Classical Concert Diary

One problem with your plan, Herm, is that if left unqualified it leaves the door open to those of us with access to less than, erm, world-class symphonies to post our impressions too.

Do you really want to hear about this coming weekend's performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no.1 by the Mobile (Alabama) Symphony Orchestra?

Didn't think so.

Eric

My diary plan has no problem whatsoever.

Does sporting nothing but a CD3.5 keep people from posting in the Hifi corner? Has Mick left the forum after wallpapergate? I don't think so.

So you better come back next week and tell us who played this Tchaikovsky First, and what it was like. Occasionally mediocre orchestras get inspired by a conductor or soloist, or a pair of amazing legs on the first row.

Herman

Herman

A concert diary? I'll try to post after I attend some concerts, but Eric's concern about orchestra quality is certainly true for me. But then, this is the first season here in Stumptown with a new music director, one Carlos Kalmar, who hails from Vienna. Perhaps there will be something to write about. I've already bought my tickets, but the first concerts aren't until February, when I get to hear Beethoven's Fifth and Ninth in consecutive concerts.

Next month Stephen Kovacevich comes to town to play the D960, but tickets for us single event buyers don't go on sale until late September. I'm hoping the recital is not sold out.

A concert diary sounds like a good idea. Keep it up.



"The universe is change, life is opinion." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

This is supposed to be a Concert Diary, but the statute of limitations allows for a little leeway. If London folks want to talk about the Prom that impressed them most this summer, or if Todd wishes to reveal a little more about DePriest's farewell concert with the Oregon Symphony, it's fine with me.

After all a good concert keeps bobbing up in your mind for a while. Just as long as there's the freshness and specificity of a recent concert about it.

Herman

quote:

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Originally posted by herm:
If Todd wishes to reveal a little more about DePriest's farewell concert with the Oregon Symphony, it's fine with me.

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Sure thing: it was amazingly disappointing. The final series of regular concerts (I’m not including, nor did I attend, the final “concert” consisting of excerpts from a number of works) featured two of my favorite works: The Emperor and Brahms Fourth.

Any concert with the Emperor as the opener should be great. Alas, Horacio Gutierrez is not a great Beethoven pianist. Yes, he played the notes properly, and quite athletically (ironic, given his build), but it felt like a run-through. A few years back I attended another performance of the work with the same forces but with Eteri Andjaparidze at the keyboard and the performance was astounding. Whereas Gutierrez is quick and nimble and light, Andja is regal, grand, and controlled. She conveyed more power and more grace, too. But yet it was Gutierrez that got the standing ovation. Hell, he received an ovation after the first movement!

The sad news is that was the highlight of the concert. The Brahms was a terrible letdown. Every movement was bland and bordering on sleep-inducing boring. The finale actually sounded upbeat. Ahem. There were a few fleeting moments of beauty and enjoyment, but they were too few. The audience tripped all over themselves giving DePreist a ten minute or so ovation. They were of course applauding his career and not the performance.

But then when I read the read the review in the paper, I was slack-jawed to read nothing but glowing praise. DePreist has given some strong performances over his career. This was not one of them. Of course, the local-yokel paper nearly canonized the man, calling him one of the greatest conductors of his generation. He’s in his late-60s. Think of his contemporaries. He is not one of the greats.

I’m hoping that Kalmar brings more to the table. He’s younger and this is clearly a career move. I hope his artistic ambitions are formidable and are met. (And the Oregon Symphony really can play exceptionally well when pressed: another concert I may go into more detail on later had one Yakov Kreizberg lead the band in a truly great reading of Mahler’s First. I was stunned into silence, and this after listening to the Walter before the concert!)



"The universe is change, life is opinion." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

quote:

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Originally posted by Todd Arola:
another concert I may go into more detail on later had one Yakov Kreizberg lead the band in a truly great reading of Mahler’s First.

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Well, whaddya know... There's an ad in today's paper saying "The Amsterdam Mahler tradition ain't dead yet [I guess that's the bad news, H]: Yakov Kreizberg conducting Mahler 1!"

YK is not conducting the RCO but one of the Dutch radio orchestras with which he's a regular guest conductor. Still, people seem to be excited about this guy.

Hopefully I'll be posting soon about tonight's Blomstedt / Concertgebouw LvB 4 + Tchai 4.

Herman

The review is always wrong. A review of the concert I was at last night said ideally the Beethoven Fifth and the Tchaikovsky Sixth would have provided a more interesting night than Herbert Blomstedt's choice: Beethoven’s Fourth symphony and Tchaikovsky’s Fourth.

Well, I would have avoided the 5 / 6 program like the plague. You'd be hard put to find anybody in this time zone who likes Beethoven's Fourth better than I do. In fact, if I were I were to critique last night's program I'd say Beethoven should've come last (with something like the Mendelsohn Violin Cto before).

Now I went home with the Tchaikovsky in my head. Great! For a Fate symphony it is an pretty felicitous piece of music. In the first two mvts you’re just led from one lovely thing to another. In the hall - spellbound by the Concertgebouw sound - one is particularly reminded what a mesmerizing piece the second mvt is, starting with the oboe solo and again, closing with diminuendo woodwinds. The account as a whole wasn't as frantic as the Mariss Jansson performance with the Leningrad in the late eighties (or indeed the classic Mravinsky recording on DG), but I'm not sure whether we want to peg Thaikovsky as an hysteric every time.

The Beethoven? Blomstedt (conducting from memory) apparently feels the same way about this piece as I do. This is about sublime musical fun. Big smile on his face as the turn towards the exposition repeat was negotiated. Let's do it again! The strings were arranged left and right to allow for clear antiphonal call-and-answer games, the woodwinds were marvellous, the only downside in the Concertgebouw hall is the kettle drum, reverberations bouncing along the ceiling. Perhaps Blomstedt was a little too fast to let the character of the piece fully play out; I guess on record, at home, this would not beat my favorite recording. But it was close, and this is the Concert Diary, so I don’t care! I'm talking about live music - the way it's meant to be.

Perhaps the orchestra was best in the encore, Dvorak's 3d Slavonic Dance, with its mellifluous orchestration. Only this orchestra can turn music into sweet honey dripping down. Blomstedt seemed to agree: he took the applause standing among the orchestra, stepping down from the roster. I have to confess his clear, controlled conducting was a real relief after three knife-edge concerts with Gergiev. Also I'd like to know what Blomstedt is on. The man is 75 years old, but you'd give him 55, the way he bounds up and down the concertgebouw stairs.

Herman

quote:

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So you better come back next week and tell us who played this Tchaikovsky First

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O.k. Herm,

Russian pianist Yuri Rozum joined the Mobile Symphony last night under resident conductor Scott Speck's direction. Program:
Wagner: Prelude to Lohengrin, Act III
Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto 1.

I hadn't heard Rozum before, though maybe I should have. "Aggressive" best summarizes his approach (within my limited descriptive vocabulary), which I liked -- I've heard T.'s first more than I need to* -- so someone coming in and really tearing into it was just what the doctor ordered. Rozum was described in the program as a pianist in the "pure" Russian style, although I'm not sure what that means. Certainly he seemed technically very controlled and capable, especially apparent on the Rachmaninov, usurprisingly. He took the T.'s first at a fast tempo.

The Mobile S.O. sounded a bit lumbering and heavy-handed at times. I've only heard them once before so I'm not really sure what they're capable of. They're hamstrung by a dreadful hall - a large, 1920's era theatre with acoustics that tend to muffle the mid and upper ranges, and over-emphasize the bass, horns, and cellos. One is, however, allowed to purchase wine and bring it to one's seat, which I consider a major plus.

Anyway, I'm incompetent to say much more. I was in a sour mood going but in the end, with the pianist striding on stage and a plastic cup filled with merlot in my hand, I was glad I went.

Cheers,
Eric

*I almost didn't go. A combination of free tickets, wifely pressure, and forum obligations made the difference.

quote:

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Originally posted by ejl:
acoustics that tend to muffle the mid and upper ranges, and over-emphasize the bass, horns, and cellos. One is, however, allowed to purchase wine and bring it to one's seat, which I consider a major plus.

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I'm not too hot about the famed Concertgebouw acoustics either, however the idea of taking one's drinks to one's seats sounds rather interesting and antique. How about a game of cards? <Did we hear someone popping a beer can? Or was that a granny coughing? Call the concert police!>

Halls can be too big though. I understand Todd's Portland hall is over 2500 seats, and probably that's just expecting too much.

Incidentally Kreizberg performed his Mahler One here and was lauded in the reviews for presenting a peppy upbeat Mahler, at long last.

Herman

- Do you really want to hear about this coming -- weekend's performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano -- Concerto no.1 by the Mobile (Alabama) - Symphony Orchestra?


Well, yeah. At times I've been limited to the Taipei Symphony (Philharmonic? -- it was a LONG time ago) and the Kuala Lumpur Symphony Orchestra, with its then 10-year old violinist. The Taipei was awful, in 1971, but the KLSO was a lot of fun. My wife claims that the very best Mozrt 40th she's ever heard was given by the Brown University Symphony about 40 years ago. So I'm open to hearing about any concert worth mentioning.

Herm,

I agree with you about LvB's 4th Sympnony.

I am horrified by your comments on the Concertgebouw - hearing the RCOA in the home concert hall has long been a goal of mine. Having heard Chailly 3 times in Chicago, I'm glad I can't get to Amsterdam now (it's still Chailly, right?), but should I give up my goal entirely?

Regards.

Phil

quote:

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Originally posted by Phil Barry:
I am horrified by your comments on the Concertgebouw - hearing the RCOA in the home concert hall has long been a goal of mine. Having heard Chailly 3 times in Chicago, I'm glad I can't get to Amsterdam now (it's still Chailly, right?), but should I give up my goal entirely?

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Hi Phil,

Chailly isn't giving too many concerts anymore du to the fact that he's leaving for Leipzig shortly. The new musical director will be Mariss Jansons. My remarks about the Concertgebouw acoustics should be read with caution (as everything I post). Most people love and laud the hall sound; which is why I like to point out that the hall's PRaT is not too hopping. So if we're talking about Beethoven symphonies 5 and 6 would be better suited to hall and orchestra than 4 and 7.

So by all means don't give up, and come on over. The orchestra is lovelier than ever. There's some great programs coming up.

Herman

leaning on a Steinway

By most standards this post is not about a concert in the usual sense of the word, but since I'll have to wait a week till my next proper concert (Elliott Carter / Concertgebouw), I'll post a brief report of the Swan Lake rehearsals I was at this week.

Holland's major classical ballet company (National Ballet) is preparing a revival of their 1988 Swan Lake, and as I'm working on a 2005 book about dance I get to sit in on the rehearsals.

I've seen quite a bunch of Swan Lakes (among which, most memorably, three successive nights with the Kirov Ballet, neatly bracketed by two Giselles by the same Petersburg company - the equivalent of drinking nothing but champagne for a whole week, day and night - never mind the cost).

The interesting thing about this week was I got my usual perch right in front of the studio mirror, close to the Steinway, and so I got to see the principals' action from like two yards' distance, and one or two of these girls are astounding passionate dancers. (My favorite just got snapped up by the New York City Ballet.) Plus I got to hear the Swan Lake score as it was composed - on the piano. The orchestral score is full of deep reds and blacks, and swan white, obviously. However it was wonderful to hear the harmonies divested of orchestration colors.

There's a lot of oompah marches and what have you in SL, but there's so many lovely pieces in this score. And they fully survive as piano music. It’s funny to think that Claude Debussy, when he was eighteen years old, and teaching piano, was obliged to play Swan Lake extracts ad nauseam, due to the fact that his pupil's mother was Tchakovsky's protectrix, Mrs Von Meck.

Oh, and the pianist was called Ryoko something. I'm not sure she'll be making her Carnegie Hall debut anytime soon. But four hours continous, flawless playing wasn't too bad either. Next week I'll be sitting in on the stage rehearsals, with orchestra, but most likely I won’t bore you with those.

Herman

The London Philharmonic Orchestra and Kurt Masur have just finished a Brahms symphony cycle paired with the piano concertii and we’ve managed to catch all three concerts. Garrick Ohlsson was the soloist in the the 2nd Concerto. Ohlsson seems to have a much lower profile on this side of the Atlantic than in the US and this was my first exposure to him. Not someone I will go out of my way to hear again if last nights concert was anything to go by. This was a great performance if you like your Brahms sounding like a pianola: rushed, mechanical and unvarying in tone. Pages of note-playing flew by without a great deal of music. Masur kept up with the soloist’s speeds but neither he nor the band looked very happy and the accompanying was fairly perfunctory. The 4th symphony performance straight after put this into perspective with much better playing and a solid, unsentimental performance from Masur.

Undoubtedly the high-point of the three concerts was Lars Vogt’s first concerto. This was a memorable performance that was just about everything that Ohlsson’s wasn’t. I’ve heard Vogt play chamber music on a number of occasions and a Quartet for the end of time at the Wigmore Hall was a highpoint of the last concert season. Vogt doesn’t over-play the first, but coaxes you to listen to him rather than bludgeoning you. His tempi were measured and much of what he was saying was in the subtle variation in tone colour. It’s quite a surprise then when you find he can let rip and the climaxes are all the more effective for it.

The LPO have improved as an ensemble since Masur took over and unusually for a British orchestra their strings are currently their strongest suit. They’re not the Dresden Staatskapelle, but some of the playing was quite respectable. Unfortunately for Brahms, the horns seem capable of playing the notes but not much more. This was a wonderful section ten years ago but a lot has happened since then. The band obviously needs a good orchestra trainer to take them forward again, which hopefully their current director will prove to be. It’s interesting that the three main London orchestras (no comments about the BBC please) have all swapped ‘up and coming’ young maestri with variable degrees of ‘glamour’ for greying ‘safe pairs of hands’ in the last five years.

If some of the above sound like rather faint praise, these were still three great nights out and for £6 in the choir (the flat-earth seats), excellent value. The unfortunate effect of listening to a live orchestra though is to remind one of the inadequacies of even the most expensive hi-fi, the sheer thrill of the sound is far away from what can be achieved at home.

duncan

Email: djcritchley at hotmail.com

moravec's beethoven

Thanks, Duncan, for your report. However what's so unfortunate about the fact that you hear a lot more when you go to a symphony concert? It puts one's stereo into perspective, that’s all. It sounds like a great series of concerts - all Brahms symphonies and piano ctos. chances are you'd never do that at home what with all the distractions there. I have had very good experiences, too, with Masur. That's another difference between live and recordings. I have maybe two or three records by Masur, which is less than the concerts I have seen / heard him. And I have never wished afterwards I hadn't gone to a Masur concert.

This is a good opportunity to post about another piano concert + symphony concert I was at this week. A friend called me if I was free to go (het husband was otherwise engaged) and so I got to see Ivan Moravec in the Beethoven 4 piano concerto, with the (dutch) Radio Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Frans Brüggen.

I own a couple of recordings by Moravec but I'd never seen him live, and also I'd never heard him in pre-romantic reportoire. It was a great success, though I have to say the success was all Moravec’s. His style of playing seemed perfectly suited to this concerto. No hands flung in the air, no looks cast at the ceiling, no nothing. Just a neat elderly man quietly playing the piano, with a beautiful muted kind of perlé - black pearls as it were, with all the hard brightness gone.

Brüggen however was a bit of a problem. The orchestra played period style; nasal strings without the slightest vibrato. It's perfectly legit to do so, but this concert seemed to say there's nothing to be gained. Thanks to Moravec it was a wonderful experience. Ever since I’ve been thinking Beeethoven Four is the best concerto ever, from start to finish. It's got everything: inwardness and exuberance. I love middle Beethoven. OK so he wrote a couple of epoch-making string quartets at the end of his life. Apart from that Beethoven's best years were when he wrote the Rasumovksy quartets, the symphonies 4 - 7 etc.

During the interval my friend and I discussed the strange discrepancy between Moravec's beautiful controlled classical style and Brüggen's stuff. Which is why we said "Let's get the hell out of Dodge." So we skipped Schubert Nine - not because we don’t like the C major. But because we like it so much.

Herman

[This message was edited by herm on THURSDAY 09 October 2003 at 23:20.]

Herm,

in many ways, hearing live music liberates you from wanting the 'best' hi-fi: you realise how far away from the real thing even the best is. Perhaps what is unfortunate is to realise this when you listen at home, thinking of how much all those boxes have cost you!

I'll look out for Moravec. I've heard a couple strong recommendations now. I don't think he's a frequent visitor to these parts though. I would be interested if the North American contingent have heard Ohlsson. Was he having an off-night perhaps?

duncan

Email: djcritchley at hotmail.com

Actually, most concerts make me appreciate my hifi ...generally I get more from recorded performances than from live ones.

But maybe 1 in 3 or 1 in 5 concerts produce something that's indescribably wonderful. YMMV.

Regards.

Phil

I may sound like a politician, but I agree with both views on this. Recordings can, and often do, allow me to hear profound renditions of great music. And the best hi-fi can do justice to smaller scale works - like solo piano pieces and string quartets. The isolation of home listening allows me to really focus on the music, and I can replay parts I like!

But of course with larger works, concerts point out the folly of stereo. How can two (or even five or seven) loudspeakers really be expected to realistically portray an orchestra of 80, 90, or 100 or more instruments? And I don't just mean in the loud passages. Even when massed strings play pp they produce a sound I've yet to encounter through even the biggest big-rigs. And there's always that energy of the live event. But some of them are duds, like DePreist's closer with the Oregon symphony.

I just hope my next outing is better than my last. I get to find out next weekend when Stephen Bishop hits the local state university. (In an auditorium perfectly suited to solo piano music!)



"The universe is change, life is opinion." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Hello and goodbye

This past Friday night I was at a Ingo Metzmacher-conducted concert by the Concertgebouw Orchestra. The program consisted of two first performances for the Netherlands, i.e. Elliott Carter's Boston Concerto and Wolfgang Rihm's Unbenannt IV. After the intermission Witold Lutoslawski's Concerto of Orchestra. Metzmacher had conducted the world premiere of the Carter, in Boston this spring, too.

Stepping into the hall one already got a feeling of what kind of music this was going to be. The orchestra barely fit on the stage, with massive strings, a grand piano, flanked by double harps and a vibraphone, plus an impressive array of gongs and drums. Obviously there were lots of winds too, but I couldn't see them, because the orchestra was staged flat this time, rather than on staggered podia. I guess the winds needed to be dampened by the rows of string players.

Why the Carter piece (25 minutes) is titled Concerto I don’t really know. It's clearly a sister composition to the nineties Symphonia. Perhaps the idea is the different orchestral sections are in a more antagonistic relationship this time. So at some point there was a beautiful Mahlerian cantilena on the violins (as in the Symphonia), and after a minute there followed a passage for brass. Orchestral steeple chase. Fortunately this didn’t last too long, or it would get predictable. I remember a wonderful trio for piano, harp and vibraphone. And lots of fast pizzicati in the high strings, as if trebles were raining down in the night, because there was also a lot of night music.

It is a less tumultuous piece than the Symphonia, and I suspect I might get to like it better - only the sad thing is, I will have to wait for a recording, and clearly this is the kind of intricate, big and subtle orchestral music that will never sound as vibrant in a recording. No matter Carter is one of the preeminent composers of these decades, I doubt they are going to perform this piece often, even though Metzmacher (who looks like a lot the French cartoon character Obelix, his beefeater face crowned with a full head of hair) is a regular guest in Amsterdam. So it was hello splendid beauty, and goodbye.

I wish they'd played the Carter three times over, so as to get to know it better (the way Mengelberg did at the premiere of Mahler's 4th symphony). I was gradually bored by the Rihm. For this piece the orchestra seating had to be rearranged with the first horn taking the leader's seat - and the violins taking a back seat to the violas. It was interesting to watch all the tinkering a horn player has to do, constantly cleaning the snot out of his instrument, after one of those Brucknerian salvos, but didn’t get much better when I closed my eyes for better listening. Did I mention the hall organ is part of the piece, too? It was perhaps the first time ever I heard the Concertgebouw organ, and fortunately it was on of the few things in this piece that was not loud.

Anyone else at a concert this weekend?

Herman

Well, not exactly a concert yet, tho I did hear the Opera's rendition of Berlioz' Damnation of Faust with a German Expressionist stage setting. Wonderful music and a great tenor sorry forgot his name already, Paul something. I'm bad with names especially spur of the moment.

I do have to report that I went to a sneak peek at the new Disney Concert hall last weekend. Got to find out where my seats were with friends and a couple hundred others milling about. It has a very convoluted passageways and stairs which I don't like as doors are really narrow. However, once inside the hall it is just breath taking. Great architecture and design. One friend a professional musiciam at one time could snap his fingers and get a clear response back. You could also hear other people's conversations across the hall which all means the acoustics are phenominal. However, that could be a problem with one person disturbing 2,000 with a crinkling candy wrapper (like the lady who had to get ready to go before the end of Faust and kept rewapping her stuff in a plastic bag, ARRGGHH!).

I can't wait to get to hear a concert which will be in early November. I have signed up for two series. One called Green Umbrella which has all contemporary works and the first night will have a new one by Esa-Pekka Salonen Laughing Unlearnt (tho I doubt he will be conducting) and Ades, Darkness Visible and Reich N.Y Counterpoint. All the others I don't recognize. My fist regular concert is Nov. 14 with Milhaud La Creation du Monde, a Mozart piano Concerto #25 and then Bartok's the Wooden Prince which i don't know. Then about a week later I signed up with my friend to hear the Berlin Phil with Sir Simon Rattle doing Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste ( again I'm axious for this one) then a Schubert piece Sym. #9 the "Great C Major". I should learn to really like Schubert, pretty melodies like Mozart, but no bite that I like in more modern works.

Well when the new season finally gets underway I'll probably be on here babbling like a fool as we've waited so long for this new hall and all reports are that it is a great sounding hall. One friend said NY Book Review doesn't do this often but had a special 2 page spread with pics and report about an earlier trial concert for those who gave $5 mil or more and said it was a stunning experience. I had something else to do that night as to why I didn't go ;-)

Well Herm I just bought a Shostokovich Sym. #8 which I will hear around April of next year, with Haitink conducting the Concertgebouw and it has stunning detail to the recording. Wonderful production. In Europe you have such great access to great conductors and performers. They are now coming over here and giving us a thrill. I shouldn't complain as Salonen is a really great conductor. I've not heard any Carter pieces and know that when I heard Adams' Naive and Sentimental music I went back the next night to hear it again as it was just too much to take in at one sitting. He is going to create a new piece for one of three opening fundraisers for the new hall, it's called Dharma of Big Sur and I will certainly be listening on the radio. I just don't have the $1500 for a ticket as I just bought an 82 with two Hi-caps. Wonderful sounding equipment.

Thanks for starting this thread as I enjoyed all the comments and info.

glenn

Life is analogue

Last night I was fortunate enough to attend one of those performances that one longs to attend. Stephen Kovacevich was in town to play the Schubert B-flat sonata, so you know I was there. To prepare for this event I listened to both his 1983 Hyperion recording of the work and his most recent EMI recording in the last couple of weeks. (I didn’t really feel up to listening to multiple versions of the work on the same day.) And up to about an hour before the show I listened to some of his most recent EMI Beethoven recordings – the Op 31/3 and Op 10/1. (I listened using my new speakers, to boot.) I was ready. I even managed to talk my wife into going; she’s more of a symphony kind of gal so this had to be good.

Anyway, he played more than the B-flat. He opened his recital with Beethoven’s Op 126 Bagatelles. The surprisingly diminutive pianist strode on stage briskly, bowed, took his seat – and lowered it quite a bit – and promptly began to play ol’ Ludwig van. How he delighted in playing these little works. Each one was thoroughly thought through. He played with subtle dynamic shadings throughout; no grand gestures here. (Well, maybe at the beginning of the sixth bagatelle.) Particularly well done was the capricious second bagatelle, and the final one possessed great thrust. Kovecevich nodded to himself throughout, making approving faces when he would play an arpeggio just right, and savoring some chords just a little longer than others. There were some technical slips, though nothing major. All in all, they were quite nice.

Before proceeding to Bach’s D major Partita, he called on the piano tuner to fix one note that was bothering him. After the five or so minute delay he started in. This was most definitely Kovacevich’s Bach, not Bach’s Bach. Nary a movement was dance-like. Instead, each piece was thoughtfully presented. He pedaled discreetly throughout, adding just a touch of color where needed. These were surprisingly warm readings. The Aria, in particular, was special. It was purposely slow and considered, and beautifully played. As with the Beethoven his mannerisms consisted of approving nods and pleased smiles. There were a few points where he may have paused just a bit longer than normal to enjoy a sustained chord, and again there were some technical slips, but it was a fine performance. It was definitely not informed by historical performance practice. It may not have been to every taste, but I liked it.

After the intermission, Kovacevich strode back on stage in a more purposeful state of mind. He very promptly began the delicate opening of the great B-flat. Everything was just so, everything was perfectly in place. He glided along creating a warm-toned if not especially beautiful sound until the first bass trill, which he ended more abruptly than I expected. Two or perhaps three seconds passed and it was back to ivories. It was perfectly timed. His dynamic range increased for this work, but it was relatively less dramatic than on record, though it was even more effective. When the movement shifts from major to minor key, the change in tone was palpable. The look on Kovacevich’s face also displayed the mood; indeed, except for a few moments during the scherzo, he didn’t crack even a small smile. When the second bass trill arrived, he sustained the final note a little longer. Again, it was very effective. Then, before I knew it, the movement was over. The roughly twenty minutes had simply flown by.

The second movement began quietly and darkly. The dynamic contrasts remained more subdued than on record. He played everything just so, just right. Then, about midway through, when the movement shifts from the relatively light, melodic run back to the main them, he allowed an extraordinarily long pause. It was perhaps three or four, maybe even five seconds. I’ve never heard such a pause before. It was incredibly effective. It stopped all forward momentum of the piece and allowed for a measured return to the darker side of the piece. In a word it was brilliant.

The scherzo was relatively light and swift, though it lacked great power. I don’t mean that as a criticism, but rather as praise. It allowed just enough rest before the finale. And what a finale. Here Kovacevich allowed himself to play loud and powerfully. He pounded out the chords feverishly. There was real anger in the notes. This was no dainty Schubert. This was some angry Schubert, angry at his impending fate. And make no mistake, while the playing had Stephen Kovacevich stamped all over it, the music yelled out – albeit not too loudly – Schubert. The final bars were dashed off quickly and powerfully. Then it was done and he received his well deserved standing ovation. (Some people in the audience took an unacceptably long time to rise to their feet. It took up to 45 seconds for some. The cretins.) This was a great performance. It eclipsed the two recording I have. The additional decade of time Kovacevich has had to consider the work has paid off. I am certainly glad I was able to hear this greatest living interpreter of this work perform it in person.

Time for a few final observations of the aging Kovacevich. His technique has declined somewhat from his earlier days, as should be expected (except, apparently, for Pollini), but as with other aging pianists, he makes up for his loss of precision with even greater musical insights. He can now infuse a phrase with more meaning by doing less. He can muster a warm tone and still convey a wide array feeling. The delicate shifts of color, the tiny additional pauses, they all add up to create something expressively powerful.


"The universe is change, life is opinion." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Well, I've finally heard several performance at the new Disney Hall. It is quite stunning! First of all the architecture is exciting and then breath taking when you get inside. The hall itself is set inside the outside shell with nothing major attached to the inside so vibrations are sealed out. Sitting in the balcony with traditional view of orchestra is like soaring over the orchestra, vertigo does set in easily, but you are so close. The sound just eminates from all around. And the wonderful thing is that the low notes have lots of presence which got swallowed up at the old hall (which will now just be for opera and ballet). Last night I heard Roberto Abbado conduct a new piece by Francesconi and it was quite interesting, not melodic, much like Boulez' pieces. Then after intermission they did Ravel's Alborada del graciosa Saint-Saens' Violin Concerto No 3 and than back to Ravel for Daphnis et Chloe, suite No2. WOW!!! what spectacular sonics filled the auditorium. Lots of detail could be heard and the bass extension has gone down really low, you could really feel it in your gut. And the high percussion like triangle and xylophone and marimba were just not to be believed. Those notes would just hang over all the strings and woodwinds.

Last week I got to hear Milhoud's Creation of the World, small jazzy ensemble with David Robertson conducting (new to me). Then Emmanuel Ax play a Mozart Piano concerto and for this we sat behind the orchestra, close enough to toss spit wads at the percussionists (you know those bits of paper blown thru an empty BIC pen, juvinile stuff.) And we could see thru the players and stands to see Ax's fingers running up and down the keyboard. I've never been so close to a keyboard player in a major concert hall. Then the second part was Bartok's The Wooden Prince and it was a great ballet number which I've never heard. Certainly demanded a lot from the large orchestra and the percussion were kept very busy. Now to the sound. Yes, it wasn't as traditionally projected as sitting from the front, but being so close you didn't loose much and the perspective of being behind the players was so much fun. Although the French horns curled in our direction so they were quite distinct. I'm happy to give up some of the classic positioning for this change of perspective. besides there happens to be an exit to the outside gardens just down a short hall so we can escape easily for fresh air during the intermission and after the end, so we don't have to wade thru all the congestion in the lobby afterward.

Tonight the Berlin Phil and Simon Rattle play Bartok's Music for strings, Percussion and Celeste MMMM one of my all time favorites. Then the second half is Schubert's 9th Symphony. That will be interesting too.

Well, if anyone is coming to LA for work or play, definitely take in this exciting experience. The sonic experience is incredible, I'd bet it's like going from a cheap stereo system to high end Naim gear. Just more detail and music all around.

glenn

Life is analogue

Let me tell you it is an amazing experience. I went last night to hear the Berlin Phil and it was an exceptional concert. Great ovation at the end of Bartok's piece and then on break we did a tour of the crazy walkways and different lounges, as it is much more convoluted than the old dorothy chandler pavilion.

The second half was Schubert's 9th sym. I'm not a great Schubert fan, tho I know he had a pretty miserable life and wrote beautiful music. However, the music was so powerful and tightly performed. I think there were 5 or 6 curtain calls for Sir Simon. Standing ovation like I've never seen before here in LA in 5 years of active attendance. He finally lead the orchestra off the stage. Enough is enough.

It is really interesting to be in a building where there are no straight walls. Very wall bends, curves and is warped in some way. It's like being inside a Richard Serra sculpture (of which gehry likes Serra's work) very organic. I was at the top balcony and upon leaving my friend opened a fire escape door on the 5th floor and no bells sounded so I followed. We got to wind our way down the outside of the building thru interesting passages and missed 90% of the crush of people. The Rolls, Mercedes and Lincoln streaches were all lined up and at the very end a small GM Neon was parked at the curb, what cheek!

glenn

Life is analogue

Hey Glenn,

thanks for these contributions. Disney Hall's inauguration clearly will go down as a major event in SoCal cultural history. I'd been hearing a lot about the Berlin Phil and Rattle conquering the East Coast, but I guess they didn't do too bad out in California either.

David Robertson appears to be an interesting youngish conductor, too. I've never seen him, but the NY Times is pushing for him to head the NY Philharmonc, eventually.

Herman

Concert Report – Maria-João Pires, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras (Festival Hall, London)

Dvořák: Symphonic Variations, Beethoven Piano Concerto no 3, Beethoven Symphony no. 7

I like Charles Mackerras a lot. He’s not got the image to sell millions of CDs: he’s almost too jolly rather to be taken seriously, people might respect him more if he scowled a bit rather than looking like he’s enjoying himself the whole time. His performances of the Viennese classics and especially Czech music can be touched with greatness and rarely disappoint. We’d heard MJP perform some fine Mozart at the Proms a few years ago and as she’s not a regular visitor to London we thought we’d catch this concert even though the programme was pretty middle of the road. One thing I like about concert going in London is the way different nationalities come out to support their fellow countrymen or women and the foyer resounded to Portuguese on this occasion.

The Dvořák was beautifully played and lovingly conducted but in the final analysis it is never going to be great music. For some reason, the Piano concerto performance didn’t quite take off either. It was a decent enough rendition with some lovely delicacies in the slow movement but didn’t add up to anything especially memorable. The Beethoven 7 in the second half was quite another matter though. The whole work was imbued with joy and had a bucolic feel almost like a second pastoral symphony. This wasn’t a Sunday stroll in the country though but rather a gallop: speeds were on the fast side thoughout, cumulating in an astonishingly swift final movement ( ~180 BPM for DJs). The only recording I have that approaches this speed is Furtwangler with the VPO and then only in the last few pages; speed merchants like Toscanini, with the BBCSO, and Carlos Kleiber are positively sedentary in comparison. I don’t know what metronome marks Beethoven gives this movement but I imagine that this performance must have approached them. The Philharmonia never sounded hurried though, the trumpet section in particular performed heroics with their valveless instruments. The result had a terrific urgency but still maintaining the joi-de-vivre of the rest of the interpretation. Watching the audience to my left and right, the amount of toe-tapping and head-nodding wouldn’t have been out of place at a jazz concert. Fabulous stuff, a fresh look at a very familiar piece and not quite what one expects from a genial looking 78 year-old.

duncan

Email: djcritchley at hotmail.com

Hey Duncan,

nice report. I have to say I have never been at a Mackerras concert, unfortunately. Beethoven 7 is a great piece; perhaps the ultimate Beethoven symphony you have to hear / see in the concert hall, rather than hear it in the comfort of one's home.

A month ago Pires performed the Beethoven 3 with the Concertgebouw. I forget who was conducting. It may have been David Zinman. I listened to the radio broadcast, and taped it, but indeed it didn't make a deep impression on me either (of course I wasn't there).

Herman