BSO — 2018/02/24

This evening's program is all Mozart: three of his symphonies. The program detail page gives further detail, appropriately enough, along with the usual links to background material on the music and the conductor:

Renowned Massachusetts-born Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt returns to the Symphony Hall stage with a trio of Mozart symphonies. Composed in 1780 for an unknown occasion, the three-movement No. 34 in C major was the last symphony Mozart completed in Salzburg before relocating permanently to Vienna. The story of his Linz[ ]Symphony, No. 36, is one of those illustrating his surpassing genius. Passing through Linz in late 1783 on his way back to Vienna from a Salzburg visit, he was honored with a request for a concert of his music, but had no symphony with him-so he wrote this delightful piece in a mere four days. Composed five years later, the Jupiter Symphony was Mozart's last. Its elegance, mastery of counterpoint, and expressive power have secured its place as an epitome of the genre.

(Some emphasis added.)

What's not to like about Mozart? I was there on Thursday and enjoyed the show. The word "comfortable" occurs to describe the performance. Nothing seemed forced. Even in the fast and (relatively) loud parts, there was an underlying calmness. The performance so captivated the audience that there was virtually none of the usual coughing from them during the slower and quieter parts. Strangely, though, there were a couple of points during longer movements when I felt they had gone on long enough, that they were becoming redundant, that there was no noticeable development going on. This is a feeling I've had with some late romantic pieces, but the first time I've felt that way about Mozart.

There was an amusing moment during the curtain call after the "Linz" symphony. In one of the movements there was a section where the first oboe delivered a brief solo line, then repeated it with the first bassoon following a couple of beats behind. This happened again three or four times. When Maestro Blomstedt returned to the stage during the applause, he invited them to stand for solo bows. As he headed offstage, Richard Sebring, first horn, took a handkerchief and reached across the aisle to Richard Svoboda, the bassoonist, and mopped his forehead (as if the solo had been a strenuous workout).

I'm looking forward to hearing it again. This evening's concert will be transmitted live over WCRB on air and on line at 8:00, EST. And I expect the usual rebroadcast/webstream on Monday, March 5, also at 8:00 p.m.

The reviews are in. The Globe is favorable, and the Intelligencer is enthusiastic. The photo in the Intelligencer review reminds me that Maestro Blomstedt conducted throughout without a baton, using his hands more to shape the music than to beat time strictly. He didn't even give a cut-off sign at the end of movements. He just stopped moving his hands, and the small orchestra stopped in unison. The photo also shows the unopened score on the podium during the first half of the concert. After intermission, he had an electronic device which he never opened.

Enjoy the concert!

Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher

On Saturday, February 17, I attended the fourth of Odyssey Opera's five productions this season. The season focus is on St. Joan of Arc, and this production was "Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher," ("Joan of Arc at the Stake") by Arthur Honneger. The first question might be the genre of the work. It seems that the composer called it a "dramatic oratorio." It is a work on a sacred subject with orchestra, chorus, and solo singers, but also with action. Perhaps it could be called an opera; but the connotations of the word could be misleading as to the composer and librettist's intent to write and compose a sacred work. It was composed, with a libretto by the poet Paul Claudel, in the 1930's; and a prologue was added in 1944. After the prologue, there are ten scenes giving flashbacks as Joan, at the stake, remembers her life. The eleventh scene is her death in the flames.

I didn't know what to expect, but I wasn't expecting the music to be very enjoyable, since Honegger was a "modern" composer. Preview articles and the program notes told of an eclectic style, which is also discussed in some detail in the reviews in the Globe and the Intelligencer. But as the work was performed, the music took second place to the drama, and I was never conscious of all the differing styles. Instead, for me, the music just seemed to reinforce the words and action.

As for the words and action, some of it was clear, some of it mystifying, but it all held my attention. I probably tried too hard to figure it all out while it was being played. That is one of my flaws — over-intellectualinzing artistic experience. I'd do better if I could just let it happen, experience it, and think about it later. But, as I say, it held my attention, and I consider it to have been worth seeing. I'd recommend taking in a performance if it's ever staged where you are, but to some extent the value may depend on how well it's acted and danced — yes there were also choreographed movements — and staged. Still, the dramatic oratorio is a worthwhile work.

"Express Abstractionism" Revisited

"Abstract Expressionism," by Sean Shepherd, received its world premiere performance from the Boston Symphony Orchestra on the 8th, 9th, and 10th of this month. I reported on it in my post previewing the Saturday concert. This evening I listened to the rebroadcast of the concert, and can say a bit more about it. On first hearing, February 8, I couldn't tell where the divisions between the first three movements came. This time it was clear where the first movement ended and the second began. The dividing line between Nos. 2 and 3 was still unclear.

As for the music itself, the first movement seemed more coherent than it had on first hearing. The composer was clearly working with some musical ideas, and it was interesting. While there was nothing extremely beautiful, it was fairly gentle and not unpleasant to listen to.

The second and third movements still seemed overly loud, and empty of real music. At one point, I got the idea that the percussionists might be having fun playing their parts. Some others might also be having fun playing it.

But fun for the musicians doesn't necessarily mean fun for the audience. I think of an article written in the 1950's by the composer Milton Babbitt, which was given the title, "Who Cares if You Listen." Babbitt suggested that contemporary serious music, such as his, was beyond the ability of most concert-goers to understand and appreciate — "better than it sounds," as a 19th Century wit said of Wagner. I mention this, not to suggest that Sean Shepherd shares the late Mr. Babbitt's contempt for the audience, but only to make the point that professional musicians can appreciate things which exceed the grasp of ordinary amateur listeners. Having said that, I'll also give the music the faint praise of saying that I'd much rather listen to it than the horrors by Babbitt and Elliot Carter which James Levine inflicted on us.

Surprisingly (or not because of heightened expectations), I found the fourth movement somewhat less appealing than I had at the premiere. In the hall, it had seemed calm and gentle. Maybe it was the fault of the broadcast engineer, but over the radio it seemed significantly louder, which made individual parts stand out more but concomitantly detracted from its overall beauty.

I wasn't listening with program notes in hand t try to see how the music related to the work of the visual artists who were the composer's inspiration; I was approaching it simply as music. On a third hearing, if it happened, I would try to make those associations. But for now, I'll just say that I can appreciate that Sean Shepherd had some ideas, some inspirations he tried to put into music, and he didn't utterly fail. But this listener has not been moved to want to hear it again and again, which would be necessary for the piece to have any chance of revealing that it's better than it sounds.

BSO — 2018/02/17

It's French Impressionists this week. (Are there Impressionists from any other country?) Here's the synopsis from the BSO's program detail page (where you can also find the usual links to background information):

This all-French program features pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet in Ravel's serious, single-movement Piano Concerto for the left hand. Closing the program is a work that's long been a staple of the BSO repertoire, Ravel's ballet score Daphnis et Chloé, a tourde-[sic] force of orchestral coloration and dramatic atmosphere the composer felt was one of his best works. Opening the program are Ravel's orchestrations of two contrasting Debussy piano pieces. These concerts mark the 90th anniversary of Ravel's conducting the BSO at Symphony Hall while visiting America in 1928.

(Some emphasis added.)

This concert wasn't part of my subscription, so I have no impressions of my own to offer. The reviews are favorable. The Globe finds no fault. The Boston Musical Intelligencer finds a few bits that were less than perfect, but overall is very satisfied. That review also gives extensive information about the pieces, almost like program notes.

You can hear it all this evening, February 17, over WCRB at 8:00 p.m., Eastern time, with the usual repeat transmission at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, February 26.  Impressionists aren't my favorit figurative cup of metaphorical tea, but most people like them, so enjoy.

BSO — 2018/02/10

It's Leipzig Week at the BSO, so they're offering four works from composers connected with Leipzig and the world premiere of a piece commissioned jointly by the BSO and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. As usual, the performance detail page refuses to tell about the program in order of performance — starting with the fourth piece, back to the first, on to the last, and finishing with the second and third ("not last but least"?). Anyway, here's what they say:

Andris Nelsons conducts J.S. Bach, Schumann, Shepherd and Mendelssohn featuring pianists Thomas Adès, Kirill Gerstein and Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Hall - Boston, MA - View MapThis excitingly varied, Leipzig-centric program-the BSO's first "Leipzig Week in Boston"-celebrates Andris Nelsons and the BSO's compelling new collaboration with the venerable Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra by featuring three composers strongly associated with that city, plus a new work jointly commissioned by both ensembles from the accomplished American orchestral composer Sean Shepherd, a Tanglewood Music Center alumnus now based in New York City. The opener brings together three world-class virtuoso pianists for Bach's triple keyboard concerto, BWV 1063, possibly created for performances involving his two elder sons, W.F. and C.P.E Bach, at Zimmermann's coffeehouse in 1730s Leipzig. Closing the concert is the deeply Romantic Scottish Symphony of Felix Mendelssohn, who was music director of the Gewandhaus from 1835 to 1847. And it was Leipzig where Robert Schumann met his wife Clara and spent much of his early career; his two contrasting, rarely heard works for chorus and orchestra on this program date from the late 1840s.

(Some emphasis added.) They don't give the titles of the Shepherd and Mendelssohn works either. Mendelssohn's song are Nachtlied and Neujahrslied; Shepherd's is titled Express Abstractionism.

I attended the Thursday performance, and I was unimpressed with "Express Abstractionism." The first three movements seemed unfocused and meaningless. The thought came to me, "There is no beauty in this." At least the last movement was calm and pleasant to listen to, beautiful in a way. When the composer came on stage for his bows, I stopped applauding. I'll give it another chance during the rebroadcast on February 19 to see if it makes more sense, but at this point (unlike one of the reviewers), I'm not hoping they will play it again.

During the Bach concerto, I noticed that Maestro Nelsons, was not conducting with a precise beat:  up, down, in, out. It looked more like the way people conduct Gregorian chant, with flowing, sweeping, and occasionally circular, hand motions. The use of pianos gave a very different soind from what harpsichords give. Maybe that lusher sound had something to do with how Nelsons conducted.

The Globe and Intelligencer reviews are generally favorable. They, along with the program notes linked on the performance detail page, will give some idea of what to listen for — especially in the Shepherd piece — unless you prefer just to let it unfold with no preconceptions. Also available is this interview with the composer.

It's all there for you — the good and the not so good — at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, over WCRB radio and internet, with a repeat transmission on Feb. 19, also at 8:00. Be sure to check out their website for information about other offerings.

BSO — 2018/02/03

This week's Boston Symphony has works by Mozart and Shostakovich. As always, the orchestra's program detail page offers links to performer bios, audio previews, program notes, and a brief description of the concert:

Andris Nelsons conducts Mozart and Shostakovich featuring soprano Kristine Opolais [and bass Alexander Tsymbalyuk] 

The BSO presents one of Shostakovich's most unusual symphonies, No. 14, which continues the BSO's complete cycle of Shostakovich symphonies being recorded for future release on Deutsche Grammophon. Composed in 1969 and dedicated to Benjamin Britten, No. 14 requires the smallest instrumental forces of any Shostakovich symphony-string orchestra with ten percussionists. Opening the program is music of a very different stripe, Mozart's wonderfully amiable Gran Partita for winds. This sevenmovement serenade dates from about 1782 and is considered by many the finest work of "Harmoniemusik"- music for wind band-ever written.

(Some emphasis added.)

The reviews also give information about the pieces. The one in the Globe finds less fault with the performances than does the one in the Intelligencer. Although the Thursday performance was part of my subscription, when it was time to leave, I didn't feel like making the trek into Boston, so I have nothing to add to the above information. After reading the reviews, I'm sorry I missed it. I'll listen to WCRB this evening and on February 12 at the usual time. Note the other programming listed on the station's website.