants. A little girl was recounting who got cast as Mary, who got cast as angels, and who got cast as the camel. And it was her. But at least she was Camel #1. The next year she was Camel #2. And not the whole camel—just the rear half. It was very funny and very well performed (as were all of the songs presented).

One Last Christmas had a jazzy, almost country feel to it and was one of the few songs performed by the creators, in this case, the lyricist singing his own words. Also sung by the creators, A Very Snoopy Christmas was inspired by the Vince Guaraldi style of writing but also inspired by the lyricist’s real-life dog named Snoopy. Real-life Snoopy is getting quite old, and both dog and master are coming to terms with the fact that this will be the “last Christmas with you—probably.” It was sad yet also, surprisingly, funny. A great balance.

Wish commented on politics again slightly, including wishing for a moment of truth, no sarcasm, and a moment of honesty, among others. The Ones We Choose helped us to realize that family can be who we choose to spend time with—our hearts have found a home, and we are not alone.

Jewish Chinese Christmas touched on the classic Chinese food for Jews at Christmas scenario, though this one took place at a P.F. Chang’s in New Jersey. In each other’s eyes, the hottest gal and guy from Hebrew school are on a date, and slight mayhem ensues. Another interweaving took place here with the arrival of: Fortune cookies—pa rum pum pum pum.

Christmas Is for Everyone featured a female Santa and four reindeer who were at the Reindeer Training School. They were learning how they’d be helping Santa bring joy to all different types of people, even those who don’t believe. Because the reindeer are The Few, The Proud, The Furry!

I also liked This One’s for You, which was an anthem-like (secular, not sacred) sextet. It was quite enjoyable. Not all of the songs in the program hit the mark but there were also no clunkers either. And it’s good to explore newer music for the holidays. And both Songbook I and II were very well attended by two very appreciative audiences.

ConcertMeister

Monday, December 17, 2018

Holiday Songbook I (12/15/18)

Okay, the full title is Broadway’s Future 2018, Marymount Manhattan College Holiday Songbook. And this one had a mix of traditional Christmas songs as well as some that were just recently composed, all performed by current students and alumni members. With eighteen songs performed (and two of those were medleys), not everything will get mentioned.

The afternoon opened with a fifteen-person a cappella group, On A Side Note, who sang White Winter Hymnal/Sleigh Ride. It looked better on paper than the execution turned out. Next up was a trio who sang I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and The Christmas Song. I enjoyed all three songs and performers (oh, and at fifty-two performers, names will not be mentioned, either).

A newly composed song followed that was okay, but not one of my favorites. And it was one of seven songs that had guitar accompaniment—at times the concert seemed like a coffee house from the ’60s or ’70s. Not a put-down, just an observation. New to me was Petite Papa Noel, which was Piaf-style gentle pop. Quite enjoyable.

O Holy Night was effective, but with a decidedly pop feel and (Everybody’s Waitin’ for) The Man with the Bag had a fun, jazz feel.

Written just a couple of years ago, The Christmas Break-Up Song, performed by the composer/lyricist, had a very funny premise and a very, very funny performance. Easily the highlight of the concert, for me—it was also very popular with the audience.ConcertMeister

A touching yet troubling song followed that contained a bit of a political message. It was composed for this occasion, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it being included. Another newly composed song performed by the composer/lyricist (and four others) followed. Wishlist was interesting, with contemporary close harmony. Blanca Navidad was fun to hear—it’s somewhat odd to hear a favorite in a new way (a Spanish translation, here).

A new song, Aurora, was also fun, with a goal of wanting to see the Northern Lights for Christmas.

The concert closed with something that looked odd on paper but turned out to be pretty cool. Silent Night was sung by a trio, two of whom played guitar with the third playing the banjo. It definitely rounded out that coffee house feeling in a good way. It was quite effective.

The entire afternoon was also an effective way to mix some old chestnuts with some newer compositions. Marymount Manhattan College is turning out some talented students. I had a great time and so did they, and so did the audience.

ConcertMeister

Monday, December 10, 2018

Midday Masterpieces (12/5/18)

Mackenzie Melemed, piano

Six Moments MusicauxSergei Rachmaninoff
Five Preludes, Op. 16Alexander Scriabin
Sonata TragicaNikolai Medtner

The six movements of the Rachmaninoff were all fairly similar. The first was slightly ethereal, but also had a building intensity and volume. The second had a bit more range from the piano keyboard and featured fancy finger work. A strange side note, during this movement we were treated to construction noise from the sidewalk directly outside of the Jerome L. Greene street-side performance space. Amazingly, a WQXR employee was able to convince the workers to hold off while the concert was going on. Mighty impressive, WQXR! At this point, it was a little difficult to figure out where one movement ended and another one began, so I’ll just combine my comments as though the piece was through composed. At times the piece came close to being amorphous but was still interesting. One movement was a lot quicker, with an almost perpetual motion feel—sort of an eerie dance. Denser, dark chords followed that were expressive but not sinister. This sounded a bit familiar to me and seemed to have a variation with the left hand being more rhythmic. A song-like section followed, mostly in the right hand while the left had had a constantly repeating rhythmic motif. The piece finished with a tour de force movement.

Scriabin’s preludes were also somewhat airy but still had substance and an odd beauty. They also included dissonances where you didn’t quite expect them. My notes simply concluded with ‘five little jewels.’

Medtner (a composer new to me) wrote his Sonata Tragica as a one movement sonata that was the fifth and final work in his Op. 39 “Forgotten Melodies”. It had a dramatic opening and then jumped right into virtuosic phrases in a type of a stream of consciousness composition. After a rather frenzied section, there were explosive phrases for the left hand leading right back to that stream of consciousness feel, with an extreme range of volume and an extreme range of power.

All of the music was new to me and very well played by Mr. Melemed. All in all, a great midday masterpieces concert. I’ve already reserved for the new year.

A word about Midday Masterpieces. It is a joint venture between WQXR and the Juilliard School. That said, these students are in the very advanced stages of their Juilliard studies—many, like Mr. Melemed, have won prestigious competitions, both at Juilliard and in the world in general. With any luck (because that is what a lot of this comes down to) these students will become world-class musicians.

ConcertMeister

Sunday, December 9, 2018

Tuba Christmas (12/9/18)

First, I did not go early and stake a great spot—been there, done that. Second, I did not stay for the entire time because it was chilly (out of doors, at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree) and I've experienced this before. I stayed for about a half an hour. Third, I heard mostly hymns (O Little Town of Bethlehem, Angels We Have Heard on High, etc.) plus one secular song—Deck the Hall(s), yes, there is a controversy.

Along the way, I learned that the youngest tubist was ten years old (in fact there were three ten-year-olds this year), the oldest was seventy-eight, and the tubist who traveled farthest to attend was from Austin, TX.

As always, the sound blossoming up from the rink at Rockefeller Center was glorious. Will I go again? Maybe. Weather will play a big part. And as this was the 45th year, maybe a return in five years is in the cards. Oh, and my Dollar Tree elf hat with the pointy ears was a hit!

ConcertMeister

Saturday, December 8, 2018

The Orchestra Now – Dvořák’s Sixth Symphony (12/2/18)

España (1883) – Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894)
Les Illuminations (1939); Eric Carey, tenor – Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)
Symphony No. 6 (1880) – Antonin Dvořák (1841–1904)
James Bagwell, conductor

Sunday’s concert took place at Symphony Space on the Upper West Side. It’s sort of a cavernous place, but the sound is actually quite good. And I believe I’ve heard The Orchestra Now in this venue at least once before.

España was jaunty, bright, and rhythmic. After a brief introduction, there was a real explosion of sound. And interesting phrases seemed to pop out of nowhere. It was just about perfect as a curtain raiser.

The Britten is scored for string orchestra and soprano or tenor soloist—the texts are taken from verse and prose poems by Arthur Rimbaud. Sung in French, the printed program had translations, as well. The nine (well, ten, if you count IIIa and IIIb, but I digress) movements ranged from modern and angular to energetic yet lyric to calmer, then fuller, declarative, and lush. One of the movements had a lengthy orchestral section countered against a simple setting of text. Britten also made use of melismatic writing—one syllable set to many notes, often running up or down a scale. Interestingly, the brief, simple phrase that was the entire first movement was also the entire sixth movement (though set to different music, if memory serves), and as the last line of the eighth movement. It was a good way to anchor the texts. The ninth and final movement was calmer, with a real sense of resolution, an effective way to end the piece. Mr. Carey sang with clear effective tone throughout.

Much was made in the program notes, and the spoken notes from the stage, about the influence of Brahms on Dvořák, especially with this symphony. Maybe too much was made because I had the feeling that the piece was not truly original, as in maybe Dvořák was trying to impress Brahms? Or I could just be making all that up.

The first movement opened with horns and strings and was rather lush, especially after the sparseness of the Britten. It was unabashedly of the Romantic era, very full, almost spilling over into bombast. There were a lot of ideas and some really lovely tunes. The second movement was quieter, with some nice wind and brass solos that were sometimes only a brief phrase. In addition to the quiet sections, there were some volume and rhythm builds, including pushes and pulls back and forth. After a couple of false endings, the movement ultimately ended quietly. The third movement was lively and rhythmic, with several different dance-like sections. The fourth, and last, movement had a relatively fast tempo though it also had a feeling of heft to it as well. There was joy and a real sense of fun, with a little bit of drama thrown in for good measure. It finished with a fairly predictable bang-up ending.

Though there were a few empty seats, the crowd was large and enthusiastic. I’ll probably go back for more in the new year.

ConcertMeister

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Innovative Programming at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts (11/17/18 and 12/1/18)

On November 24, 1891, Ignacy Jan Paderewski played his debut concert at Madison Square Garden. On November 17, 2018, that concert was re-created (with a few slight variations).

Sonata in F minor, Op. 57Ludwig van Beethoven; Moment Musical in F minor, Op. 94, No. 3Franz Schubert; Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17Robert Schumann; Etude, Mazurka, Op. 17, No. 4, and Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20Frédéric Chopin; Barcarolle in A minor, Op. 93, No. 5Anton Rubinstein; Cracovienne Fantastique, Op. 14, No. 6Ignacy Jan Paderewski; Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12Franz Liszt

That’s a lot of music. But Paderewski also included two more Schubert pieces, a Schubert-Liszt divertissement, and one more Chopin piece. The program listed above was played by two pianists—Jakub Kuszlik and Timothy Jones. Both were quite young and both played very well. It’s hard not to compare them to each other, but Mr. Kuszlik had a flashier style while Mr. Jones was a little more reserved. The concert was part of a multi-day conference celebrating the 100th anniversary of the restoration of Polish independence, as well as the 127th anniversary of the debut concert of Paderewski. It was a very enjoyable and enlightening afternoon. And I really can’t imagine one pianist playing all of that music in a single concert.

Innovative programming of a completely different type took place on December 1—Songs at a Gathering; A Sing-Along Show and Tell of Jerome Robbins’ Broadway Hits. The Library is home to Jerome Robbins’ papers, and some of them were on display during this fun afternoon. We, the audience, were encouraged to sing along, and the lyrics to seven songs were displayed on a big screen. Each song had a leader (names will be in parentheses) to get us going and keep us together, and Jonathon Lynch provided the crackerjack accompaniment. As with many sing-alongs, some of the songs were a little rangy and some fared better than others.

A Comedy Tonight from A Funny Thing happened on the Way to the Forum, Stephen Sondheim, music and lyrics (Marc Castle, leader). What a great way to start off the afternoon. The leader and the audience were in good form for this one.

Lucky to Be Me from On the Town, Leonard Bernstein, music and Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics (Alex Goley). Pretty much unknown to me, this one never quite got off the ground, but it would have been difficult to top the first song, anyway.

Something Wonderful from The King and I, Richard Rodgers, music and Oscar Hammerstein II, lyrics (Misy Singson). This one suffered from rangy, especially toward the end.

Never Never Land from Peter Pan, Jule Styne, music and Comden & Green, lyrics (Alyse Alan Louis and Jillian Louis). This was a lot of fun, and the two young ladies made it even more enjoyable.

If Momma Was Married from Gypsy, Styne, music and Sondheim, lyrics (Alyse Alan Louis and Jillian Louis). A side note, here. Among Robbins’ papers there was a photo of Robbins, Styne, Sondheim, Arthur Laurents and Gypsy Rose Lee. It was shown on screen before we actually sang. The Library also houses Gypsy Rose Lee’s papers, and one item from those was also displayed—a telegram sent to Ms. Lee for the opening. “May your bare ass always be shining.” – Eleanor Roosevelt. The audience howled with laughter. Then we sang the song and it was truly a delight.

Before we sang If I Were a Rich Man from Fiddler on the Roof, Jerry Bock, music and Sheldon Harnick, lyrics (Marc Castle), we were treated a tape of Mr. Bock singing the song with dummy lyrics that he then sent to Mr. Harnick. It was such fun to hear a bit of history in the making. My notes for this one were simply A++.

The afternoon concluded with Somewhere from West Side Story, Bernstein, music and Sondheim, lyrics (all five leaders). This was effective though also rangy. In fact, I took the very ending down an octave and was joined there by the guy sitting next to me. I even told him that switching octaves was totally acceptable—Mr. Sondheim approved of it for me when I did Sweeney Todd. I sang the very opening but took the ending of that one up an octave.

Along the way, we also heard from Amanda Vail, who has authored at least two books about Robbins and has another one coming out next year. We also heard from Julio Monge, who is involved with staging WSS in various places around the world. In fact, he had just returned from Australia the night before this program. He offered a lot of insight to how working with Robbins for Jerome Robbins’ Broadway used markings by dancers from the original WSS score for ‘named’ steps (one was ‘sailing’ and the other was ‘laughing’). A game volunteer tried to guess at the steps and then they were shown in their real form by Mr. Monge. You can learn a lot at the library! Can you guess that I had fun? And Eleanor Roosevelt might just have stolen the show.

ConcertMeister

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Midday Masterpieces (11/7/18)

Hooray! The programming gods looked down on me that first Wednesday of November. When I entered The Greene Space, I saw a piece of paper on one of the seats. I didn’t give it too much tough other than the fact that I’d never seen anything like that there before. As usual, I staked out my usual seat (yes, I’m peculiar that way) and then sat in the window with my lunch and a book. As the concert time came closer, I moved back to my seat, and that piece of paper had made it to my spot. 11/7 WQXR Midday Masterpiece Program Order. My prayers had been answered. I knew what I was going to hear and who the performers would be.

Äneas Humm, baritone; Chris Reynolds, piano
Schumann: Myrthen: “Zwei Venetianische Lieder”
“Leis rudern hier, mein Gondolier”; “Wenn durch die Piazzetta die Abendluft weht”
Mendelssohn: “Schilflied”

Erik van Heyningen, bass-baritone; Bronwyn Schuman, piano
Schumann: Selections from Eichendorff Liederkreis
“In der Fremde”; “Intermezzo”; “Die Stille Zwielicht”; “Schöne Fremde”

Marie Engle, mezzo-soprano; Richard Fu, piano
Strauss: “Freundliche Vision”
Schubert: “Über alle Gipfeln ist Ruh”
Mahler: Rückert-Lieder, 5. “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen”

James Ley, tenor; Seoyon Macdonald, piano
Schubert: “Ständchen”; “Nacht und Träume”; “Der Musensohn”

All four vocalists and all four pianists performed very well. It got me to thinking, though, that vocalists seem to take a lot more time to mature and grow into their voices (and expressiveness) than do instrumentalists. Maybe it’s just the hardware of instruments versus the soft tissue of the voice? More for me to ponder about anon.

The first song had a gentle, rocking barcarolle-style accompaniment that was appropriate for Venetian lieder. The second piece was much brisker and very enjoyable. The third was slightly darker and definitely showed Mendelssohn’s affinity for lieder, and it had a nice, gentle ending.

The five Schumann songs that followed began with a piece in a minor mode and was troubled, rather than sad. The second was more energetic—my notes called it a nice little gem. The third was playful and fun while the fourth had an introspective piano introduction and was dark and brooding though it also had power. The last was brisk and bright; it also had hints of darker things.

In the third set, the Strauss was gentle for the most part and had a feeling of peace. The Schubert had a somber piano introduction and, in fact, was somber throughout. The Mahler had a rather lengthy piano introduction and was quite serious in tone. Some of the vocal lines were also lengthy and fairly dramatic.

The first Schubert song in the final set had a nice arc to it in a somewhat simple style. It was strophic but also included a bit of a coda-style ending. The second had an overall feeling of sadness and had pangs of anguish, as well. The final song was brisk, with bursts of power, although it did have a contrasting middle verse.

In the stage management department, it was great that they brought all four pairs, vocalists and pianists, onstage for a combined curtain call. Well done, indeed, as was the entire performance. Maybe I’ll try to check on these names in a couple of years, to see how they’ve progressed.