Featuring:
- Debussy Printemps, orchestrated by Henri Busser
- Elgar Cello Concerto
- Prokofiev Symphony No. 5
Matthew Barley - Cello
Yan Pascal Tortelier - Conductor
Despite my rant against the change in programming, I really enjoyed this performance. Debussy's colourful Printemps with the beautiful main theme first played by the flute in the beginning and transformed throughout the 2 movements of this piece is a delight. Although it wasn't Debussy who orchestrated this piece, it nevertheless retained a charming trademark Debussy orchestral writing. I was less impressed with the theme of the second movement: it was too popular sounding, not unlike the main theme of the finale of Franck's symphony. Not of it matters so much as the music pleased me very much and MSO's playing was wonderful here, at least until the piece ended! There was a little accident in the end where after the piece reached its marvelous climax in the end, a percussionist accidentally dropped the cymbals, ruining the silence in the end. It was quite a hilarious moment, and some MSO musicians actually let out a big 'awwwwwwww' noise. The audience also laughed at it and gave a warm applause.
Matthew Barley gave a wonderful reading of the much beloved Elgar's cello concerto. His cello produced a very rich-sounding tone and his technique is impeccable. He displayed a very mature reading of the concerto and played wonderfully in the third movement.
The performance of Prokofiev's fifth symphony impressed me most. Here, Tortelier conducted without a score and produced wonderful interpretation of this symphony. After unsettling me successfully in the 'unstable' slow first movement, he danced through the relentless Scherzo rhythm in the second movement. The third movement grew from being somber to violent and eventually turned into a sort of funeral march with plenty of sarcastic trills in the winds and strings. The finale is a tour-de-force for the (large) symphony orchestra. The orchestra for this piece is very huge, requiring a large number of strings, woodwinds, massive percussion sections, and a piano (this also happened in Debussy's piece). It's a real treat to watch a large number of percussionists playing all sort of instruments, providing additional level of excitements into this relentless marching finale.
I'm very impressed with Tortelier's interpretations of all the pieces and looking forward to his next concert where he'll be conducting Rachmaninov' symphonic dances next week.
Sunday, 21 June 2009
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Isabelle Faust - J.S. Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin - Concert 1
Featuring:
- Bach Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001
- Bach Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002
- Bach Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003
Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin sit on top of the summit of violin playing, no question about that. They're a set of masterpieces that require violinists to play at their best and more to convey the meaningful musical messages behind those notes. Personally, after listening to a great performance of these pieces (e.g. Milstein's or Szeryng's recording), I always have an image in my mind where I face a black ocean of limitless possibilities and uttering 'Bach is like an ocean'. They're so great that every time I listen to them it's like a spiritual experience.
Those transcendental experiences unfortunately didn't come to me tonight. Isabelle Faust has a gorgeous technique producing wonderful trills and double stop with multiple voices easily, her tone is sweet, a little bit laid back, and every note is crystal clear. Her playing was very much relaxed with her eyes fixed to the score in front of her with feminine sound. Anyway, even with all of those good things, she missed out in engaging the audience to the music. The opening adagio of the sonata was dispatched easily, but I missed the emotional impact of it. It sounded too polished. The fugues (of both first and second sonata) were not engaging, Isabelle focused too much on the clarity of those double stops notes while sacrificing the flow of the music. Siciliano's tempo was dragging, but the fine performance of the exciting Presto renewed my hope in her playing.
Next was the first partita, the Allemande was well-played continuing the fine form of the previous Presto. I don't like the tempo of the Double following it. Next Courante and Double were okay, but the Sarabande dragged for too long. I had further problems with the Bourree: this dance movement didn't feel like a dance at all and it's all too obvious from how she played the opening of the bourree. Luckily the Double in the end was quite good.
In the interval, I reflected on the performance and noticed that I enjoyed Isabelle's playing the most in fast movements where she actually let herself go and actually attacked the music. And then I thought that maybe she was playing 'safe'. She shouldn't have and should have let herself be more adventurous. Also, in those slow movements, the phrases sounded a little bit disconnected with each other and probably the main reason why I wasn't connected with them.
After the interval, the Grave opening of the second sonata received a much better performance, but the fine performance did not follow after the chords in the end of Grave leading directly to the Fugue. As I described earlier, the Fugues were disappointing. The flow of the music is disrupted throughout due to her emphasis on playing the notes clearly and accurately, ruining the fugal runs. The Andante of Second Sonata is perhaps the favourite movement of mine apart from the Chaconne in this set of masterpieces. Here her playing was wonderful, and apart from various silence that lasted too long, I quite enjoyed it. The finely played last Allegro rounded up the night.
Some more notes on how Isabelle played: she was really gentle (I would say she 'caressed') on the violin, never fiercely attacking it even during fast passages. Her playing is very controlled, but her tempo tends to be on the slower side. These factors above probably made me felt that her playing is 'safe'. A much lamented attitude I think, especially in live performance.
Isabelle will perform the other partitas and sonata tomorrow night. I'm not sure if I would want to go again as her Bach playing doesn't suit my taste. That and the fact that I have my exam on Friday (freaking statistics!!). But, I want to listen to the Chaconne, the Sarabande, the Giga, the Preludio...ARGGHHHH frustrating... Sigh...
I guess for now, I probably should be happy with Milstein and Szeryng.
Oh lastly, if anyone reading this should worry if there are seats available tomorrow: Don't be. Tonight's performance wasn't that well-attended (250 or 300 people at max?). I'm pretty sure it'll be the same tomorrow (well, unless the 'Chaconne' works its magic and attracts a full house).
Next concert: Elgar's Cello Concerto and Prokofiev 5th symphony with MSO this Saturday. Rant: (how dare them! I want to listen to Haydn's Cello concerto which they substituted. No disrespect for the cellist or the piece itself, but I'm pretty sure Jacqueline du Pre's recording can't be topped. I rather listen to Haydn's CC live to celebrate his 200th passing. And the fact that I've listened to Elgar's CC live last year in MSO's free Sidney Myer concert).
- Bach Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001
- Bach Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002
- Bach Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003
Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin sit on top of the summit of violin playing, no question about that. They're a set of masterpieces that require violinists to play at their best and more to convey the meaningful musical messages behind those notes. Personally, after listening to a great performance of these pieces (e.g. Milstein's or Szeryng's recording), I always have an image in my mind where I face a black ocean of limitless possibilities and uttering 'Bach is like an ocean'. They're so great that every time I listen to them it's like a spiritual experience.
Those transcendental experiences unfortunately didn't come to me tonight. Isabelle Faust has a gorgeous technique producing wonderful trills and double stop with multiple voices easily, her tone is sweet, a little bit laid back, and every note is crystal clear. Her playing was very much relaxed with her eyes fixed to the score in front of her with feminine sound. Anyway, even with all of those good things, she missed out in engaging the audience to the music. The opening adagio of the sonata was dispatched easily, but I missed the emotional impact of it. It sounded too polished. The fugues (of both first and second sonata) were not engaging, Isabelle focused too much on the clarity of those double stops notes while sacrificing the flow of the music. Siciliano's tempo was dragging, but the fine performance of the exciting Presto renewed my hope in her playing.
Next was the first partita, the Allemande was well-played continuing the fine form of the previous Presto. I don't like the tempo of the Double following it. Next Courante and Double were okay, but the Sarabande dragged for too long. I had further problems with the Bourree: this dance movement didn't feel like a dance at all and it's all too obvious from how she played the opening of the bourree. Luckily the Double in the end was quite good.
In the interval, I reflected on the performance and noticed that I enjoyed Isabelle's playing the most in fast movements where she actually let herself go and actually attacked the music. And then I thought that maybe she was playing 'safe'. She shouldn't have and should have let herself be more adventurous. Also, in those slow movements, the phrases sounded a little bit disconnected with each other and probably the main reason why I wasn't connected with them.
After the interval, the Grave opening of the second sonata received a much better performance, but the fine performance did not follow after the chords in the end of Grave leading directly to the Fugue. As I described earlier, the Fugues were disappointing. The flow of the music is disrupted throughout due to her emphasis on playing the notes clearly and accurately, ruining the fugal runs. The Andante of Second Sonata is perhaps the favourite movement of mine apart from the Chaconne in this set of masterpieces. Here her playing was wonderful, and apart from various silence that lasted too long, I quite enjoyed it. The finely played last Allegro rounded up the night.
Some more notes on how Isabelle played: she was really gentle (I would say she 'caressed') on the violin, never fiercely attacking it even during fast passages. Her playing is very controlled, but her tempo tends to be on the slower side. These factors above probably made me felt that her playing is 'safe'. A much lamented attitude I think, especially in live performance.
Isabelle will perform the other partitas and sonata tomorrow night. I'm not sure if I would want to go again as her Bach playing doesn't suit my taste. That and the fact that I have my exam on Friday (freaking statistics!!). But, I want to listen to the Chaconne, the Sarabande, the Giga, the Preludio...ARGGHHHH frustrating... Sigh...
I guess for now, I probably should be happy with Milstein and Szeryng.
Oh lastly, if anyone reading this should worry if there are seats available tomorrow: Don't be. Tonight's performance wasn't that well-attended (250 or 300 people at max?). I'm pretty sure it'll be the same tomorrow (well, unless the 'Chaconne' works its magic and attracts a full house).
Next concert: Elgar's Cello Concerto and Prokofiev 5th symphony with MSO this Saturday. Rant: (how dare them! I want to listen to Haydn's Cello concerto which they substituted. No disrespect for the cellist or the piece itself, but I'm pretty sure Jacqueline du Pre's recording can't be topped. I rather listen to Haydn's CC live to celebrate his 200th passing. And the fact that I've listened to Elgar's CC live last year in MSO's free Sidney Myer concert).
Sunday, 14 June 2009
Australian Chamber Orchestra concert 14 June 2009 - Great Romantics Tour
Featuring:
- Ian Munro Black is the Night World Premiere
- Brahms String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36
- Schoenberg Transfigured Night
Richard Tognetti - Artistic Director & Lead Violin.
A 'dark' concert. That's what I would like to call this concert. Brilliant programming with unifying themes of dark night and love. Oh, and ACO is not really an orchestra for this concert: all programs are string sextets requiring only 2 violins, 2 violas, and 2 cellos for the whole program.
Ian Munro's Black is the Night is a piece based on the poem of the same name by Judith Wright. I have no idea who Judith Wright is, but based on the chattering of people around me, I gather that she's quite a well-known Australian poet. The composition and the poem are highly interesting. The poem described the grimness of the night, rising out from the bottom of the sea where it can't be reached by light. The bottom of the sea is so dark that the no-eye deep-sea fish stay still while bones of the departed humans will never reach there (my description of the poem might seem silly, but that's my best attempt to describe the poem without having to publish the poem itself here, of which I'm pretty sure have no permission to do so). The composition reflects on this poem: starting from the dark, work itself through the series of pizzicato (perhaps representing the sea which text is present in the poem?) before the main opening return backs in the end. IIRC, there are plenty of silence in the music, dramatising the absence of movement. I couldn't describe it more in detail due to memory lapse, but my initial impression of the piece was certainly a good one.
Also, I should probably note that I haven't listened to any of the pieces programmed today, and I am in no position to comment much on the style of string chamber music playing which to my regret is something that I am not familiar with yet. Someday, after discovering all of major symphonies by Bruckner and Shostakovich, I promise I'll pick myself up and explore the intimacy of chamber music.
Brahms' only chamber music that I know is his Clarinet Trio of which the second movement brought me down to tears during the live performance by Ensemble Liaison last year. His second string sextet, written in attempt to forget his ex-fiancee, impressed me in the beautiful opening movement with its lyrical melody. The next movement is a slow dance, but with a contrasting fast tempo in the trio section and ended with a brilliant coda. Brahms' adagios which usually delight me, somehow eluded me in this piece. It does not have the poignancy found in his clarinet trio, or his other orchestral works. The finale was spiced with plenty of uplifting tempo and ACO's characteristic sprightful attack combined with the energy created by the standing-up performance generated much pleasure. The visual effect of string players playing the fugal finale enhanced this fine performance.
As much as I love Brahms' music, I think the performance of Schoenberg's Verlkarte Nacht 'Transfigured Night' is the crown of the concert. While already hinting towards atonality, this piece is written in late-romantic style (not that different than Mahler's symphonies really). I even think the opening is very similar to the opening of Mahler 9 (which is written later). The mood of this piece varies from the frightful attacks into the tenderness of solo violin or cello in the space of just a couple of bars. It's a musical journey from despair (characterised with plenty of unresolved dissonances) to salvation (or forgiveness) which is the essence of the poem it based on. ACO's string sextet playing provides plenty of drama where it is necessary, but it's beautifully restraint on moments of tenderness, for example in the duet between first violin and first cello while the other strings provided subdued background support. In the end, the despairs present throughout the music seem to be transfigured away into hope (with those finally resolved dissonances) just as the cool eerie night has been transfigured into a finally unmistakable warm bright night of hope.
On a personal note, I sat next to two people who applauded enthusiastically after the performance of Verklarte Nacht. They are possibly the only people in the circle who shouted bravo in the circle seats. Anyway, when the applause finally died down, one of them commented something like (I didn't hear his comment properly) 'Melbourne's audience is not very enthusiastic in their applause' or something. I agree that the performance deserved a longer applause (and probably more 'Bravo'), but it's hard to give uplifting enthusiastic applause after such intense performance. Personally, I don't even want to listen to any music for one hour after the performance and prefer to be silent for a period of time after the performance.
In conclusion, another good concert from the ACO. I would probably commend them for avoiding over-the-top romantic playing of these intensely romantic pieces. Looking forward to their next performance in August.
- Ian Munro Black is the Night World Premiere
- Brahms String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36
- Schoenberg Transfigured Night
Richard Tognetti - Artistic Director & Lead Violin.
A 'dark' concert. That's what I would like to call this concert. Brilliant programming with unifying themes of dark night and love. Oh, and ACO is not really an orchestra for this concert: all programs are string sextets requiring only 2 violins, 2 violas, and 2 cellos for the whole program.
Ian Munro's Black is the Night is a piece based on the poem of the same name by Judith Wright. I have no idea who Judith Wright is, but based on the chattering of people around me, I gather that she's quite a well-known Australian poet. The composition and the poem are highly interesting. The poem described the grimness of the night, rising out from the bottom of the sea where it can't be reached by light. The bottom of the sea is so dark that the no-eye deep-sea fish stay still while bones of the departed humans will never reach there (my description of the poem might seem silly, but that's my best attempt to describe the poem without having to publish the poem itself here, of which I'm pretty sure have no permission to do so). The composition reflects on this poem: starting from the dark, work itself through the series of pizzicato (perhaps representing the sea which text is present in the poem?) before the main opening return backs in the end. IIRC, there are plenty of silence in the music, dramatising the absence of movement. I couldn't describe it more in detail due to memory lapse, but my initial impression of the piece was certainly a good one.
Also, I should probably note that I haven't listened to any of the pieces programmed today, and I am in no position to comment much on the style of string chamber music playing which to my regret is something that I am not familiar with yet. Someday, after discovering all of major symphonies by Bruckner and Shostakovich, I promise I'll pick myself up and explore the intimacy of chamber music.
Brahms' only chamber music that I know is his Clarinet Trio of which the second movement brought me down to tears during the live performance by Ensemble Liaison last year. His second string sextet, written in attempt to forget his ex-fiancee, impressed me in the beautiful opening movement with its lyrical melody. The next movement is a slow dance, but with a contrasting fast tempo in the trio section and ended with a brilliant coda. Brahms' adagios which usually delight me, somehow eluded me in this piece. It does not have the poignancy found in his clarinet trio, or his other orchestral works. The finale was spiced with plenty of uplifting tempo and ACO's characteristic sprightful attack combined with the energy created by the standing-up performance generated much pleasure. The visual effect of string players playing the fugal finale enhanced this fine performance.
As much as I love Brahms' music, I think the performance of Schoenberg's Verlkarte Nacht 'Transfigured Night' is the crown of the concert. While already hinting towards atonality, this piece is written in late-romantic style (not that different than Mahler's symphonies really). I even think the opening is very similar to the opening of Mahler 9 (which is written later). The mood of this piece varies from the frightful attacks into the tenderness of solo violin or cello in the space of just a couple of bars. It's a musical journey from despair (characterised with plenty of unresolved dissonances) to salvation (or forgiveness) which is the essence of the poem it based on. ACO's string sextet playing provides plenty of drama where it is necessary, but it's beautifully restraint on moments of tenderness, for example in the duet between first violin and first cello while the other strings provided subdued background support. In the end, the despairs present throughout the music seem to be transfigured away into hope (with those finally resolved dissonances) just as the cool eerie night has been transfigured into a finally unmistakable warm bright night of hope.
On a personal note, I sat next to two people who applauded enthusiastically after the performance of Verklarte Nacht. They are possibly the only people in the circle who shouted bravo in the circle seats. Anyway, when the applause finally died down, one of them commented something like (I didn't hear his comment properly) 'Melbourne's audience is not very enthusiastic in their applause' or something. I agree that the performance deserved a longer applause (and probably more 'Bravo'), but it's hard to give uplifting enthusiastic applause after such intense performance. Personally, I don't even want to listen to any music for one hour after the performance and prefer to be silent for a period of time after the performance.
In conclusion, another good concert from the ACO. I would probably commend them for avoiding over-the-top romantic playing of these intensely romantic pieces. Looking forward to their next performance in August.
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Imogen Cooper Recital - 25 May 2009
Featuring:
- 16 German Dances, D. 783
- Piano Sonata No. 18 in G major, D. 894
- Six Moment Musicals, D. 780
- Piano Sonata No. 19 in C minor, D. 958
I was really looking forward to the recital, but this recital ended up being a mixed-bag recital. The biggest let down is not the artist, it's the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall at the Melbourne Recital Centre. While I have no problem or whatsoever with the hall acoustic in my previous 3 visits, this time I understand some people's complaint about the acoustic of being muddy. The piano sound did not arrive clearly to the rear seats of the stall and I noticed this problem as soon as Imogen played the first notes of the German Dances. The German Dances was played in a jumbled order to the reason that it's not explained in the program note. It was an okay performance, nothing new or different and the muddy sound did not help.
I have just recently being acquainted with Schubert's D. 894. Another sonata, another gem. I love Schubert's piano sonatas :). Right from the opening of the sonata, the whole journey takes you into a long journey of calm, wonderful soundscape. Imogen's playing exploits the lyrical beauty of the opening movement, and those thundering climaxes in the middle section were very well played. Again, if I can get a seating with better acoustic, I could have enjoyed those moment more. The second movement is less successful, I don't know if it's the playing or the freaking acoustic again, I was almost bored here. The third and fourth movements fared better.
A little bit of digression: the recital hall is 30% empty at the stalls. My first thought is "that's not too bad if the balcony is 80% full", but my fear came true when I looked up during the interval and saw an empty balcony and wing sections (gasp!). This recital really brought to life all the grim news that I heard about the problems with the recital hall: bad acoustic and low ticket sales. During the interval, I moved to an empty third row seat which is closer to my seat during Katia's recital compared to the back seat that I was seating during first interval. To my horror, when Imogen started playing the first moment musical, I was taken aback how the sound changed from muddy sound to crystal clear. A number of other audience actually did switch the seats and from the comments after the concert, they all agreed that switching seat made a big impact. I now seriously have to stop promoting the recital hall as acoustically wonderful - it all depends on where you are seating. If you're in for a chamber music recital, I would definitely recommend you to sit at the front row seats. I haven't had problem with balcony seats, but I would reexamine the acoustic there the next time I'm sitting up there.
Back to the music: the moment musical are exquisitely played. The first 3 are wonderful, lyricism is plenty in this performance. Imogen perhaps over attacked the opening of 4th moment musical, and I'm actually quite worried about her performance in the 5th as she made few mistakes when playing large chords of the piece. The 6th moment musical is a poetic one and its style suited more to Imogen's playing.
Dramatic chords open up Schubert's C minor sonata, Imogen's tone is slightly harsh and I've found that her fortissimo borders on banging the piano. Also, there's this wonderful passage in this movement where the bass played a very satirical melody just before the main theme came back after the development, and also just before the end of the piece. Here, Imogen placed less impact than I would have liked, but I'm just nitpicking. Imogen playing shone during the lyrical sections and the glorious Adagio of the sonata is the highlight of the recital for me. The gradual crescendo building in the middle section of the movement still sounded a little bit too harsh, but maybe I was sitting too close to the piano? I don't know. Third movement was charming and the fourth movement repeating main theme never sounded boring which is a good thing. As a whole though, I still very much prefer Richter's and Pollini's playing of the piece in their recordings.
To sum up, I think tonight's programming was very generous, and even after the problem that I had with the acoustic, I still very much came out uplifted with Schubert's glorious and 'heavenly-length' music.
- 16 German Dances, D. 783
- Piano Sonata No. 18 in G major, D. 894
- Six Moment Musicals, D. 780
- Piano Sonata No. 19 in C minor, D. 958
I was really looking forward to the recital, but this recital ended up being a mixed-bag recital. The biggest let down is not the artist, it's the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall at the Melbourne Recital Centre. While I have no problem or whatsoever with the hall acoustic in my previous 3 visits, this time I understand some people's complaint about the acoustic of being muddy. The piano sound did not arrive clearly to the rear seats of the stall and I noticed this problem as soon as Imogen played the first notes of the German Dances. The German Dances was played in a jumbled order to the reason that it's not explained in the program note. It was an okay performance, nothing new or different and the muddy sound did not help.
I have just recently being acquainted with Schubert's D. 894. Another sonata, another gem. I love Schubert's piano sonatas :). Right from the opening of the sonata, the whole journey takes you into a long journey of calm, wonderful soundscape. Imogen's playing exploits the lyrical beauty of the opening movement, and those thundering climaxes in the middle section were very well played. Again, if I can get a seating with better acoustic, I could have enjoyed those moment more. The second movement is less successful, I don't know if it's the playing or the freaking acoustic again, I was almost bored here. The third and fourth movements fared better.
A little bit of digression: the recital hall is 30% empty at the stalls. My first thought is "that's not too bad if the balcony is 80% full", but my fear came true when I looked up during the interval and saw an empty balcony and wing sections (gasp!). This recital really brought to life all the grim news that I heard about the problems with the recital hall: bad acoustic and low ticket sales. During the interval, I moved to an empty third row seat which is closer to my seat during Katia's recital compared to the back seat that I was seating during first interval. To my horror, when Imogen started playing the first moment musical, I was taken aback how the sound changed from muddy sound to crystal clear. A number of other audience actually did switch the seats and from the comments after the concert, they all agreed that switching seat made a big impact. I now seriously have to stop promoting the recital hall as acoustically wonderful - it all depends on where you are seating. If you're in for a chamber music recital, I would definitely recommend you to sit at the front row seats. I haven't had problem with balcony seats, but I would reexamine the acoustic there the next time I'm sitting up there.
Back to the music: the moment musical are exquisitely played. The first 3 are wonderful, lyricism is plenty in this performance. Imogen perhaps over attacked the opening of 4th moment musical, and I'm actually quite worried about her performance in the 5th as she made few mistakes when playing large chords of the piece. The 6th moment musical is a poetic one and its style suited more to Imogen's playing.
Dramatic chords open up Schubert's C minor sonata, Imogen's tone is slightly harsh and I've found that her fortissimo borders on banging the piano. Also, there's this wonderful passage in this movement where the bass played a very satirical melody just before the main theme came back after the development, and also just before the end of the piece. Here, Imogen placed less impact than I would have liked, but I'm just nitpicking. Imogen playing shone during the lyrical sections and the glorious Adagio of the sonata is the highlight of the recital for me. The gradual crescendo building in the middle section of the movement still sounded a little bit too harsh, but maybe I was sitting too close to the piano? I don't know. Third movement was charming and the fourth movement repeating main theme never sounded boring which is a good thing. As a whole though, I still very much prefer Richter's and Pollini's playing of the piece in their recordings.
To sum up, I think tonight's programming was very generous, and even after the problem that I had with the acoustic, I still very much came out uplifted with Schubert's glorious and 'heavenly-length' music.
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Musica Viva presents Katia Skanavi - 16 May 2009
Featuring:
- Schubert Piano Sonata No. 14 in A minor, D. 784
- Vine Piano Sonata no. 3
- Chopin Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante
- Chopin Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
After a few days of hesitating between tonight's concert with the earlier concert which basically features the same program except that in the earlier concert (on last Tuesday) Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 'Funeral March' will be featured instead of tonight's Third sonata. I was too busy on Tuesday and finally chose this concert. I went to the box office 2 hours before the performance and after a small chat with the attendant, I discovered that there is a student rush ticket for the performance. I sat there waiting for 1 hour and hoped that the concert won't be sold out until then. Luck was on my side, I can still get a seat, but alas, I can only get seats on the right side of the hall - which means I can't see the pianist hands!
The recital began by Katia, wearing a black dress, walked to the piano, bowed to the audience, sat down and start launching herself at the Schubert's sonata. The dark opening march caught me off guard, especially the intensity of how she built the first fortissimo. The second lyrical theme was played delicately showing well controlled pianissimo passages. The rest of the movement was brilliant, as well as the second movement with its 'sarcastic' melody interrupting the flow of the main melody. I am less impressed with the third movement, probably more because the main theme is not as interesting as the other two. Nevertheless, the overall playing of Schubert sonata was gorgeous.
Carl Vine's piano sonata is better than I expected, and it is quite interesting. The scattered main motifs in the beginning of the piece are developed in various disguise. Katia's playing in the central rhythmic section was wonderful, but I detected a slight slower tempo than the indicated Presto during the last virtuosic part of the sonata.
After the interval, the flowing arpeggio accompaniment of Chopin Spianato's was played and the beautiful cantabile main theme soon followed. Here, Katia immersed herself and showed a lot of body gestures not present in the performance of previous two sonatas. In the polonaise followed, I have a minor complaint on how she held back the tempo during some passages. And surprise surprise, I actually kind of miss the beautiful horn (?) passages at the end of the piece if the performance is accompanied by the orchestra. It's not that the passage is totally non-existent in the solo piano version, it's just the timbre difference.
I am not entirely familiar with Chopin's 3rd sonata. I thought the opening of the first movement is too turbulent, but the triumphant ending made me very happy. The second movement is a lively piece with plenty of quaver notes running up and down, and is written in simple ternary form. Katia's magical playing arrived in the 3rd movement. Here the time stands still. An effective use of silence and beautifully controlled cantabile playing made this movement my favourite of the night. Such serenity and sonority that she brought out, I don't even want it to end. The finale impressed me less, but you can't resist the coda in the end. Huge applause followed.
Katia gave two delightful encores. The first encore has a dance-characteristic played in the left hand, I don't know this piece. The second encore is the C-sharp minor Nocturne (Op. posth). Splendid, if you love Chopin's Nocturnes. And that wraps up the night.
A wonderful concert. Katia's wonderful playing and gracefulness will stay in my mind for a long time to come.
- Schubert Piano Sonata No. 14 in A minor, D. 784
- Vine Piano Sonata no. 3
- Chopin Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante
- Chopin Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
After a few days of hesitating between tonight's concert with the earlier concert which basically features the same program except that in the earlier concert (on last Tuesday) Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 'Funeral March' will be featured instead of tonight's Third sonata. I was too busy on Tuesday and finally chose this concert. I went to the box office 2 hours before the performance and after a small chat with the attendant, I discovered that there is a student rush ticket for the performance. I sat there waiting for 1 hour and hoped that the concert won't be sold out until then. Luck was on my side, I can still get a seat, but alas, I can only get seats on the right side of the hall - which means I can't see the pianist hands!
The recital began by Katia, wearing a black dress, walked to the piano, bowed to the audience, sat down and start launching herself at the Schubert's sonata. The dark opening march caught me off guard, especially the intensity of how she built the first fortissimo. The second lyrical theme was played delicately showing well controlled pianissimo passages. The rest of the movement was brilliant, as well as the second movement with its 'sarcastic' melody interrupting the flow of the main melody. I am less impressed with the third movement, probably more because the main theme is not as interesting as the other two. Nevertheless, the overall playing of Schubert sonata was gorgeous.
Carl Vine's piano sonata is better than I expected, and it is quite interesting. The scattered main motifs in the beginning of the piece are developed in various disguise. Katia's playing in the central rhythmic section was wonderful, but I detected a slight slower tempo than the indicated Presto during the last virtuosic part of the sonata.
After the interval, the flowing arpeggio accompaniment of Chopin Spianato's was played and the beautiful cantabile main theme soon followed. Here, Katia immersed herself and showed a lot of body gestures not present in the performance of previous two sonatas. In the polonaise followed, I have a minor complaint on how she held back the tempo during some passages. And surprise surprise, I actually kind of miss the beautiful horn (?) passages at the end of the piece if the performance is accompanied by the orchestra. It's not that the passage is totally non-existent in the solo piano version, it's just the timbre difference.
I am not entirely familiar with Chopin's 3rd sonata. I thought the opening of the first movement is too turbulent, but the triumphant ending made me very happy. The second movement is a lively piece with plenty of quaver notes running up and down, and is written in simple ternary form. Katia's magical playing arrived in the 3rd movement. Here the time stands still. An effective use of silence and beautifully controlled cantabile playing made this movement my favourite of the night. Such serenity and sonority that she brought out, I don't even want it to end. The finale impressed me less, but you can't resist the coda in the end. Huge applause followed.
Katia gave two delightful encores. The first encore has a dance-characteristic played in the left hand, I don't know this piece. The second encore is the C-sharp minor Nocturne (Op. posth). Splendid, if you love Chopin's Nocturnes. And that wraps up the night.
A wonderful concert. Katia's wonderful playing and gracefulness will stay in my mind for a long time to come.
Friday, 15 May 2009
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concert 15 May 2009 - Dream
Featuring:
- Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night's Dream: Overture
- Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
- Tchaikovsky Selections from The Nutcracker and Swan Lake
Alexey Yemtsov - Piano
Andrew Grams - Conductor
Tonight was a very very memorable night. Despite the corniness of the concert title, the relatively light music, and my low expectation of Tchaikovsky's ballet music treated seriously - one man changed all of that: the conductor Andrew Grams. I will talk more about it later.
Let's start with our usual organ recital by Calvin Bowman. I arrived 5 seconds late, and I can see the ushers closing the door. One of them then accompanied me to enter from the rear entry. I then sat at the last row, just a little bit inside in the row. More people then came, some of them sat in front of me. All perfectly fine until a couple asked me to give them some space so that they can walk past me while I immersed myself in Bach's music. Annoyed a little bit, since they could have walked till the end of the row without disturbing me. I almost snapped when an usher tapped my shoulder asking me to move a little bit inwards the row. He was the one who asked me to sit at the back row in the first place! The latecomers shouldn't be prioritised, especially when they are already late for 15 minutes. The usher should have suggested something cleverer like asking them to go the long way to get a seat without disturbing anybody. Wasn't happy with him, I did not move inwards, I gave some space for an elderly couple to move past, and then after the first Bach piece, I moved 6 or 7 rows in front where nobody is sitting. Then the rest of the recital is wonderful.
The first Bach piece was 'Piece d'orgue' Fantasia in G major, BWV 572. A very interesting piece with a two-note motif present towards the piece. The second piece was an arrangement of Bach's Organ Concerto in G major, BWV 592 by Ernst (not sure who he is). Lively two outer movements with a dark slow movement in between (IIRC). Next piece is Bridge's Lento - lovely music, not unsuitable as a gorgeous film music. Gigout's 'Adoramos in Aeternum' closed the recital beautifully. Fantastic performance from Calvin Bowman tonight. One slight complaint about MSO: they ran out of organ recital programs. I couldn't get one copy of it, but there were only around 50 people attending the organ recital. Eventually, I got a copy courtesy of a nice lady sitting beside me.
At a short glance, tonight's program consists of 'pretty' music. Nothing 'deep' like a Beethoven or Brahms or Mahler symphony. All are quite popular, especially Tchaikovsky's ballet music. This usually spells disaster in terms of performance: the orchestra can just play sloppily and the audience can still enjoy the music. But that didn't happen tonight. Mendelssohn's overture was played beautifully. The rapid strings notes came out as clear as crystal while never losing the excitement. MSO's woodwinds section chirps throughout. Brass and horns let their presence felt while not overpowering the strings. MSO just played so differently tonight, it was wonderful. The deliberate tempo slowing just before the recapitulation of the rapid strings works like charm. The finale is as fantastic as it could have been and the overture set the tone for the night: the audience is in for wonderful time.
Alexey Yemtsov came on the stage playing Rachmaninov's famous rhapsody. Instead of the usual muffled tone from the grand piano, he produced brilliant clear tone. Accompanied by the in-form orchestra, he blasted through the rhapsody, playing brilliantly throughout. The Dies Irae variation is heavy, cadenza like variations played lightning fast. Poetic is his approach during the slow variations leading up to the gorgeous 18th variation. He dashed through the finale as it was nothing, excitement is never far from his performance. As an icing on the cake, he gave an encore which unfortunately I'm not very familiar with. My best guess: impressionist (Debussy or Ravel piece?) or late romantic music.
I honestly didn't expect much from the performance of Tchaikovsky's ballet music, even after a great first half of the concert. My expectations were turned upside down after a few bars of the Nutcracker music. Tchaikovsky's music, being too popular, has always been treated lightly by a lot of performers and audience. Andrew Grams showed us how the Nutcracker can sound like if you treat Tchaikovsky's music as a masterpiece. The Nutcracker excerpt starts with the Entry of Clara and the Prince in the second act, followed by Spanish, Arabian, Chinese, Russian dances and Dance of the Reed Pipes. Percussion section shines here and have I already mentioned that the woodwinds played faultlessly tonight? The mother ginger music and the charming, ever popular Waltz of the flowers end this fabulous performance.
The crown achievement of the night is the performance of excerpts from Swan Lake. The all too familiar Swan Lake theme got an invigorating treatment. Climaxes are as loud as they can be, emphasising dramatic elements of Swan Lake story. The Waltz is so fantastic that when it ended, some people just can't help but applaud to it. Wilma Smith and David Berlin gave wonderful solos in Pas d'action of Odette and the Prince. The concert ended in a super overwhelming Finale of Swan Lake and the audience raptured in the end! Some of them even gave standing ovations. If I were to sum up that performance in one word it will be 'electrifying'. What a memorable night. This can easily be one of my favourite MSO concerts, equaling the great concerts of Mahler 1, 2 and Verdi's Requiem.
This night was made even memorable for some non-musical reasons. There are two small interruptions in the middle of this concert. The first one was a person almost collapsed while walking up the stairs in the middle of slow variations of Rachmaninov's Rhapsody. The second was in the middle of the Nutcracker excerpts where a number of ushers tried to help this old lady.
Conclusion: I will be having eargasm everytime in MSO concerts if MSO keeps playing at this level. I heard mutters of fellow audience after the performance and they all agreed with me that they just heard something rather special that night. 'Never heard of Swan Lake being done so dramatically', 'Love the conductor's conducting style', 'I thought that he's gonna take off' are just some example comments that I overheard. I'd love to see the conductor back in Melbourne: tackling a well-known symphony. Last but not least, tonight's concert is almost a full-house, extreme contrast with last Town Hall concert. MSO playing in this level is really wonderful, keep up the good work guys! Thanks for a truly memorable night.
My next concert: ACO playing Schoenberg's Transfigured Night.
- Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night's Dream: Overture
- Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
- Tchaikovsky Selections from The Nutcracker and Swan Lake
Alexey Yemtsov - Piano
Andrew Grams - Conductor
Tonight was a very very memorable night. Despite the corniness of the concert title, the relatively light music, and my low expectation of Tchaikovsky's ballet music treated seriously - one man changed all of that: the conductor Andrew Grams. I will talk more about it later.
Let's start with our usual organ recital by Calvin Bowman. I arrived 5 seconds late, and I can see the ushers closing the door. One of them then accompanied me to enter from the rear entry. I then sat at the last row, just a little bit inside in the row. More people then came, some of them sat in front of me. All perfectly fine until a couple asked me to give them some space so that they can walk past me while I immersed myself in Bach's music. Annoyed a little bit, since they could have walked till the end of the row without disturbing me. I almost snapped when an usher tapped my shoulder asking me to move a little bit inwards the row. He was the one who asked me to sit at the back row in the first place! The latecomers shouldn't be prioritised, especially when they are already late for 15 minutes. The usher should have suggested something cleverer like asking them to go the long way to get a seat without disturbing anybody. Wasn't happy with him, I did not move inwards, I gave some space for an elderly couple to move past, and then after the first Bach piece, I moved 6 or 7 rows in front where nobody is sitting. Then the rest of the recital is wonderful.
The first Bach piece was 'Piece d'orgue' Fantasia in G major, BWV 572. A very interesting piece with a two-note motif present towards the piece. The second piece was an arrangement of Bach's Organ Concerto in G major, BWV 592 by Ernst (not sure who he is). Lively two outer movements with a dark slow movement in between (IIRC). Next piece is Bridge's Lento - lovely music, not unsuitable as a gorgeous film music. Gigout's 'Adoramos in Aeternum' closed the recital beautifully. Fantastic performance from Calvin Bowman tonight. One slight complaint about MSO: they ran out of organ recital programs. I couldn't get one copy of it, but there were only around 50 people attending the organ recital. Eventually, I got a copy courtesy of a nice lady sitting beside me.
At a short glance, tonight's program consists of 'pretty' music. Nothing 'deep' like a Beethoven or Brahms or Mahler symphony. All are quite popular, especially Tchaikovsky's ballet music. This usually spells disaster in terms of performance: the orchestra can just play sloppily and the audience can still enjoy the music. But that didn't happen tonight. Mendelssohn's overture was played beautifully. The rapid strings notes came out as clear as crystal while never losing the excitement. MSO's woodwinds section chirps throughout. Brass and horns let their presence felt while not overpowering the strings. MSO just played so differently tonight, it was wonderful. The deliberate tempo slowing just before the recapitulation of the rapid strings works like charm. The finale is as fantastic as it could have been and the overture set the tone for the night: the audience is in for wonderful time.
Alexey Yemtsov came on the stage playing Rachmaninov's famous rhapsody. Instead of the usual muffled tone from the grand piano, he produced brilliant clear tone. Accompanied by the in-form orchestra, he blasted through the rhapsody, playing brilliantly throughout. The Dies Irae variation is heavy, cadenza like variations played lightning fast. Poetic is his approach during the slow variations leading up to the gorgeous 18th variation. He dashed through the finale as it was nothing, excitement is never far from his performance. As an icing on the cake, he gave an encore which unfortunately I'm not very familiar with. My best guess: impressionist (Debussy or Ravel piece?) or late romantic music.
I honestly didn't expect much from the performance of Tchaikovsky's ballet music, even after a great first half of the concert. My expectations were turned upside down after a few bars of the Nutcracker music. Tchaikovsky's music, being too popular, has always been treated lightly by a lot of performers and audience. Andrew Grams showed us how the Nutcracker can sound like if you treat Tchaikovsky's music as a masterpiece. The Nutcracker excerpt starts with the Entry of Clara and the Prince in the second act, followed by Spanish, Arabian, Chinese, Russian dances and Dance of the Reed Pipes. Percussion section shines here and have I already mentioned that the woodwinds played faultlessly tonight? The mother ginger music and the charming, ever popular Waltz of the flowers end this fabulous performance.
The crown achievement of the night is the performance of excerpts from Swan Lake. The all too familiar Swan Lake theme got an invigorating treatment. Climaxes are as loud as they can be, emphasising dramatic elements of Swan Lake story. The Waltz is so fantastic that when it ended, some people just can't help but applaud to it. Wilma Smith and David Berlin gave wonderful solos in Pas d'action of Odette and the Prince. The concert ended in a super overwhelming Finale of Swan Lake and the audience raptured in the end! Some of them even gave standing ovations. If I were to sum up that performance in one word it will be 'electrifying'. What a memorable night. This can easily be one of my favourite MSO concerts, equaling the great concerts of Mahler 1, 2 and Verdi's Requiem.
This night was made even memorable for some non-musical reasons. There are two small interruptions in the middle of this concert. The first one was a person almost collapsed while walking up the stairs in the middle of slow variations of Rachmaninov's Rhapsody. The second was in the middle of the Nutcracker excerpts where a number of ushers tried to help this old lady.
Conclusion: I will be having eargasm everytime in MSO concerts if MSO keeps playing at this level. I heard mutters of fellow audience after the performance and they all agreed with me that they just heard something rather special that night. 'Never heard of Swan Lake being done so dramatically', 'Love the conductor's conducting style', 'I thought that he's gonna take off' are just some example comments that I overheard. I'd love to see the conductor back in Melbourne: tackling a well-known symphony. Last but not least, tonight's concert is almost a full-house, extreme contrast with last Town Hall concert. MSO playing in this level is really wonderful, keep up the good work guys! Thanks for a truly memorable night.
My next concert: ACO playing Schoenberg's Transfigured Night.
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concert 18 April 2009 - The Emperor
Featuring:
- Mendelssohn Overture: The Fair Melusina
- Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 'Emperor'
- Stravinsky Concerto for chamber orchestra 'Dumbarton Oaks'
- Beethoven Symphony No. 8
Barry Douglas - Piano
Douglas Boyd - Conductor
Let's start with one good thing: I kept my promise and arrived (too) early for the concert. I had plenty of time to read through the program notes and seeing how much audience flocked in to the hall. With the program that MSO is offering for this concert, you would have expected to see a good number of audience, right? Beethoven's Emperor Concerto is a favourite classics - voted number 1 in ABC 100 classics concerto. Beethoven's 8th symphony - although not as famous as the odd-numbered symphony can attract some crowds too. Mendelssohn's and Stravinsky's pieces, as fine as they are, are probably just there to support the two Beethoven pieces. However, contrary to my expectation, the audience number is just disappointingly low. The balcony seats are virtually empty, and only 75-80% seats of the stalls are occupied. The circle seats fared much better, 90% of them are seated. So, why the low number of audience? Maybe people are just too sick with the 'Emperor'? Maybe because it's Saturday afternoon? Maybe because of Melbourne Comedy Festival? I have no idea.
To the concert: The Fair Melusina was executed sprightly with nice attack during the fast section of the piece. The opening movement and the end which are calmer were marked with excellent woodwinds playing from the orchestra. Good solid performance. Next piece is the 'meat' of the concert: the Emperor concerto. It started out promisingly, three nice chords with piano intersecting between them. Excellent opening. The pianist continued his fine playing, with the conductor provided excellent accompaniment. Then I realised something, the pianist, wonderful as he was, was not majestic enough in his playing. The big tunes in the first movement sounds a little bit underwhelmed, but it got better during the end of the movement. Personally, I got quite tired/bored with the big tune of the Emperor concerto after a while. The whole first movement is too long - "too many notes" - if I may say. Unlike most people who voted 'Emperor' as their favourite concerto, my favourite piano concerto of Beethoven is the subdued 4th piano concerto. Anyway, the cadenza was played much better, a fitting end to the end of first movement. The second movement is the highlight of the performance for me, now that was a gorgeous singing melody from the pianist. It almost hypnotised me, it was just dead gorgeous. The spell was broken during the transition to the Rondo, which was perfectly fine apart from a couple weird tempo choices in the middle. In the end, a satisfying performance, well worth listening especially the second movement. 3 curtain calls for the pianist, but no encores :(.
After the interval, Stravinsky's bouncy Dumbarton Oaks concerto bounced back my interest. Its cute, bouncy rhythm made me grinned - not unlike Prokofiev's. It started off imitating Bach's 3rd Brandenburg concerto jumping rhythm, but them it ventures out to do something else. The second movement was highlighted by some fine flute lines. The third movement was a quick one, ending with a glimmer of brilliance. Nice fine music. I have to thank my own ventures to Prokofiev music that have given my brain some 'training' to listen to this irresistible weird rhythmic music.
A straight, no non-sense playing of Beethoven's 8th symphony closed the concert. And yes, I never failed to grin throughout the performance. I loved every single bit of Beethoven's 8th symphony. It's compact, full of musical jokes and brilliant orchestration. I liked how the conductor emphasis the marching brass rhythm in the last movement. The horns are to be praised for their fine playing in the trio of the third movement. But the surprise was me finding out that the audience actually liked the performance as much as I do. Good surprise, because I have assumptions that people only like Beethoven's 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th symphonies. Oh yeah, I sure hope the other people did not notice my facial expression during the performance of this symphony. If I have a mirror, I'm sure I looked like a lunatic with never ending grins.
Next concert: Rachmaninov's ever popular Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini - next month.
- Mendelssohn Overture: The Fair Melusina
- Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 'Emperor'
- Stravinsky Concerto for chamber orchestra 'Dumbarton Oaks'
- Beethoven Symphony No. 8
Barry Douglas - Piano
Douglas Boyd - Conductor
Let's start with one good thing: I kept my promise and arrived (too) early for the concert. I had plenty of time to read through the program notes and seeing how much audience flocked in to the hall. With the program that MSO is offering for this concert, you would have expected to see a good number of audience, right? Beethoven's Emperor Concerto is a favourite classics - voted number 1 in ABC 100 classics concerto. Beethoven's 8th symphony - although not as famous as the odd-numbered symphony can attract some crowds too. Mendelssohn's and Stravinsky's pieces, as fine as they are, are probably just there to support the two Beethoven pieces. However, contrary to my expectation, the audience number is just disappointingly low. The balcony seats are virtually empty, and only 75-80% seats of the stalls are occupied. The circle seats fared much better, 90% of them are seated. So, why the low number of audience? Maybe people are just too sick with the 'Emperor'? Maybe because it's Saturday afternoon? Maybe because of Melbourne Comedy Festival? I have no idea.
To the concert: The Fair Melusina was executed sprightly with nice attack during the fast section of the piece. The opening movement and the end which are calmer were marked with excellent woodwinds playing from the orchestra. Good solid performance. Next piece is the 'meat' of the concert: the Emperor concerto. It started out promisingly, three nice chords with piano intersecting between them. Excellent opening. The pianist continued his fine playing, with the conductor provided excellent accompaniment. Then I realised something, the pianist, wonderful as he was, was not majestic enough in his playing. The big tunes in the first movement sounds a little bit underwhelmed, but it got better during the end of the movement. Personally, I got quite tired/bored with the big tune of the Emperor concerto after a while. The whole first movement is too long - "too many notes" - if I may say. Unlike most people who voted 'Emperor' as their favourite concerto, my favourite piano concerto of Beethoven is the subdued 4th piano concerto. Anyway, the cadenza was played much better, a fitting end to the end of first movement. The second movement is the highlight of the performance for me, now that was a gorgeous singing melody from the pianist. It almost hypnotised me, it was just dead gorgeous. The spell was broken during the transition to the Rondo, which was perfectly fine apart from a couple weird tempo choices in the middle. In the end, a satisfying performance, well worth listening especially the second movement. 3 curtain calls for the pianist, but no encores :(.
After the interval, Stravinsky's bouncy Dumbarton Oaks concerto bounced back my interest. Its cute, bouncy rhythm made me grinned - not unlike Prokofiev's. It started off imitating Bach's 3rd Brandenburg concerto jumping rhythm, but them it ventures out to do something else. The second movement was highlighted by some fine flute lines. The third movement was a quick one, ending with a glimmer of brilliance. Nice fine music. I have to thank my own ventures to Prokofiev music that have given my brain some 'training' to listen to this irresistible weird rhythmic music.
A straight, no non-sense playing of Beethoven's 8th symphony closed the concert. And yes, I never failed to grin throughout the performance. I loved every single bit of Beethoven's 8th symphony. It's compact, full of musical jokes and brilliant orchestration. I liked how the conductor emphasis the marching brass rhythm in the last movement. The horns are to be praised for their fine playing in the trio of the third movement. But the surprise was me finding out that the audience actually liked the performance as much as I do. Good surprise, because I have assumptions that people only like Beethoven's 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th symphonies. Oh yeah, I sure hope the other people did not notice my facial expression during the performance of this symphony. If I have a mirror, I'm sure I looked like a lunatic with never ending grins.
Next concert: Rachmaninov's ever popular Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini - next month.
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