Friday, November 22, 2019

Paderewski and Szymanowski (11/16/19)

Radoslaw Sobczak, piano

Menuet in G major, Op. 14 No. 1Ignacy Paderewski (1860–1941)
Nocturne in B flat major, Op. 16, No. 4 (Paderewski)
Piano Sonata, Op. 21 (1906) – I. Allegro con fuoco; II. Andante ma non troppo; III. Allegro vivace (Paderewski)
Mazurka, Op. 50, No. 1Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937)
Three Preludes, Op. 1 – No. 2, No. 3, No. 7 – (Szymanowski)
Piano Sonata in A major, Op. 21, M25 (1912) – I. Allegro assai (molto appassionata); II. Thema, Allegretto tranquillo. Graziosa – (Szymanowski)

It was interesting programming. After the fact, I almost wondered if the two minor Paderewski pieces might have been better paired with the major Szymanowski piece, and then the two (four) minor Szymanowski pieces with the major Paderewski. Just my musing.

The Menuet was sweet and gentle, rhythmic as a dance form then expanding to grandeur (playful?). The Nocturne had a gentle opening but was slightly darker and more subdued, though with a lovely feel.

The first movement of the Paderewski sonata was rhythmic and almost aggressive. You could tell that we had moved into a new century. It was more modern in style though still firmly tonal. The movement had fancy finger work with a masterful composition masterfully played, with touches of gentleness as well as a strong firm finish. The second movement was slower but still had hints of deepness and strength that segued into a third movement of storm and bombast—driving rhythmically to the very end.

Interestingly (at least to me), Mr. Sobczak played the first half of the program from memory and the second half from a paper (not tablet) score. That is all.

The first Szymanowski Prelude seemed a little more esoteric than the first Paderewski Menuet (hey, that’s the crazy way my brain works). It seemed to have a bit of an Asian/Oriental flare. It was quite lush and Romantic. The second was slower and slightly less structured (or maybe just differently structured?). The third was sort-of-almost impressionistic, more fluid and dreamlike.

The first movement of the Szymanowski Sonata was a little modern, with a rambunctious mystical quality—it made sense (both the composition and the playing were very impressive) but I didn’t like it very much. The second was more playful, with less bombast, but the bombast returned with a vengeance.

I was very grateful for the tranquillo, grazioso section though there was an angular fugal section that came out of nowhere.

All in all, a really fun concert. And a pianist in white tie and tails!

ConcertMeister

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Canstruction (11/19/19)

Brookfield Place. This one is definitely Manhattan-centric. Canstruction is an event that focuses on using canned food as an artistic device—thirty-one entries used 107,640 cans of food in various ways to construct edifices of varied ideas. Because 2019 is the 50th anniversary of man landing on the moon, that figured into several entries. Here’s the really cool part. After the event, the sculptures will be dismantled and all 107,640 cans of food will be donated to City Harvest. As another plus, visitors are encouraged to bring a canned food item (I did) to donate, as well. Win-win, in my book. Plus, NY peeps, it runs through Thursday, 11/21. Go and visit, if you can (get it?).

Here are a few sample titles of works: Hunger CAN Gogh; Quacktastick (a canned sculpture of Scrooge McDuck); and For All CANkind (NASA-based).

Some more numbers. The most cans used in a single entry was 7,554. One entry only used 516 cans, but it was very effective. Tomatoes, tuna, and beans were tops. Corn, green beans, mackerel, and tomato sauce were also represented in great numbers. For the record, my donation was a 14.5 oz. can of Hunt’s Fire-Roasted Tomatoes.

The creativity was phenomenal. There was Ursula (Under the Sea), Snoopy (landing on the moon), a Big Apple (duh!), Venice’s Grand CANal … you get my drift? This is at least the second (maybe third/fourth?) time I’ve made the trek to lower Manhattan to experience this event. It is well worth it.

Did I spend a lot of time counting cans? No. Did I have a good experience, knowing that I am supporting the war against hunger (which should NOT have to be waged)? Resoundingly, yes.

I’m pretty sure this will be in my rep for many, many more years to come.

p.s. I took photos with the tablet. Note to self: Figure out the best way to take photos with the tablet!

ConcertMeister (CANcertMeister)

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Heinz 57

Lost yet? Catsup? (Nope.) Ketchup? (Nope.) Catch-up? (Yep!)

I have been terribly lax about posting, lately. (I’ve been going places, just not posting. You’d think I’d have more time … but I digress.)

The following will be a listing of things I’ve seen recently, with a few notes added. There will not be full write-ups of everything.

OK, here goes. Wonder Women of the Silents (10/12/19 and 11/9/19): Yes, two editions of silent films with piano accompaniment by the incomparable Ben Model. The films: Mabel, Fatty and the Law (1915), Should Men Walk Home? (1927, starring Mabel Normand), and What Happened to Rosa (1921) (note the lack of a question mark—this film explores exactly what happened to her; starring Mabel Normand). Fun stuff. Linking these together, the second installment had Sure-Mike! (1925) and Irene (1926). These starred totally new comediennes to me—Martha Sleeper and Colleen Moore, respectively. New to me and funny as can be.

Pieces of UsWashington Heights Chamber Orchestra (10/19/19). This was, technically, not a freebie for me as I was guested by a subscriber to the series. That said, tickets bought ahead of time are $5.00. If you procrastinate and buy at the door, you’ll pay a whopping $7.00! Here’s the program: What Keeps Me AwakeAngélica Negrón (b. 1981); Guitar ConcertoHeitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959) – Nikos Andreas, guitar; Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op 98Johannes Brahms (1883–1897). Let that sink in—a new work (with the composer in attendance), an established guitar concerto, and a full-blown Brahms symphony. For five, or seven, bucks. Is this the New York Phil? No, but it’s a darned good neighborhood chamber orchestra.

The Pursuit of HappinessHaydn and Beethoven String Quartets (10/26/19). This was part of the NY Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts’ overarching Beethoven and the New World Spirit program celebrating the upcoming 250th birth anniversary celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven in 2020. This program included readings from works of LvB, Georg August Griesenger, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Wheelock Thayer (an American librarian who traveled to Europe in order to study and write a biography of LvB), and Friedrich Schiller. TMI? The pieces heard: String Quartet in C Major, Op. 54, No. 2 (1788) – Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) (considered to be the father of the string quartet); Duet mit zwei obligaten Augensgläsern (WoO) 32 (1796) – LvB (1770–1827); and String Quartet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 18, no. 2 (LvB). The quartet here (all New York Classical Players members) was composed of I-Jung Huang and Stephanie Zyzak, violins; En-Chi Yeng, viola; and Madeline Fayette, cello. Interestingly, the Beethoven duet was written as a sort of a joke. The player who commissioned the work was famous for misplacing his eyeglasses. LvB hinted in the piece that the patron might play better if he found his eyeglasses!

There is a direct link to the 11/2/19 concert – Beethoven String Quartet No. 13 in B flat Major, Op. 130/133 (1825). This is a very late quartet—remember Beethoven died in 1827. It’s in six movements, with the sixth – Grosse Fugue, Op. 133 – accounting for the odd opus numbering above. The quartet players here were, once again, all NY Classical Players members. Mari Lee and Harriet Langley, violins; En-Chi Cheng, viola; and Sujin Lee, cello. There were additional readings from Christoph Christian Sturm’s (1740–1786) Reflections on the Works of God and His Providence Throughout All Nature, read by Amelia Anderson. They were effective but not really necessary. Here are a few examples of readings’ titles: The Tireless Diligence of Bees; The Frost Sometimes Seen on Glass Windows; Chance Occurrences (underlined three times!); Wandering Plants and Growths; and The Tulip. At best, saccharine, anyone?

Backtracking just a bit, here’s Songbook (10/28/19), featuring the music of Anthony Nunziata. The kid is talented, though there was no clear delineation between where he was composer, lyricist, or book writer—or both or all—not that there’s anything wrong with that. It just made the evening a little bit difficult to follow, as far as I was concerned. The songs themselves adhered very strongly to the “What’s the right way to build a song?” conundrum style: Slow, light opening, build the intensity, almost reach the pro-style, anthem-hitting plateau, then a gradual release back to everything you were hiding from. It’s very effective, for what it’s worth. It wasn’t worth much to me at the time. Maybe I’ll learn to love it … nah! who am I kidding?

I attended a very interesting piano concert yesterday afternoon (11/16/19). I’ll try to write a full report about this one soon.

ConcertMeister