Friday, October 27, 2017

Rhapsody in Blue (10/21/17)

Phillip Dyson, piano
Well, almost. We eventually heard a few snippets of Rhapsody in Blue, after:

Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3 no. 2 (1892) – Rachmaninov
Impromptu no. 3 in G flat, D.899 (1827) – Schubert
Waltz in A flat minor, op. 69 ‘L’Adieu’; Fantaisie-Impromptu, op. 66 – Chopin
Valses Nobles (movts) – (1898–1917) – Ravel
Gymnopedie no. 1 – Satie
Bethena; The Entertainer; Swipesy Cake Walk – Scott Joplin (hmm, I would have thought ‘Joplin’ would suffice)
Cake Walk – Debussy
Alligator Crawl – Fats Waller
—Interval—
Consolation No. 3 in D flat major – Liszt
Rustle of Spring. Op. 32 no. 3 – Sinding
‘Moonlight’ Sonata, op. 27, no. 2 – Adagio, Allegretto, Presto (1801) – Beethoven
Don’t Get Around Much Anymore – Duke Ellington/Art Tatum
Oh, Lady Be Good; I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise; Prelude No. 2; I Got Rhythm – George Gershwin

First off, all titles, composers and movement descriptions are taken from the printed program—I wasn’t about to try to clean that up. And all dates were announced from the stage and scribbled in my notes. Housekeeping done!

Rachmaninov’s prelude had a slightly dark quality, with rich harmonies and a rhythmic section leading back to a more powerful statement of the opening themes. Schubert’s impromptu was lyrical and gentle, with a rippling movement throughout, tuneful and pretty. Chopin’s ‘L’Adieu’ was wistful without being sad, and had a playful section after the opening, which seemed to lead into a segue to the next Chopin piece, rippling like the Schubert but a little more ambitious—indeed, this was the ‘I’m Always Chasing Rainbow’ opus, finishing with flying fingers.

In the second grouping, Ravel’s work started out gentle, if not quite wispy, reminding one of Impressionist paintings. It reminded me of being a waltz in name only, similar to the first Chopin offering, but then had a charming music-box feel, plus a fuller section that eventually segued into Satie’s Gymnopedie. (You all know it and probably could have hummed along.) A note here on Mr. Dyson’s many segues. At times, it seemed that we were listening to very well-plotted-out arrangements of some of these works, rather than the works themselves. Just an observation, not a complaint.

Joplin’s Bethena had a gentle rag opening, then a more energetic section followed by a rag/waltz feel in a very well-structured rag composition—and that’s not an oxymoron. Often, ragtime has a loose, jazzy, improvisational feel but it can be very structured. The Entertainer was nicely introduced, as in, not too fast, with a few fillips, pun intended, added. Even though the music flowed unbroken through this segment, it’s worth noting that from time to time Mr. Dyson spoke from the stage, in a very engaging manner. I found myself thinking that he was a cross between Patrick Stewart (with a twinkle in his eye) and Judi Dench (with a twinkle in her eye). But back to the music. Swipesy Cake Walk was a bluesy rag that led seamlessly into Debussy’s Golliwog’s Cake Walk which included a stride piano feel leading into a more jazz-like rag, Fats Waller’s Alligator Rag. A note here, Mr. Dyson often appears at the major Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, MO in early June. Hmmm, maybe a road trip is in order?

Some of the pieces on the second half of the program were familiar to me—in fact, I heard Mr. Dyson play them back in 2014. But hey, they’re classical classics for a reason. Once again, Lizst’s Consolation was wistful and sad for me—a piece that was played at Michael’s memorial service in 2008, so it will always have a special place in my heart. Sinding’s Rustle of Spring is, as announced from the stage, one of those pseudo-warhorses that are making a bit of a comeback. To me, it has an almost-too-cloying sentimental sweetness. To each his own.

Moonlight Sonata’s first movement is iconic in its placid presentation of gentleness. The other two movements, however, are more substantial, and the work taken as a whole is very effective.

Similar to the multiple segues toward the end of the first half, the Gershwin/
Ellington/Gershwin/Tatum/Gershwin mash-up that ended the program was quite interesting. All of the above-mentioned pieces were linked together (plus a little bit of American in Paris thrown in for good measure) providing a fun ending to a fun concert. This is an artist I’ll keep an ear and eye out for in the future.

ConcertMeister

Monday, October 16, 2017

Open House New York (10/14–15/17)

The Agenda

10/14/17 – Kingsland Wildflowers Green Roof; NY Sun Works' Greenhouse Project at PS84; The City Reliquary Museum*; Church of the Annunciation; Five Boroughs Brewing Co.; Brooklyn Army Terminal**; Stonewall National Monument

10/15/17 – Mmuseumm 1 and Mmuseumm 2; Espasso Gallery (cancelled by OHNY on 10/14/17); Skyscraper Museum; AT&T Building; Leslie-Lohman Museum; The Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation; Center for Architecture

*I'd been there before but needed to kill time before the Church of the Annunciation
** Recommended by a guy I met at Five Boroughs, while sipping beer

Overall, a great weekend. The Wildflowers Green Roof was really impressive, and the onsite representative was very knowledgeable. A huge plus was the OHNY volunteer (and there are hundreds, and thank you!) who was at the bus stop that others and I were getting off at. She cheerfully directed us along the way to the venue. Wonderful views and layouts. At the next stop, the Greenhouse was nice, but finding out how to get into the building was a torture. There was absolutely no OHNY signage, and of the eight to ten doors at PS84, only one was usable—and it was not marked. Eventually (because several of us complained), a hand-written sign was added to the one functional door. As footnoted (*) above, the Reliquary Museum was a repeat but they do have rotating exhibits, and the one I saw was interesting, including found items from an NYC school cloakroom. Some fun stuff there. Plus, I got a chance to see their garden area—small but pleasant.

The Church of the Annunciation was nice. The proffered tours were nonexistent. There's a difference between "ask questions if you want to know more" and an organized tour, explaining various points of interest about the space. Five Boroughs Brewing Co. was a real treat. The tour itself was handled by one of the co-owners; he did a great job of basic explanation and fielding questions from the floor. Interesting takeaways, for me, is that they source their hops from the Pacific Northwest and their grain from Germany—with the exception of a local co-branded beer using all New York state ingredients. And the (purchased) beer was great.

Per footnote (**) above, the Brooklyn Army Terminal tour was phenomenal. The guide was incredibly knowledgeable, he knew how to work his audience, and he was just plain great. The fact that this was not part of my original plan made it even better. For those in the know, I can be incredibly structured (okay, anal) and for me to go outside of the structure (and like it a lot) is a biggie.

Unfortunately, the Stonewall National Monument was a bit of a letdown. I've been to the park before and, yes, there were Rangers there, but short of a pamphlet or two, there was no 'there' there. Since I was in da 'hood, I dropped in to the Stonewall bar but didn't even feel compelled to have a drink. Not a 'fail' but not a 'must see/do' either.

Sunday started with Mmuseumm 1 and 2 which were really rather lame. Tiny, and I only spent max. fifteen minutes there. That, coupled with the fact that my second stop was cancelled, I had to improvise and decided to visit the New York Marble Cemetery (which sounds more interesting than it really is) and the Museum at Eldridge Street. The cemetery is an open plot of land with tablets in a brick wall signifying where the sunken, hidden, marble mausoleums are of the folks who are entombed below the sod. Interesting concept; not a lot to see/experience, in an OHNY way. I've been to the Eldridge Street Museum before (essentially a synagogue-cum-museum) but there's a lot of history there, and the tours/
explanations are well worth a visit. It's absolutely gorgeous inside and out. Go, if you get the chance.

The Skyscraper Museum is a bit of an odd duck (and I should know!). It's loosely based on a late 1990s Heritage Trail (if I'm remembering correctly) somewhat along the lines of Boston's Freedom Trail, but chronicling NYC skyscrapers. Unfortunately, 2001 brought that crashing down—literally. The museum itself, though, is a nice grouping of information and history about the skyscraper in general, and the working/reworking of steel that makes skyscrapers even feasible. Of interest, but just (unless you're really keen on structure/architecture).

My next stop, the ATT&T Long Distance Building Lobby, was a real treat. From the brochure: "Hildreth Meière was commissioned to design a ceiling mural depicting the 'Continents Linked by the Telephone and Wireless' in her Art Deco style." As intriguing as that sounds, it was amplified immensely by the artist's granddaughter explaining how different aspects of the lobby came to be, including what had to be excluded. The mosaics are wonderful, even though they include 'silhouette mosaics', portions of the overall design that are only outlined because even ATT&T didn't have the funds for full mosaics during the Depression. So much to learn at OHNY! The internet is not whirling around in the air/ether. Its cables are under the oceans, just as telephone cables are under the oceans—who knew? Well, I do, now. And so do you. The Leslie-Lohman Museum was next on my list. I'd never been to this quintessential gay (LGBT? LGBTQ?) art space. I'm glad that I have, now.

Two different LaGuardia Place spaces rounded out my day. The Renee & Chaim Gross Foundation building is a tribute to both as artists. The studio space and third-floor living space are chock-a-block with sculptures and paintings, as are the stairwells in between. The Center for Architecture had a display about scaffolding as art/architecture. It was interesting if a bit esoteric. Still, I'm glad I went.

In fact, I'm very glad I explored as much of OHNY as I did. I've been a volunteer once in the past. Maybe it's time to pay it forward again to them next year.

OHNYMeister

Friday, October 13, 2017

Midday Masterpieces (10/3/17)

Yun Wei, piano

Italian Concerto, BWV971J.S. Bach
Carnaval, Op. 9Robert Schumann

First off, a note about the piano at the Greene Space, WQXR’s street-level broadcast-studio-cum-event-space, where the Midday Masterpieces concerts take place. Fazioli? I know Steinway, Bechstein, Kawai, Baldwin, et al. But Fazioli? It turns out that they are high end, hand-built pianos, and WQXR has one. Who knew? Now, we all do.

Ms. Wei’s playing of the first movement of the Bach was clean and a little on the dry side (very little use of pedal for sustaining the sound), which is fine by me. The second movement was slower, with a little more pedal added, and there was an insistent motif in the left hand—one-two—at the ends of (and sometimes in the middle of) phrases. After a surprising major chord (the bulk of the work was somewhat somber), there was a brief coda, but always with that left hand one-two touch. The final movement was brisk and bright, lots of fun with a nice shifting of, and contrast of, dynamics.

As announced from the stage, Carnaval is a collection of 20 small vignettes designed to pay tribute to Schumann’s family and friends. This did not translate too well for me. I don’t know what the movements were named, and I don’t know who was being framed (for good or for ill), so I’ll just offer impressions of the sounds I heard. Bold prelude—Romantic in style, with not even a hint of schmaltz. Slightly mysterious followed by a music box feel with a darker, contrasting left hand motif. Wistful, yet pleasant—sheer number of notes was very impressive and then a rather abrupt ending. Rippling and song-like; really powerful; jolly, brisk episode but with hints of sadness. A presto with power led to a false finale. Slower, almost maudlin but really more tender. Chords and phrases firmly rooted in the Romantic tradition (full, rich, etc.). An even faster presto that led into a bold, straightforward closing passage.

I know that the last paragraph reads a little bit strangely, but it pretty much describes the quicksilver overall feeling of the work. I wasn’t quite sure of what I was hearing or how it was all supposed to fit together but it did. And made sense. And made music. I just might search out a recording or even another live performance, to see how it stacks up against my memory of this first hearing.

ConcertMeister

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

The Orchestra Now (10/1/17)

James Bagwell, conductor; Nathaniel Sullivan, baritone

Valse triste, from Kuolema, Op. 44, No. 1 – (1903, rev. 1904) – Jean Sibelius (1865–1957)
Frankenstein!! A pan-demonium for chansonnier and orchestra after children’s rhymes by HC Artmann – (1976–1977) – Heinz Karl Gruber (b. 1943) – Nathaniel Sullivan, chansonnier
Symphony No. 104, London (1795) Adagio – Allegro; Andante;
Menuet: Allegro; Finale: Spiritoso – Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)

The Sibelius was written as music to accompany a play. After the six performances of the play, the music came into its own as a concert piece. It opened with soft pizzicato (plucked strings) as a very slow waltz, with a second theme that had a stop-time-rhythm. A fuller, sweeter section followed, ending with a slightly nagging, though pretty, feel.

Frankenstein!! was a whimsical, fun-filled piece. Literally. It included blowing up and popping brown paper lunch bags as well as a slide whistle played by the speaker/singer. The piece also used those plastic thingies you swing around your head (the ones I referenced in a recent string quartet post) to make controlled woo-woo-woo pitches. One of the movements (there were eight—and no, I’m not naming all eight) incorporated the use of a toy piano. One of the most ‘normal’ movements featured the vocalist/speaker playing a kazoo. There was one movement with distinct Latin rhythms. Throughout, the silliness factor was a big plus. At one point, the chamber orchestra also doubled as a chorus. I can’t imagine what type of response this got in the late 1970s because it seemed pretty bizarre (though fun) by 2017 standards. Both the conductor and the vocal soloist entered into the fun-house atmosphere wholeheartedly.

In a truly classical vein, the Haydn had a solemn, almost brooding intro/opening—the allegro that followed perked things up with its bright fun and many musical ideas strung together. The second movement was gentle but with a pleasant rhythmic touch. There was nice interplay between the strings and the woodwinds, with interesting dynamics back and forth, including the occasional dead silence—that didn’t last too long. The third movement was not quite your standard one-two-three minuet; at times there was a one-two-three thrown in for good measure. There were also a few more dead stops added in where they weren’t quite expected, which added to the enjoyment. The Finale had a drone (in the bassoon?) followed by what sounded like a Scottish folk tune. By the time the full orchestra was in, they were all in the spirit of the spirit of things. Driving rhythms were used throughout, generating lots of energy, though with a few contrasting sections as a breather. It was a bright and cheerful finish to a very interesting concert. TŌN has a free concert coming up in November; I plan on being there.

ConcertMeister

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Dockapella (10/1/17)

Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park (just west of Battery Park in Manhattan)

I note the venue because this is the same place the outdoor opera concert was recently held. This one was much better organized. There was still no shell for the bouncing of sound, but the microphone situation was a lot better (if still over-amped). In fairness, this was a three-hour event and I only stayed for the first as I was going to an orchestral concert later in the afternoon (both free in NYC, mind you).

So. Dockapella. It’s like Rockapella in that it was groups singing a cappella (more later) against a backdrop of New York harbor, including Lady Liberty. All of these were college groups. I heard N’Harmonics (New York University), Beelzebubs (Tufts University), and Mixed Company (Yale University).

No printed program, so I was flying by the seat of my pants. N’Harmonics, sixteen members strong, was a mixed group in terms of females/males that started out with (pure guessing here) Do-Oheya, Be-Oheya. That may mean something to some of you out there. For the most part, they had a front person backed up by a variety of close harmony singing from the gang. The sound was a little raw and harsh for me. The third (of five) selection(s) was a bit more formal sounding, as in, structured, clean harmonies. I enjoyed the group sound.

Beelzebubs was a twelve-voice all-male ensemble. They began with Sweet Caroline, featuring tighter harmonies and their slightly goofy group persona. At one point, my scribbled notes said ‘white rap?’ for their second selection. They brought a female parks intern on stage for Do I Love You? which they hammed up quite a bit. Musically, I liked them better than the first group.

Mixed Company continued that trend. The fourteen singers here seemed to pay closer attention to blending their sound. While all three groups were loud and somewhat raucous, Mixed Company tamped that down a bit. Their first number was predictably up tempo and very pleasant (see ‘blend’ above). Their third selection (guessing here), I Keep on Falling in Love with You, verged on doo-wop blues/rock. Who knew?

While this was billed as a cappella, and there were some instances of human beat-boxing (is that the right term?) going on, it seemed to me that there was also electronic rhythm back-up for most of the selections, which took a bit of the spontaneity away from the performances for me.

Kudos to Battery Park City Parks for this one. There were three more groups on the bill that I didn’t hear; I wended my way up to Cooper Union. To be continued …

ConcertMeister