Keyboard Suite in D minor – I. Prelude; II. Allemande; III. Courante;
IV. Sarabande; V. Gigue – George Frederick Handel (1685–1759)
“Memories of That First Summer” – Wang Jie (b. 1980)
Two Pieces for Piano – “Dithyramb” (Andante appassionato); “Ode to the Past” (Lento) – Vladimir N. Drozdoff (1882–1960)
Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 – I. Vivace ma non troppo – Adagio espressivo; II. Prestissimo; III. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung (“Singingly, with the most inner feeling”) – Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo –
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
The Handel suite was an early work and was reminiscent of some of the J.S. Bach keyboard suites. I recall thinking, “This is not the Handel of Messiah fame.” The first movement had a lot of forward moving sound and energy, while the second had the feel of a two-part invention that then grew a bit. The third movement was gentle but still with a lot of motion. The fourth was slightly more rhythmic, including a little bit of tenderness, though there were hints of power, too. The fifth and final movement was bright and rhythmic, possibly theme and variations, and was explosive at times.
Ms. Jie’s piece was a wistful waltz that was tuneful, even with a few dissonances from time to time. A brighter, choppier section was next followed by a haunting section with added drama. It was continually pretty but wandered a bit—well, more than a bit, actually. Ms. Jie was in the audience and went on stage to take a bow with Ms. Levin.
The first of the Drozdoff pieces (a composer new to me) had a modern Romantic feel with big tunes and harmonies and a heart-warming quality. The second was gentler but still with rich harmonies, and pleasantly somber at times.
The first movement of the Beethoven was dramatic, expressive, and solid without being overwhelming. There were lots of musical ideas and you wanted to hear and enjoy every one of them. The second movement had a strong martial quality and then a calming response, and the third was a lovely song-like theme that was followed by several variations. I just sat back and enjoyed them.
All in all, it was a very pleasant afternoon of music.
ConcertMeister
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Dirty Music and Other Delights! (1/19/19)
A concert of music by Richard Pearson Thomas, featuring Amy Gluck,
Naho and Alberto Parrini, and Friends
Landscapes for Cello and Piano – Winter: Two Medicine; Perseid; Hi-Line – Alberto Parrini, cello; Richard Pearson Thomas, piano
the star to every wandering bark (theme and variations) – RPT, piano
Driving at Night – Naho Parrini, violin; Alberto Parrini, cello; RPT, piano
All Bets Are Off; Sonja; Winter Song (World Premiere) – Amy Gluck and
The Band
Dirty Music – Concerto for Amplified Violin and Burlesque Band –
Naho Parrini, violin, and The Band
Well. That’s a mouthful. Here’s the lowdown. The first half of the program was contemporary classical music composed by Mr. Thomas. All three of the classical pieces were interesting, if a little esoteric. A lot of it was blended, as in I couldn’t quite grasp the form and shape of the various phrases and their interrelations. My notes include things like very approachable and easy to listen to, and relatively simple theme, and a little atonal—a bit new age-y—and long. Not glowing, I’ll grant you, but at least it was listenable.
After a pause (no real intermission), Ms. Gluck arrived onstage with Mr. Thomas at the piano, and a six-piece band—clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, bass, and drums—and we were off to the races.
All Bets Are Off was a fun, up tempo, jazzy song, Sonja had a subtle Latin beat, and Winter Song was wistful. While the first two were straightforward in the use of the band as accompaniment, though with moments to shine on their own, the third began with just piano and voice, and then the band slowly joined in, player by player. It was a subtle and effective technique that served the song very well.
Ms. Gluck was solid as a vocalist and the songs and sounds made me feel almost as if I were in an upscale cabaret. A cocktail would have been pleasant but, alas, there’s no eating or drinking allowed in the Bruno Walter auditorium at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts.
For Dirty Music, Ms. Parrini came onstage in a silvery flapper-style dress.
(Ms. Gluck had worn a tasteful off-the-shoulder black gown). No movement names or numbers were given for the concerto, so my take on the piece might not be ‘official’. For the record, the amplified violin was just that—electronics were attached to the violin that allowed the player to make some interesting, and almost eerie, sounds. The first movement was jazzy and had a fun section with pizzicato string playing backed up by muted trumpet and trombone. And there were also bluesy hints and some klezmer stuff. I likened it to listening to the all-girl band in Cabaret. The second movement was a quasi-lullaby, but for a jazzy baby! The third seemed to be a welcome to New Orleans. After a piano and band opening, the violin joins in and takes over, leading to a bona fide stomp, with a boop-boop-de-doop ending. Fun stuff. The final movement had the feel of a Charleston, and included really fleet fingers for piano, bass, and violin, and the piece ended with a real romp. So, even though the concert was called Dirty Music, if they’d led off with it, the other delights would probably have paled by comparison. This tale of two musical styles was a great way to start off the new year at LPA.
ConcertMeister
Naho and Alberto Parrini, and Friends
Landscapes for Cello and Piano – Winter: Two Medicine; Perseid; Hi-Line – Alberto Parrini, cello; Richard Pearson Thomas, piano
the star to every wandering bark (theme and variations) – RPT, piano
Driving at Night – Naho Parrini, violin; Alberto Parrini, cello; RPT, piano
All Bets Are Off; Sonja; Winter Song (World Premiere) – Amy Gluck and
The Band
Dirty Music – Concerto for Amplified Violin and Burlesque Band –
Naho Parrini, violin, and The Band
Well. That’s a mouthful. Here’s the lowdown. The first half of the program was contemporary classical music composed by Mr. Thomas. All three of the classical pieces were interesting, if a little esoteric. A lot of it was blended, as in I couldn’t quite grasp the form and shape of the various phrases and their interrelations. My notes include things like very approachable and easy to listen to, and relatively simple theme, and a little atonal—a bit new age-y—and long. Not glowing, I’ll grant you, but at least it was listenable.
After a pause (no real intermission), Ms. Gluck arrived onstage with Mr. Thomas at the piano, and a six-piece band—clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, bass, and drums—and we were off to the races.
All Bets Are Off was a fun, up tempo, jazzy song, Sonja had a subtle Latin beat, and Winter Song was wistful. While the first two were straightforward in the use of the band as accompaniment, though with moments to shine on their own, the third began with just piano and voice, and then the band slowly joined in, player by player. It was a subtle and effective technique that served the song very well.
Ms. Gluck was solid as a vocalist and the songs and sounds made me feel almost as if I were in an upscale cabaret. A cocktail would have been pleasant but, alas, there’s no eating or drinking allowed in the Bruno Walter auditorium at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts.
For Dirty Music, Ms. Parrini came onstage in a silvery flapper-style dress.
(Ms. Gluck had worn a tasteful off-the-shoulder black gown). No movement names or numbers were given for the concerto, so my take on the piece might not be ‘official’. For the record, the amplified violin was just that—electronics were attached to the violin that allowed the player to make some interesting, and almost eerie, sounds. The first movement was jazzy and had a fun section with pizzicato string playing backed up by muted trumpet and trombone. And there were also bluesy hints and some klezmer stuff. I likened it to listening to the all-girl band in Cabaret. The second movement was a quasi-lullaby, but for a jazzy baby! The third seemed to be a welcome to New Orleans. After a piano and band opening, the violin joins in and takes over, leading to a bona fide stomp, with a boop-boop-de-doop ending. Fun stuff. The final movement had the feel of a Charleston, and included really fleet fingers for piano, bass, and violin, and the piece ended with a real romp. So, even though the concert was called Dirty Music, if they’d led off with it, the other delights would probably have paled by comparison. This tale of two musical styles was a great way to start off the new year at LPA.
ConcertMeister
Friday, January 18, 2019
Light Lines: The Art of Jan Groth, Inger Johanne Grytting, and Thomas Pihl (1/12/19)
This was a gallery talk on the last day of the exhibit at Scandinavia House. All three of the artists are Norwegian, and one of them, Mr. Groth, was unable to attend. So instead of a gallery talk (and apparently because many more people responded than expected), two of the artists gave their viewpoints on their work and the mentorship they both experienced with Mr. Groth. During this time, a few slides were shown that were representative of the three artists’ work that we would later see in the gallery itself, upstairs.
Both Mr. Pihl and Ms. Grytting seemed a little uncomfortable talking about their work and the processes involved. They both seemed better at discussing how Mr. Groth’s mentorship had affected them. While interesting, this ‘talk’ portion of the event was slightly awkward. The wine and sangria that were served helped a little, though.
Once in the gallery, Mr. Pihl’s contribution consisted of eight rather large paintings, each pretty much a solid block of color. His works were Untitled #1 through Untitled #8. I’m not making this up, you know.
Ms. Grytting had drawings and paintings on display. They were repetitive horizontal lines with a few verticals that sometimes created little rectangles. There were little white squares on the drawings, but I couldn’t make any sense of whether they were supposed to represent anything. It turns out that they did not. Whenever her pencil tip broke, she began the next line a little past where the previous line ended. So the squares were totally random. Her work was like a visual representation of a Philip Glass composition. I don’t particularly enjoy Philip Glass. Oh, and most (maybe all?) of her works were Untitled.
Mr. Groth had two bronze sculptures on display—and they actually had titles! A woven tapestry was an interesting study in black and white (mostly black with a white vertical section bisecting it). His other work was a site-specific black drawing (crayon, I think) on an otherwise bare white wall. Its size and scope gave it interest, to me. That was the piece I liked best.
Am I glad I went? Sort of. Will I seek out other shows at Scandinavia House? Possibly. I did enjoy conversation with my seatmate before the event began. And after I viewed the art on display, I had an interesting conversation with a writer for a Spanish-language newspaper. Maybe the second glass of red wine contributed to that. At least my horizons were slightly broadened.
NonConcertMeister
Both Mr. Pihl and Ms. Grytting seemed a little uncomfortable talking about their work and the processes involved. They both seemed better at discussing how Mr. Groth’s mentorship had affected them. While interesting, this ‘talk’ portion of the event was slightly awkward. The wine and sangria that were served helped a little, though.
Once in the gallery, Mr. Pihl’s contribution consisted of eight rather large paintings, each pretty much a solid block of color. His works were Untitled #1 through Untitled #8. I’m not making this up, you know.
Ms. Grytting had drawings and paintings on display. They were repetitive horizontal lines with a few verticals that sometimes created little rectangles. There were little white squares on the drawings, but I couldn’t make any sense of whether they were supposed to represent anything. It turns out that they did not. Whenever her pencil tip broke, she began the next line a little past where the previous line ended. So the squares were totally random. Her work was like a visual representation of a Philip Glass composition. I don’t particularly enjoy Philip Glass. Oh, and most (maybe all?) of her works were Untitled.
Mr. Groth had two bronze sculptures on display—and they actually had titles! A woven tapestry was an interesting study in black and white (mostly black with a white vertical section bisecting it). His other work was a site-specific black drawing (crayon, I think) on an otherwise bare white wall. Its size and scope gave it interest, to me. That was the piece I liked best.
Am I glad I went? Sort of. Will I seek out other shows at Scandinavia House? Possibly. I did enjoy conversation with my seatmate before the event began. And after I viewed the art on display, I had an interesting conversation with a writer for a Spanish-language newspaper. Maybe the second glass of red wine contributed to that. At least my horizons were slightly broadened.
NonConcertMeister
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Midday Masterpieces (1/9/19)
Juilliard Students and Faculty Members
String Quintet No. 6 in E-Flat major, K. 614 – One movement – W.A. Mozart
String Quartet in G major, Op. 76, No. 1 – F.J. Haydn
String Quintet in C major, D. 956 – One movement – F. Schubert
Wednesday’s concert was the first Midday Masterpieces of the new year. With twelve students playing in three separate ensembles and two faculty members added to two of the groups in order to make them quintets, names will not be listed.
Mozart’s string quintet was scored for two violins, viola, and cello (standard string quartet), with an added viola. In this case, the added violist was one of the faculty members. The work consists of four movements, of which only one was performed. It started out delicate and dance-like and included some bursts of added volume. For the most part, it was bouncy and bright. After a false ending, there was a little more drama and a little too much repetition for my taste. Still, it was a nice opening for the concert.
The Abeo quartet (all students, who formed this quartet only recently and will continue to play together for this school season, at least) played Haydn’s quartet straight through, including all four movements. An interesting note is that the first violinist has, on loan, a 1710 Stradivarius violin that he used for this performance. The first movement was fairly jolly, if in a sedate way. There were dramatic sections as well. The second movement was much calmer and truly sedate, warm, and enveloping. Haydn wrote very, very soft passages that then grew in volume—sometimes gradually and sometimes explosively. The movement had a lovely ending. The third was brisk and playful and had a really clever ending. The final movement had sort of a dramatic opening, with a mix of really rapid playing paired with some that was a little bit slower. There were a lot of playful sounds too, plus a bit of what seemed like teasing toward the very end. This entire work was fun to listen to.
Once again, I’m not exactly certain which of the four movements we heard from the Schubert quintet. In this instance, the Arte quartet (all students) was joined by a different faculty member playing cello. So the quintet was two violins, viola, cello, and cello. The movement had a sweet opening, but also had a certain depth and a certain amount of drama. A contrasting lyrical section was accompanied by pizzicato playing from the extra cello. The movement also had a nice range and interplay of volume. A few times, the dramatic aspects of the piece had a slight harshness, though it was still very moving. As was the entire afternoon.
As often happens with these concerts, I end up doing some online exploring after the fact, since there is no printed program. As it turns out, the Mozart was his last major chamber work, the Haydn was from (what I would call) his middle/late period—written when he was 65, and he lived to be 77 years old, and the Schubert was his final chamber work (in fact, completed in 1828, not played in public until 1850, and not published until 1853). Everybody please say, “Thank you,” to the internet.
The next MM is February 6, and I’ve already made my reservation. Thank you too to WQXR, for providing this wonderful opportunity.
ConcertMeister
String Quintet No. 6 in E-Flat major, K. 614 – One movement – W.A. Mozart
String Quartet in G major, Op. 76, No. 1 – F.J. Haydn
String Quintet in C major, D. 956 – One movement – F. Schubert
Wednesday’s concert was the first Midday Masterpieces of the new year. With twelve students playing in three separate ensembles and two faculty members added to two of the groups in order to make them quintets, names will not be listed.
Mozart’s string quintet was scored for two violins, viola, and cello (standard string quartet), with an added viola. In this case, the added violist was one of the faculty members. The work consists of four movements, of which only one was performed. It started out delicate and dance-like and included some bursts of added volume. For the most part, it was bouncy and bright. After a false ending, there was a little more drama and a little too much repetition for my taste. Still, it was a nice opening for the concert.
The Abeo quartet (all students, who formed this quartet only recently and will continue to play together for this school season, at least) played Haydn’s quartet straight through, including all four movements. An interesting note is that the first violinist has, on loan, a 1710 Stradivarius violin that he used for this performance. The first movement was fairly jolly, if in a sedate way. There were dramatic sections as well. The second movement was much calmer and truly sedate, warm, and enveloping. Haydn wrote very, very soft passages that then grew in volume—sometimes gradually and sometimes explosively. The movement had a lovely ending. The third was brisk and playful and had a really clever ending. The final movement had sort of a dramatic opening, with a mix of really rapid playing paired with some that was a little bit slower. There were a lot of playful sounds too, plus a bit of what seemed like teasing toward the very end. This entire work was fun to listen to.
Once again, I’m not exactly certain which of the four movements we heard from the Schubert quintet. In this instance, the Arte quartet (all students) was joined by a different faculty member playing cello. So the quintet was two violins, viola, cello, and cello. The movement had a sweet opening, but also had a certain depth and a certain amount of drama. A contrasting lyrical section was accompanied by pizzicato playing from the extra cello. The movement also had a nice range and interplay of volume. A few times, the dramatic aspects of the piece had a slight harshness, though it was still very moving. As was the entire afternoon.
As often happens with these concerts, I end up doing some online exploring after the fact, since there is no printed program. As it turns out, the Mozart was his last major chamber work, the Haydn was from (what I would call) his middle/late period—written when he was 65, and he lived to be 77 years old, and the Schubert was his final chamber work (in fact, completed in 1828, not played in public until 1850, and not published until 1853). Everybody please say, “Thank you,” to the internet.
The next MM is February 6, and I’ve already made my reservation. Thank you too to WQXR, for providing this wonderful opportunity.
ConcertMeister
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