Organ Concert (1/25/15)

Dr. Andrew E. Henderson presented a very well played concert at Temple Emanu-El on Sunday afternoon.

Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 65, Allegro moderato e serioso; Adagio; Andante, Recitativo; Allegro assai vivace – Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)
Psalm Prelude, Set 1, No. 1, Op. 32 (1916) – Herbert Howells (1892–1983)
Rosh Hashanah (from Funf Fest-Praeludien, Op. 37 – Louis Lewandowski (1821/3–1894)
Shavat Vayinafash (1968) – Herman Berlinski (1910–2001)
The Burning Bush (1956) – BerlinskiFrom Ten Hebrew Folk Songs & Folk Dances, Op. 22;
A Song and Dance of the Feast, A Love Song, A Chasidic Religious Song, A Lullaby, A Merry Wedding Dance – Lazare Saminsky (1882–1959) (arr. Andrew Henderson)
From Symphonie No. 1, Op. 14; Final – Louis Vierne (1870–1937)

The first movement of the Sonata opened with a very full sound, without being overly aggressive. It made nice use of an echo effect from the pipes at the rear of the sanctuary, and afforded a workout on the pedal board. As an aside, the organ there has four keyboards (manuals) for the hands and a pedal board for the feet. The second movement had a slower and gentle opening, and the entire movement was sweet but in just the right way. The third had alternating quiet melodies against interruptions of chordal writing. It was nice to be able to see (on a broadcast screen—the organ console itself was out of sight) how the juxtapositions were achieved by moving to different manuals, back and forth. There was a segue right into the fourth movement, which was vibrant, with rapid finger work and a full organ sound.

The Howells was contemplative, with subdued harmonies that were both lush and romantic. Via various solo lines, the piece built in intensity and volume before receding back to the quietude of the opening. Rosh Hashanah, by Lewandowski, started with block chords as an introduction, leading to a contrasting melodic section, then back to full organ. The program notes said that the work was based on a well-known festival motif, but it was not familiar to me.

As he did in the previous concert I heard at Emanu-El, Dr. Henderson included works by composers who have a connection to the temple, and that included both Berlinski and Saminsky. The first Berlinski piece began with a solo line in the far upper range of the keyboard. The chords and solo lines that followed explored many of the varied stops on the organ. It was modern sounding without going overboard, and was very much a ‘mood’ piece. The Burning Bush was also modern sounding but darker and denser. It nicely conveyed a sense of drama—almost leading to chaos. It made strong use of a repetitive rhythm, though not in what would be considered the minimalist style.

The five brief Saminsky works were arrangements of movements from a piano suite. My notes include (i) sweet, with dance-like rhythmic themes; (ii) slightly mournful while still being very pretty; (iii) a bright and brassy theme followed by a folk/dance tune then alternating back to the first theme; (iv) gentle and sweet, as befits a lullaby; and (v) full sound with celebratory dance themes.

The Vierne Final is a piece that is well known to me; I’ve been a page turner for it many times in the distant past. It is one of those pieces that accurately describe the phrase ‘pull out all the stops.’ It’s a fun romp to watch and hear—I would never want to play it! And from memory, at that! It's opening theme is passed from keyboard to keyboard, including the pedal, then edited, expanded, expounded upon, broken up, put back together again (see ‘pull out all the stops’ above), and then brought back again for a rousing close. A great finish to a great concert—one that I truly enjoyed.

ConcertMeister

Saturday Was a Bust (1/24/15)

The program: From Al Andalus to the Americas: An Odyssey of Spanish Songs

It looked good on paper. Alas, everything that could go wrong did. I will not name names. The program opened with Taqsim (improvisation), a solo played on the Nay (or Ney, depending on your Persian translation, a sort of bamboo flute). It started out OK. I thought to myself, this is setting the tone for the concert. Then it went on. And on. And on. Oh, a cell phone went off during the piece.

Next was "Lamma bada yatathanna" Mouwashah, sung by a soprano who was either under the weather, or just had patchy vocal production and a lack of breath control. Maybe it was an "affect" for early music (Anon., pre-15th cent. Spain) -- if so, it didn't work for me.

Next the soprano and the oud (a stringed instrument, tuned onstage) player went with "Ay trista vida corporal" from El Misteri d'Eix (Anon. 14-15th cent., Valencia), which was lengthy and pretty poorly sung.

During these, two more cell phones went off, two parents had to physically remove their loud toddlers, and one tablet/iPhone/me-machine was used to take a photo or recording (all of which -- well not the toddlers -- are prohibited).

After a lengthy, poorly stage-managed change, the soprano performed with a guitarist (who also tuned onstage). Mudejar (sorry, I'm not wasting my time on diacriticals) Song -- "Paseabase el rey moro" (Anon., early 16th cent.) -- was as unattractive as the previous offerings. While the next interminable stage-managed long change took place, I left.

There was a nine-movement song cycle, three more pieces, and two more three-movement works in the first half alone! Not for me.

ConcertMeister

Latin American Music for Cello and Piano (1/3/2015)

Brinton Averil Smith (cello) and Evelyn Chen (piano) performed a very interesting concert to start off the new year at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts on a somewhat dreary Saturday afternoon.

Estrellita (1912) – Manuel Ponce (1882–1948) (arr. Jascha Heiftetz) (1920s)
Seguida Española; Vieja Castilla, Murciana, Asturiana, Andaluza – Joaquin Nin (1879–1949)
Sonata, Op. 21; Allegro Agitato, Romanza, Molto Allegro – Henrique Oswald (1852–1931)
O canto do cisne negro (1916) – Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959)
Ponteio e Dança – M. Camargo Guarnieri (1907–1993)
Elegia (1995) – Raimundo Penaforte
Graciela y Buenos Aires – José Bragato (b. 1915)
Pampeana No. 2, Op. 21 (1950) – Alberto Ginastera (1916–1983)
Tango (Por Una Cabeza) – Carlos Gardel (1890–1935) (arr. John Williams)

Estrellita is a charming tune that was laid out nicely, at one point passing from the cello to the piano and back. This arrangement was made by Mr. Heifetz when he realized he had no Mexican music on his Mexico City debut concert. Estrellita was being played by a café band while he was dining—he jotted the tune down on a napkin and created the arrangement that very afternoon. Do an internet search on it; I’m pretty sure you’ll recognize the tune. It was a nice light way to start the program.

The first movement of the Spanish Suite was a traditional sounding tune, mostly sweet and gentle. (I learned later from the program notes that the entire suite was based on traditional popular songs.) After the phones stopped ringing (really, concertgoers? really?), the second movement had a brighter tempo and rhythm with a dance-like quality. The third movement was slower, explored the lower range of the cello, and had a dirge-like feel in the accompaniment, though not depressing. The last movement was a highly rhythmic perpetual motion waltz.

The opening theme of the Sonata was brisk and energetic followed by a gentler second theme that was more singing in tone. It alternated back and forth between brisk and gentler, using lots of themes. The second movement was very songlike, with lush tunes and accompaniment. Once again, there were lots of themes bundled together, some of which seemed a little predictable. Not really such a bad thing for a Romance. The last movement had lots of themes again. Not exactly disjointed, but not exactly of a whole, in my opinion.

After the intermission, the Black Swan began with Debussy-like arpeggios supporting a slightly mournful cello tune. (And doesn’t the cello do mournful quite well?) It was a little on the light side for my taste. That said, the playing by both artists was extremely good during the entire concert, lest it sound as though I’m quibbling too much.

The Guarnieri was a pair of pieces, both of them a mix of traditional and modern. The, second, dance portion was more energetic, with hints of Latin jazz. Elegia had a solo piano opening, then a solo cello portion, together featured as an introduction—the elegy itself was sweet, like a slow dance form. Always a bonus for me, the composer was in the house and took a bow.

Graciela moved us into tango territory. After a solo piano intro, a cello/piano tango followed in a mournful mode, even when the piano rhythms picked up the tempo, leading to what seemed to be a cello cadenza. After a jazz-style up beat tango the piece moved back to a more relaxed section. Pampeana had a brief intro that led to driving rhythms in both the piano and the cello. By way of much more modern harmonies and a melody for the cello, the piece had a fairly segmented approach, with some segments working better than others.

Tango (Por Una Cabeza) had an intro, and then laid out the tune followed by a more expanded section for the piano and cello, shifting back and forth and finally pulling out all the stops. There was a bit of sameness to the second half of the program because the basics of cello and piano literature had been so thoroughly covered. Could one or two of the shorter pieces have been dropped? Perhaps. But they were all enjoyable, and it was a good kickoff for my new year of places to go and things to see.

ConcertMeister

Wreath Interpretations

Happy 2015, everyone! Who knew that the 'Meister would have such staying power? This is a bridge between 2014 and 2015; I saw this art exhibit on Dec. 30 and it runs through Jan. 7. One caveat – it is only on view Monday through Friday, 9a–5p. That said, this was the 32nd Annual Exhibit. How did I not know this?

On display are 56 interpretations of wreaths, and they vary wildly. I started taking notes with what turned out to be my favorite – "I Know I Left Them Right Here on the Table: Keyleptomania." Yep, a group of three ever-larger circles, all made of metal keys. Brilliant.

Other favorites included a wreath made of items from a Community Garden (and some of you may know how much I enjoy those), "Wise Wreath," made out of Smarties candies and a few wrappers, a bugs & butterflies wreath (I'm not making this up, you know!), one made of acrylic nails, one from umbrella parts, and one made from recycled Christmas cards ("Christmas Past Wishes"). Most interesting, though not my favorite, was the wreath made of a toilet seat and a three-ply toilet tissue bow. See "I'm not making this up, you know" above. Some of them are for sale, and part of the profits benefit NYC Parks' programs.

All in all, an amusing viewing experience that can take as little as 30 minutes or as long as you'd like. For New Yorkers, this is on view at The Arsenal – 64th Street and Fifth Avenue, just inside Central Park.

I look forward to all that 2015 has to offer, and I look forward to sharing it with you.

ConcertMeister