Featuring:
- Mozart Cosi fan tutti: Overture
- Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466
- Mendelssohn Capriccio brilliant for Piano and Orchestra
- Haydn Symphony No. 96 'Miracle'
Howard Shelley - Piano/Conductor
First Town Hall Proms this year. And Town Hall Proms = Organ recital by Calvin Bowman. That night he played Sinfonia from Cantata No. 29 Wir danken dir, Gott which turned out to be the arrangement of the famous Preludio from the 3rd Partita for solo violin. Next on the offering was Mendelssohn's Third Organ Sonata in A major, Op. 65. I enjoyed this 2 movements piece very much, the first movement sounded like a majestic Bach chorale, and the second movement more introspective in nature, and calming. Franck's rather lengthy and less interesting piece Chorale No. 3 in A minor closed the recital.
The title of this concert is your usual cheesy marketing programming, "Mozart Magic", and would infer that the night triumph would belong to Mozart's music. Sadly, it's Haydn's music who stole the show for the night.
Mozart's overture to Cosi fan Tutti started the concert, but the MSO was just getting warmed up for the night. While the woodwinds passages are beautifully rendered, the performance in general lacked energy, and the strings sounded muffled. It's a good performance, and yet there's nothing so memorable about it. After this short piece, the members of the orchestra stood up to have the seat arrangements fixed up. A piano is needed for the next piece and this which should have been clear from the program was apparently not so clear after all for a patron sitting behind me which uttered quite loudly, "what? that's it?". Anyway, Howard Shelley came back stage and with the piano positioned so that the audience faces the performer's back, explained the reason of this awkward position and also the glass cover that replaces the piano lid on the piano. To be succinct, the glass is so that he can see the woodwinds section, and help with the clarity and the acoustics of the hall. He also talked a little bit of Mozart's composition which was composed during the same period. He also played some excerpt of Mozart's 19th, 21st, 23rd, and 24th piano concertos.
After all that, he finally started the concerto. MSO was better here, but still lacking punch (for my taste). I always associate the d minor key signature to pieces with high tension. On top of my head, I can name Mozart's Requiem, Mozart's Don Giovanni, Brahms' 1st piano concerto, 2nd movement of Brahms' 2nd piano concerto, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Mahler's 3rd Symphony, Sibelius' violin concerto, Haydn's Nelson Mass, Bach's Chaconne for solo violin, Schumann's 4th symphony, Rachmaninoff's 3rd piano concerto, Dvorak's 4th and 7th symphonies. All of them are masterpieces which are famous for their high tension. My disappointment is that MSO did not play these high tension passages as tense as they could be played, the string attacks are not furious enough, I might say that they played the music just a bit fierce compared to how they would play a major key classical symphony, where I would have liked VERY FIERCE. Anyway, that's only my problem. The piano playing was fine, I enjoyed the beautiful 2nd movement a lot, although the contrasting episode was rather tame. Howard played Beethoven's cadenza for the 1st movement, as he did for the last movement. I like Howard's phrasings in general, and he did take some liberty in changing some notes in the 2nd movement to my fascination. The piano's clarity was much better this time, maybe because of the fact that it's a brand new concert grand piano just shipped from Hamburg (as told by Howard)?
Mendelssohn's piece was okay, but I couldn't say I enjoyed the performance very much. I enjoyed the arpeggios that started the piece, but from there it all went downhill. There were some passages in the piece that reminded me of one of Mendelssohn's own piano concertos, but I couldn't remember which one.
Finally, some remarkable playing from the orchestra. Howard brought some wits and energy to Haydn symphony which he didn't for the other programs that night. The highlights were a graceful minuet in the 3rd movement with the long oboe solo. The finale was played as marked, 'Vivace assai', the best moment of the night for me, really. And as always, a wise lesson for newcomers to Town Hall Proms: there's always encore after. You can kinda see it when David Thomas (principal clarinet) running back to the stage. I wondered what would happen if the audience didn't really like the performance and the planned encore would not go ahead simply because the applause is not long enough :). Anyway, Howard teased the audience if they would like some romantic music to end the night, and offered Sibelius' Valse Triste, but unfortunately, despite beautiful playing, no one seemed to take Howard's suggestion to waltz to this music in the concert hall.
Next concert: ACO playing 2 of my favourite symphonies: Schubert's Unfinished symphony, and Brahms' majestic 1st symphony.
Saturday, 5 June 2010
Sunday, 30 May 2010
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concert 29 May 2010 - Beethoven - The Journey Begins
Featuring:
- Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2
- Olli Mustonen The Old Church at Petäjävesi
- Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4
Olli Mustonen - Piano/Director
I was really looking forward to this concert only to be let down big time. The two Beethoven's piano concertos came up really short, and included some awkward phrasings and quirks that I don't really enjoy at all. Olli Mustonen is a fine pianist, but his readings of Beethoven's concertos left me cold. With the 2nd piano concerto, I missed the clarity of the notes. Also, throughout the whole concert, Olli seemed to play a lot of final resolving notes of a phrase so softly that I almost cannot listen to them. This is really annoying me and sometimes I just have to make up the sound of that resolving notes to complete the playing of a beautiful phrase in my mind. Directing and playing a piano concerto will always be a challenge, and it's really frustrating when the ensemble wasn't perfect, e.g. a couple of mistimed entries, and the balance of the orchestra was really off. On top of that, Olli busted out quite a number of wrong notes in the 4th piano concerto. His cadenzas are weird, sort of jazzy and sound 'pop'ish. The last movement of the 4th concert was interpreted like a horse galloping to finish line. Fast tempo and nothing else. I can't honestly say I felt any of the soul from the performance of this favourite Beethoven's concerto of mine. The audience clearly didn't share my opinion and cheered loudly for the performance. Well, I guess it's hard to stay put after you listened to the finale's brilliant coda.
This frustrating performance got even more frustrating for me when in the beginning of the 4th PC during the magical chords of the opening, which for me is a big factor of the enjoyment of this concerto, an audience member sitting right behind me said 'oh, I love this' right when she recognised that magical chords. Thanks very much for speaking out my mind lady, but I prefer if you keep it to yourself next time. Also, in the 2nd movement of the same concerto, someone tried to unwrap candy in the prayer-like section till the end of that movement. Thanks for ruining the performance further. What a joke. I swear I'm not going to let anyone sitting beside me to do this thing in a concert although there's a good chance he/she won't like me very much after that.
It might be a very frustrating concert, but there's some good moments here. Olli Mustonen's symphonic-suite music is actually quite enjoyable. The music, depicting an old church in a Finnish city, is in 5 movements. The first depicting the activity of builders of the church with changing and time signature and ends suddenly. Sacred Touch, the next movement, highlights the beautiful woodwinds writing for it. The Demons, and St. Christopher (3rd and 4th movements) are my favourites with the highlight definitely goes to the slightly out-of-tune hymn-singing portrayal. The finale ends as sudden as the opening. When I think about the piece again at the end, I think it definitely has a lot of the ideas from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.
The best moment of the concert is the encore Mustonen gave after curtain calls for his Beethoven's 4th performance. Here, he found the touch, the clarity, the sensitivity, and the sonority to express chorale-like melodies found in the piece. Sadly, I would never know what it is.
- Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2
- Olli Mustonen The Old Church at Petäjävesi
- Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4
Olli Mustonen - Piano/Director
I was really looking forward to this concert only to be let down big time. The two Beethoven's piano concertos came up really short, and included some awkward phrasings and quirks that I don't really enjoy at all. Olli Mustonen is a fine pianist, but his readings of Beethoven's concertos left me cold. With the 2nd piano concerto, I missed the clarity of the notes. Also, throughout the whole concert, Olli seemed to play a lot of final resolving notes of a phrase so softly that I almost cannot listen to them. This is really annoying me and sometimes I just have to make up the sound of that resolving notes to complete the playing of a beautiful phrase in my mind. Directing and playing a piano concerto will always be a challenge, and it's really frustrating when the ensemble wasn't perfect, e.g. a couple of mistimed entries, and the balance of the orchestra was really off. On top of that, Olli busted out quite a number of wrong notes in the 4th piano concerto. His cadenzas are weird, sort of jazzy and sound 'pop'ish. The last movement of the 4th concert was interpreted like a horse galloping to finish line. Fast tempo and nothing else. I can't honestly say I felt any of the soul from the performance of this favourite Beethoven's concerto of mine. The audience clearly didn't share my opinion and cheered loudly for the performance. Well, I guess it's hard to stay put after you listened to the finale's brilliant coda.
This frustrating performance got even more frustrating for me when in the beginning of the 4th PC during the magical chords of the opening, which for me is a big factor of the enjoyment of this concerto, an audience member sitting right behind me said 'oh, I love this' right when she recognised that magical chords. Thanks very much for speaking out my mind lady, but I prefer if you keep it to yourself next time. Also, in the 2nd movement of the same concerto, someone tried to unwrap candy in the prayer-like section till the end of that movement. Thanks for ruining the performance further. What a joke. I swear I'm not going to let anyone sitting beside me to do this thing in a concert although there's a good chance he/she won't like me very much after that.
It might be a very frustrating concert, but there's some good moments here. Olli Mustonen's symphonic-suite music is actually quite enjoyable. The music, depicting an old church in a Finnish city, is in 5 movements. The first depicting the activity of builders of the church with changing and time signature and ends suddenly. Sacred Touch, the next movement, highlights the beautiful woodwinds writing for it. The Demons, and St. Christopher (3rd and 4th movements) are my favourites with the highlight definitely goes to the slightly out-of-tune hymn-singing portrayal. The finale ends as sudden as the opening. When I think about the piece again at the end, I think it definitely has a lot of the ideas from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.
The best moment of the concert is the encore Mustonen gave after curtain calls for his Beethoven's 4th performance. Here, he found the touch, the clarity, the sensitivity, and the sonority to express chorale-like melodies found in the piece. Sadly, I would never know what it is.
Saturday, 15 May 2010
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concert 15 May 2010 - Trumpet Superstar
Featuring:
- Grieg Norwegian Dances
- Haydn Trumpet Concerto
- Richard Strauss Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life)
Giuliano Sommerhalder - Trumpet
Andrew Litton - Conductor
A MSO concert after a long 2 months break, and it's a good one. I enjoyed discovering these 3 pieces that I'm not familiar at all in this concert.
As usual, I'll go on chronologically - Grieg's Norwegian Dances is a set of 4 simple ternary form Norwegian dances inspired by, duh, what else but Norwegian folk music. All 4 pieces placed woodwinds in the spotlight, especially the oboe which deservedly was asked to stand to receive his wonderful contribution throughout. I personally enjoy the first and the third dances the most. The first dance reminiscing of the pomp march of the trolls in the composer's famous In the Hall of the Mountain King, here the rhythms pushed by the gutsy cellos. The third dance started with a beautiful melody in the major key and for the contrasting section, Grieg put the same melody in the minor key, and back again to major key. Simple, but works very well. These pieces cement his position as the master of miniature pieces for me.
Next up is Haydn's famous Trumpet concerto. I'm ashamed to not having the pleasure to listen to this beautiful concerto before. It's a classic Haydn piece, playful melodies with tasteful wits, and what gorgeous Andante - the program is not mistaken pointing out its similarity to the famous melody in Haydn's Kaiser Quartet, of which the melody of current Germany's national anthem is based on. I just love the first note that the solo trumpet played, one single simple plain note. Not more. It's so Haydn. No one would have the same wit starting a solo trumpet with just that.
Being a complete stranger to the varieties of trumpet, I am unable to comment on the sort of trumpet Giuliano used. It produced a lean, clean, crisp sound instead of big sound normally found in jazz band. It's also a bit tame compared to the trumpets that I used to hear in concert hall. Giuliano's phrasings are delicate, and they're supported by the clarity of the notes produced by the instrument. His cadenza is simply delicious. I love the moment in the finale where the main theme came back again in the end, slightly altered, to round off the work. It's so nostalgic, and I always succumb to the beauty of such composer's trick. After several curtain calls, Giuliano came back, and I believe, having changed his trumpet, gave an encore which I sadly could not identify.
I have slight reservation in terms of the orchestral accompaniment. I preferred a stronger attack on the strings, and more woodwinds presence. Otherwise, it's all fine.
The afternoon's concert highlight is Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben. Often being derided as semi-autobiography writing of Strauss's own life, it depicted, to put it simply, a hero's triumphant life. I don't generally regard Strauss's music at the highest level, but in this piece, I have taken several likings to his mastery: the main theme of the hero's, the depiction of the critics with the fluttering winds, and the whimsical solo violin depicting of the Hero's wife. The special effects are overwhelming, the percussions and brasses totally overpowered the woodwinds section in climax passages, apart from the piercing piccolos. The hero's final retreat is touching, and provided a quiet moment to what is otherwise an orchestra showpiece.
Andrew Litton conducted with vigor in climaxes, and sensitivity in developing long sensuous melodies, giving them a chance to breath and develop fully without rushing. Wearing a black tie with colourful circles on it, Andrew's a pleasure to watch on the podium. It's a shame that I am not interested in next MSO's concert 'Russian Showcase', that I can't see him conduct again in Melbourne.
MSO, incorporating many guest musicians for Strauss's epic work, played wonderfully today. The brass section is solid today, too solid perhaps that some of woodwinds players require a special noise blocking device placed behind their heads - separating them from the brass section.
Good music doesn't necessarily translate to good audience though. I can probably count the number of people in balcony using my fingers and toes. The circles and stalls are around 80% full.
My next concert is a set of 2 Beethoven's piano concertos, the 2nd and the 4th. I'm so looking forward to the 4th, my favourite out of the 5. I believe I have attended 2 concerts featuring the 4th twice last year, one with ACO and another with MSO. I could never get tired of this wonderful piece. The 2nd PC is different matter though, it's my least favourite Beethoven's piano concerto. I should give it another listen again before the concert.
- Grieg Norwegian Dances
- Haydn Trumpet Concerto
- Richard Strauss Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life)
Giuliano Sommerhalder - Trumpet
Andrew Litton - Conductor
A MSO concert after a long 2 months break, and it's a good one. I enjoyed discovering these 3 pieces that I'm not familiar at all in this concert.
As usual, I'll go on chronologically - Grieg's Norwegian Dances is a set of 4 simple ternary form Norwegian dances inspired by, duh, what else but Norwegian folk music. All 4 pieces placed woodwinds in the spotlight, especially the oboe which deservedly was asked to stand to receive his wonderful contribution throughout. I personally enjoy the first and the third dances the most. The first dance reminiscing of the pomp march of the trolls in the composer's famous In the Hall of the Mountain King, here the rhythms pushed by the gutsy cellos. The third dance started with a beautiful melody in the major key and for the contrasting section, Grieg put the same melody in the minor key, and back again to major key. Simple, but works very well. These pieces cement his position as the master of miniature pieces for me.
Next up is Haydn's famous Trumpet concerto. I'm ashamed to not having the pleasure to listen to this beautiful concerto before. It's a classic Haydn piece, playful melodies with tasteful wits, and what gorgeous Andante - the program is not mistaken pointing out its similarity to the famous melody in Haydn's Kaiser Quartet, of which the melody of current Germany's national anthem is based on. I just love the first note that the solo trumpet played, one single simple plain note. Not more. It's so Haydn. No one would have the same wit starting a solo trumpet with just that.
Being a complete stranger to the varieties of trumpet, I am unable to comment on the sort of trumpet Giuliano used. It produced a lean, clean, crisp sound instead of big sound normally found in jazz band. It's also a bit tame compared to the trumpets that I used to hear in concert hall. Giuliano's phrasings are delicate, and they're supported by the clarity of the notes produced by the instrument. His cadenza is simply delicious. I love the moment in the finale where the main theme came back again in the end, slightly altered, to round off the work. It's so nostalgic, and I always succumb to the beauty of such composer's trick. After several curtain calls, Giuliano came back, and I believe, having changed his trumpet, gave an encore which I sadly could not identify.
I have slight reservation in terms of the orchestral accompaniment. I preferred a stronger attack on the strings, and more woodwinds presence. Otherwise, it's all fine.
The afternoon's concert highlight is Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben. Often being derided as semi-autobiography writing of Strauss's own life, it depicted, to put it simply, a hero's triumphant life. I don't generally regard Strauss's music at the highest level, but in this piece, I have taken several likings to his mastery: the main theme of the hero's, the depiction of the critics with the fluttering winds, and the whimsical solo violin depicting of the Hero's wife. The special effects are overwhelming, the percussions and brasses totally overpowered the woodwinds section in climax passages, apart from the piercing piccolos. The hero's final retreat is touching, and provided a quiet moment to what is otherwise an orchestra showpiece.
Andrew Litton conducted with vigor in climaxes, and sensitivity in developing long sensuous melodies, giving them a chance to breath and develop fully without rushing. Wearing a black tie with colourful circles on it, Andrew's a pleasure to watch on the podium. It's a shame that I am not interested in next MSO's concert 'Russian Showcase', that I can't see him conduct again in Melbourne.
MSO, incorporating many guest musicians for Strauss's epic work, played wonderfully today. The brass section is solid today, too solid perhaps that some of woodwinds players require a special noise blocking device placed behind their heads - separating them from the brass section.
Good music doesn't necessarily translate to good audience though. I can probably count the number of people in balcony using my fingers and toes. The circles and stalls are around 80% full.
My next concert is a set of 2 Beethoven's piano concertos, the 2nd and the 4th. I'm so looking forward to the 4th, my favourite out of the 5. I believe I have attended 2 concerts featuring the 4th twice last year, one with ACO and another with MSO. I could never get tired of this wonderful piece. The 2nd PC is different matter though, it's my least favourite Beethoven's piano concerto. I should give it another listen again before the concert.
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Australian Chamber Orchestra concert 11 April 2010 - Bach and Beyond
Featuring:
- Shostakovich Polka and Elegy
- Bach Missa Brevis in G minor, BWV 235
- Arvo Part Summa
- Schoenberg Litany from String Quartet No. 2
- Bach Motet: Lobet den Herrn BWV 230
- Diana Burrell Das Meer, das so gross und weit ist, da wimmelet's ohne Zahl, grosse und kleine Tiere
- Bach Cantata: Wo gehest du hin? BWV 166
Sara Macliver - Soprano
Fiona Campbell - Mezzo Soprano
Andrew Staples - Tenor
Matthew Brook - Bass
Richard Tognetti - Artistic Director and Lead Violin
I always believe that listening too much of something similar by the same composer will do you harm. That's why in my daily intake of classical music, I always mix up music from different composers or eras (or at least different styles) to keep me healthy. In this performance, ACO served us Bach and more(!). This is one of the concert where my opinion on each interval couldn't be more opposite. I enjoyed the first half of this concert immensely, while I couldn't wait until the concert finishes on the second half.
Let's start with the good things first: before the music starts, Richard Tognetti informed us that instead of following the music order as printed in the program, he's gonna play the music in this order: Shostakovich's Polka, and then the Elegy, leading to the Kyrie from Bach's Missa Brevis, and then Part's answer to Bach Summa, part of the Gloria of Bach's Missa Brevis up until the text 'qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis', and Schoenberg's Litany from his second string quartet as the reply to this text, and finally concluding with the other part of the Gloria. Richard mentioned that the purpose of these interjections are to show the composers response to Bach, in their own ways. Therefore, it's sort of like a conversation between these composers.
Strange as it seems, this is the highlight of the concert. The whole thing just worked out perfectly. The concert started with Shostakovich's satirical but tuneful Polka. Towards the end of the piece, the four soloists tiptoeing themselves into the stage accompanied by the pizzicato of the Polka. Shostakovich's Elegy was next, the playing was resonant as befitted to this beautiful piece with yearning melodies.
This quite ending leads to the opening of Bach's mass - the Kyrie, which reminds me a little bit of the opening of St. John's passion with the dissonance in the oboe over the flowing strings accompaniment. The voice writings are essentially Bach, fugal, imitative entries, and full of ornamentation. All four soloists were good. Arvo Part's Summa was very natural after the Kyrie as it was written in the same key. Another serene piece with subtle rhythmic shift and themes passed around different instruments. Good thing about this piece is that it doesn't last too long, or I'll probably change my opinion about it as a piece that exploited minimalism too far.
The Gloria were almost done after the bass and alto arias when suddenly Schoenberg's Litany from his Second String Quartet interrupted. The piece is written in E flat minor, a rather rare key, and it never feels settled. The climax of this piece is at the texts 'Nimm mir die liebe, gib mir dein gluck!' (Take from me my love, and give me your happiness!). I enjoyed this piece and the text of the poem immensely. After this, the tenor aria continues the Gloria and it finally concludes with a chorus.
This first half of the concert was so original and I must give full credit to such creative programming. These pieces are written in different era, in different style, yet none of them seems so out of place for the entire period of this half of the concert.
The problem was the second half. After the first half, I still can enjoy the next Bach's motet with a rather cool Alleluia. Burrell's dense Das Meer disappointed me. I vividly recalled that there were three people conducting in this piece: Richard, Christopher (principal viola) and Maxime (principal double bass). The piece was about the sea, but it seems the piece lack direction and I was bored after a little while. For me, Bach's cantata 'Wo gehest du hin?' (Where are you going?) is the perfect description of Burrell's music. And by the time the ACO performed the cantata, I have lost all my concentration, and with Bach's vocal music on offering again, I decided I had too much of fugues, recitatives, and vocal ornaments for the day. So this concert ended with a sour note for me.
- Shostakovich Polka and Elegy
- Bach Missa Brevis in G minor, BWV 235
- Arvo Part Summa
- Schoenberg Litany from String Quartet No. 2
- Bach Motet: Lobet den Herrn BWV 230
- Diana Burrell Das Meer, das so gross und weit ist, da wimmelet's ohne Zahl, grosse und kleine Tiere
- Bach Cantata: Wo gehest du hin? BWV 166
Sara Macliver - Soprano
Fiona Campbell - Mezzo Soprano
Andrew Staples - Tenor
Matthew Brook - Bass
Richard Tognetti - Artistic Director and Lead Violin
I always believe that listening too much of something similar by the same composer will do you harm. That's why in my daily intake of classical music, I always mix up music from different composers or eras (or at least different styles) to keep me healthy. In this performance, ACO served us Bach and more(!). This is one of the concert where my opinion on each interval couldn't be more opposite. I enjoyed the first half of this concert immensely, while I couldn't wait until the concert finishes on the second half.
Let's start with the good things first: before the music starts, Richard Tognetti informed us that instead of following the music order as printed in the program, he's gonna play the music in this order: Shostakovich's Polka, and then the Elegy, leading to the Kyrie from Bach's Missa Brevis, and then Part's answer to Bach Summa, part of the Gloria of Bach's Missa Brevis up until the text 'qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis', and Schoenberg's Litany from his second string quartet as the reply to this text, and finally concluding with the other part of the Gloria. Richard mentioned that the purpose of these interjections are to show the composers response to Bach, in their own ways. Therefore, it's sort of like a conversation between these composers.
Strange as it seems, this is the highlight of the concert. The whole thing just worked out perfectly. The concert started with Shostakovich's satirical but tuneful Polka. Towards the end of the piece, the four soloists tiptoeing themselves into the stage accompanied by the pizzicato of the Polka. Shostakovich's Elegy was next, the playing was resonant as befitted to this beautiful piece with yearning melodies.
This quite ending leads to the opening of Bach's mass - the Kyrie, which reminds me a little bit of the opening of St. John's passion with the dissonance in the oboe over the flowing strings accompaniment. The voice writings are essentially Bach, fugal, imitative entries, and full of ornamentation. All four soloists were good. Arvo Part's Summa was very natural after the Kyrie as it was written in the same key. Another serene piece with subtle rhythmic shift and themes passed around different instruments. Good thing about this piece is that it doesn't last too long, or I'll probably change my opinion about it as a piece that exploited minimalism too far.
The Gloria were almost done after the bass and alto arias when suddenly Schoenberg's Litany from his Second String Quartet interrupted. The piece is written in E flat minor, a rather rare key, and it never feels settled. The climax of this piece is at the texts 'Nimm mir die liebe, gib mir dein gluck!' (Take from me my love, and give me your happiness!). I enjoyed this piece and the text of the poem immensely. After this, the tenor aria continues the Gloria and it finally concludes with a chorus.
This first half of the concert was so original and I must give full credit to such creative programming. These pieces are written in different era, in different style, yet none of them seems so out of place for the entire period of this half of the concert.
The problem was the second half. After the first half, I still can enjoy the next Bach's motet with a rather cool Alleluia. Burrell's dense Das Meer disappointed me. I vividly recalled that there were three people conducting in this piece: Richard, Christopher (principal viola) and Maxime (principal double bass). The piece was about the sea, but it seems the piece lack direction and I was bored after a little while. For me, Bach's cantata 'Wo gehest du hin?' (Where are you going?) is the perfect description of Burrell's music. And by the time the ACO performed the cantata, I have lost all my concentration, and with Bach's vocal music on offering again, I decided I had too much of fugues, recitatives, and vocal ornaments for the day. So this concert ended with a sour note for me.
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Australian Chamber Orchestra concert 14 March 2010 - ACO Soloists
Featuring:
- Franz Schreker Scherzo
- Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto
- CPE Bach Cello Concerto in A minor
- Franz Schreker Intermezzo
- Matthew Hindson Crime and Punishment
- Britten Lachrymae
- JS Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe BWV 1060
Helena Rathbone - Guest Director and Lead Violin
Christopher Moore - Viola
Timo-Veikko Valve - Cello
Maxime Bibeau - Double Bass
Diana Doherty - Oboe
A virtuosos concert - a very unique programming by ACO utilising all its strings principals. But hang on, where's Richard Tognetti?
Anyway, the program notes gave an early warning to the audience by signalling Schreker is a champion of Schoenberg and Hindemith on top of being friends with Berg and Webern. So, 12-tonal or atonal music to start the program? It turns out Schreker's music is very accessible - and it's full of glorious arching romantic melodies. In simple terms, I would describe his music as late-romantic style with modern twist - almost like Schoenberg's Transfigured Night. I enjoy the tight interwoven melodies and counter melodies of both his Scherzo and Intermezzo.
Diana Doherty stole this concert for me, her solo in Vaughan Williams' Oboe Concerto was delicious. Playing freely and providing plenty of body gestures expressing the sound from the oboe, Diana lifted my emotion to the very top at the end of first movement of the concerto. The beautiful dialogue the oboe had with the orchestra was well-executed. The second movement painted a picture of pastoral English village while Diana showed off her virtuosic skills in the demanding last bars of the concerto after a more quiet contrasting episode. Brilliant stuff.
While Vaughan Williams' music convinced me with its lyrical lines, CPE Bach's bored me. The rhythmic drive in outer movements of his A minor cello concerto got tired after a little while and I'm not really convinced with the Andante. Timo's virtuosic skills provided some entertainment in the outer movements, but this concerto is definitely not the best of this genre. I was also disappointed with the lack of harpsichord sound - a must have for me to fully enjoy Baroque compositions.
Matthew Hindson wrote a very challenging double bass solo in his Crime and Punishment. Showing off his talent, Maxime Bibeau impressed the audience by a large array of mad skills - fast pizzicatos (with syncopated rhythms!), tapping the finger boards, and playing beautiful melodies with his double bass. The piece itself while interesting, suffered from thematic development. It has several beautiful cadences which could be developed much further, rather than repeated 3-4 times and then discarded.
The major disappointment of the concert for me is Britten's Lachrymae. I might know the reason..I was bored waiting for big virtuoso fireworks from this performance which never came - as it was written as a 'Reflections on a song of Dowland'. I guess I was eaten by the marketing scheme, huh? Put it simply, I was not in the right mind set anticipating this piece. Stupid me, realising it only now, while I should've changed my mindset in the middle of performance.
Last piece of the concert is Bach's C minor concerto for oboe and violin - a crowd pleaser. Familiar melodies with beautiful Adagio instantly won the audience's heart. Not mine, though - I'm still disappointed with the lack of harpsichord sound. Helena and Diana played wonderfully.
- Franz Schreker Scherzo
- Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto
- CPE Bach Cello Concerto in A minor
- Franz Schreker Intermezzo
- Matthew Hindson Crime and Punishment
- Britten Lachrymae
- JS Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe BWV 1060
Helena Rathbone - Guest Director and Lead Violin
Christopher Moore - Viola
Timo-Veikko Valve - Cello
Maxime Bibeau - Double Bass
Diana Doherty - Oboe
A virtuosos concert - a very unique programming by ACO utilising all its strings principals. But hang on, where's Richard Tognetti?
Anyway, the program notes gave an early warning to the audience by signalling Schreker is a champion of Schoenberg and Hindemith on top of being friends with Berg and Webern. So, 12-tonal or atonal music to start the program? It turns out Schreker's music is very accessible - and it's full of glorious arching romantic melodies. In simple terms, I would describe his music as late-romantic style with modern twist - almost like Schoenberg's Transfigured Night. I enjoy the tight interwoven melodies and counter melodies of both his Scherzo and Intermezzo.
Diana Doherty stole this concert for me, her solo in Vaughan Williams' Oboe Concerto was delicious. Playing freely and providing plenty of body gestures expressing the sound from the oboe, Diana lifted my emotion to the very top at the end of first movement of the concerto. The beautiful dialogue the oboe had with the orchestra was well-executed. The second movement painted a picture of pastoral English village while Diana showed off her virtuosic skills in the demanding last bars of the concerto after a more quiet contrasting episode. Brilliant stuff.
While Vaughan Williams' music convinced me with its lyrical lines, CPE Bach's bored me. The rhythmic drive in outer movements of his A minor cello concerto got tired after a little while and I'm not really convinced with the Andante. Timo's virtuosic skills provided some entertainment in the outer movements, but this concerto is definitely not the best of this genre. I was also disappointed with the lack of harpsichord sound - a must have for me to fully enjoy Baroque compositions.
Matthew Hindson wrote a very challenging double bass solo in his Crime and Punishment. Showing off his talent, Maxime Bibeau impressed the audience by a large array of mad skills - fast pizzicatos (with syncopated rhythms!), tapping the finger boards, and playing beautiful melodies with his double bass. The piece itself while interesting, suffered from thematic development. It has several beautiful cadences which could be developed much further, rather than repeated 3-4 times and then discarded.
The major disappointment of the concert for me is Britten's Lachrymae. I might know the reason..I was bored waiting for big virtuoso fireworks from this performance which never came - as it was written as a 'Reflections on a song of Dowland'. I guess I was eaten by the marketing scheme, huh? Put it simply, I was not in the right mind set anticipating this piece. Stupid me, realising it only now, while I should've changed my mindset in the middle of performance.
Last piece of the concert is Bach's C minor concerto for oboe and violin - a crowd pleaser. Familiar melodies with beautiful Adagio instantly won the audience's heart. Not mine, though - I'm still disappointed with the lack of harpsichord sound. Helena and Diana played wonderfully.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concert 6 March 2010 - Ashkenazy Conducts Rachmaninov
Featuring:
- Faure Pavane
- Debussy La Mer
- Rachmaninov The Bells
Jacqueline Porter - Soprano
Steve Davislim - Tenor
Jose Carbo - Baritone
Melbourne Symphony Chorus - chorusmaster: Jonathan Grieves-Smith
Vladimir Ashkenazy - Conductor
A very short review this time. I'm still trying to sort the mess that I've found in my home after coming back from the Saturday's concert.
Faure's Pavane - heart melting, beautiful, well-played, yada yada. The weird thing about the whole performance was: the chorus. The chorus was supposedly singing a double duet poem about the quarrel of two imaginary pairs of lovers. I don't understand French or familiar enough with the poem to be affected by the text. Although Faure originally wrote the piece in this form, I still prefer very much listening to it without the text and imagine stuffs on my own.
La Mer - Ahhhhhhhhh La Mer again. I won't complain - I love La Mer. Very good performance, especially the rousing climax in the finale. I forgot other good impressions I have with the concert, sorry :(
As good as La Mer performance went, I think I was satisfied the most with the performance of Rachmaninov's The Bells. I have never liked this piece apart from the playful 1st movement, although Rachmaninov claimed that it is his favourite composition. Ashkenazy changed my opinion of the piece by revealing the beautiful, long lyrical Soprano lines in the second movement; the excitement of brass in the frightful third movement and finally, the last movement - ala Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. The rising melody right after the very last words of the solo bass was the emotional highpoint for me in the whole concert. That moment felt like an alto singing the "Ewig, ewig" at the end of Das Lied von der Erde. The 3 soloists sung beautifully.
Average attendance. The balcony is almost empty, but compensated with 85% stall capacity and almost full circle.
Next concert: ACO's concert next week.
- Faure Pavane
- Debussy La Mer
- Rachmaninov The Bells
Jacqueline Porter - Soprano
Steve Davislim - Tenor
Jose Carbo - Baritone
Melbourne Symphony Chorus - chorusmaster: Jonathan Grieves-Smith
Vladimir Ashkenazy - Conductor
A very short review this time. I'm still trying to sort the mess that I've found in my home after coming back from the Saturday's concert.
Faure's Pavane - heart melting, beautiful, well-played, yada yada. The weird thing about the whole performance was: the chorus. The chorus was supposedly singing a double duet poem about the quarrel of two imaginary pairs of lovers. I don't understand French or familiar enough with the poem to be affected by the text. Although Faure originally wrote the piece in this form, I still prefer very much listening to it without the text and imagine stuffs on my own.
La Mer - Ahhhhhhhhh La Mer again. I won't complain - I love La Mer. Very good performance, especially the rousing climax in the finale. I forgot other good impressions I have with the concert, sorry :(
As good as La Mer performance went, I think I was satisfied the most with the performance of Rachmaninov's The Bells. I have never liked this piece apart from the playful 1st movement, although Rachmaninov claimed that it is his favourite composition. Ashkenazy changed my opinion of the piece by revealing the beautiful, long lyrical Soprano lines in the second movement; the excitement of brass in the frightful third movement and finally, the last movement - ala Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. The rising melody right after the very last words of the solo bass was the emotional highpoint for me in the whole concert. That moment felt like an alto singing the "Ewig, ewig" at the end of Das Lied von der Erde. The 3 soloists sung beautifully.
Average attendance. The balcony is almost empty, but compensated with 85% stall capacity and almost full circle.
Next concert: ACO's concert next week.
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