Jan Latham-Koenig, conductor
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1910) – Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)
Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished) D. 759 (1822) – Allegro Moderato; Andante con moto – Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Selections from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 (1935–36) – Montagues and Capulets; Romeo and Juliet; Death of Tybalt; Romeo and Juliet before Parting; Romeo at Juliet’s Grave; The Death of Juliet – Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953)
As a side note, I attended this concert with a former work colleague who lives near the venue (Aaron Davis Hall at CUNY in upper Manhattan). It was nice to have a companion at a concert. I sort of caught myself up short when the concertmaster (not me) tuned the orchestra for the first piece. Then the penny dropped. It was composed for string orchestra. It’s a lovely piece, with gentle tunes and swells of volume and power from time to time. For you church-y types out there, you might recognize the tune of “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say.” On second thought, an online search turned up mostly a Celtic version, which was not what I was thinking of. Will this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLk2vsAl-fo work? [Phooey. You may need to copy/paste.]
The performance was lovely, with a nice ebb and flow of tempo and dynamics. It was a great way to start a concert. Let’s hope that the link works (hey, I’m new at this).
Schubert’s symphonic movements were extremely listenable—the first movement had a very recognizable, hummable main theme (you’re on your own for a link). The second was interesting in that it took snippets of the first movement as themes to be developed in the second. They weren’t exact copies but you were aware that they were familiar. If only he’d completed it.
An interesting feature of these The Orchestra Now concerts is the ideal of interaction of musicians and audience. At intermission, members of the orchestra are in the lobby, available to answer one-on-one questions—about themselves, players in general, or the works on the program. Also, a member of the orchestra introduces the next piece to be played. Such was the case with the Prokofiev. As given from the stage, we learned that the full ballet score was rejected by the powers that be/dancers of the Bolshoi Ballet who determined it to be ‘impossible for dancing’. Who knew? The six movements (from Suites 2, 1, and 3, respectively) were appropriately dark and dramatic as necessary for the characters.
A great concert in a new venue—what’s not to like? I may try to alert my NY peeps of upcoming concerts in the future. Thoughts?
ConcertMeister
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