Sunday afternoon at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge: the Boston Philharmonic presented a really wonderful all-Russian program. It started with the overture to Ruslan and Ludmila – brisk and invigorating. Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2 was spiky, menacing and fun. For an encore pianist Jue Wang played a swirling solo arrangement of Gershwin's "Embraceable You." Simply gorgeous.
The musicians were primed and in their wheelhouse for the second half of the progam. Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 was an intoxicating flood of melody. Conductor Benjamin Zander milked its romanticism and lifted the roof in the finale. I'm exhausted!
Monday, April 28, 2014
BPO's Beethoven misfires – past report 9/30/2013
The Boston Philharmonic performed Beethoven's Ninth at Symphony Hall: Robert Honeysucker was one of the vocal soloists. The man is ageless - he is still at the peak of his expressive powers. The orchestra, however, had some derailments, including a restart of the fourth movement. Ouch.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Mahler, Zander and the BPO
Flash back 25 years or so ago: My first exposure to Gustav Mahler was through an evening lecture given by local scholar Benjamin Zander. His general overview of Mahler's career and specific insights to the composer's second symphony were entertaining and informative. I learned that Mahler often contrasts his ethereal inspirations with an earthy pungency.
Two nights later Zander conducted Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with his semi-professional ensemble, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra (the BPO, not to be confused with the BSO). The score calls for an expanded force including vocal soloists, a large chorus, harps, offstage brass and a pipe organ. The musicians overflowed the stage of Symphony Hall for an awe-inspiring performance that launched my devotion to Mahler's symphonic output.
Flash forward to tonight at Symphony Hall: Benjamin Zander led the BPO in Mahler's Symphony No. 9. This work doesn't have any singers, but it is still a large-scale, 90-minute masterpiece. I was hoping to revisit the magic of the past; what I experienced instead was a semi-professional orchestra playing almost all of the right notes more or less in tune.
Zander was most effective in the spans of accumulated tension climbing to plateaus of sustained energy. Throughout the work, however, there are valleys of quiet introspection that were less convincingly purposeful. A restive audience and a chorus of coughers accompanied the waning fourth movement. The final silence was met by cricket chirps from someone's ringtone, a Mahlerian touch of the absurdly sublime.
Two nights later Zander conducted Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with his semi-professional ensemble, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra (the BPO, not to be confused with the BSO). The score calls for an expanded force including vocal soloists, a large chorus, harps, offstage brass and a pipe organ. The musicians overflowed the stage of Symphony Hall for an awe-inspiring performance that launched my devotion to Mahler's symphonic output.
Flash forward to tonight at Symphony Hall: Benjamin Zander led the BPO in Mahler's Symphony No. 9. This work doesn't have any singers, but it is still a large-scale, 90-minute masterpiece. I was hoping to revisit the magic of the past; what I experienced instead was a semi-professional orchestra playing almost all of the right notes more or less in tune.
Zander was most effective in the spans of accumulated tension climbing to plateaus of sustained energy. Throughout the work, however, there are valleys of quiet introspection that were less convincingly purposeful. A restive audience and a chorus of coughers accompanied the waning fourth movement. The final silence was met by cricket chirps from someone's ringtone, a Mahlerian touch of the absurdly sublime.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Billy Budd visits BAM – past report 2/13/2014
Whiteout conditions south of Worcester. Six hours from Boston to Brooklyn. Five hours back home. Three hours of sleep. Was it worth it?
The London Philharmonic Orchestra and Glyndebourne Opera brought their 2010 production of Billy Budd to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. I had it in my mind that the performances were in March, so Thursday the 13th would have lined up perfectly with a trip I was already taking to New York on 3/14-3/15. Imagine my surprise when I printed the ticket and saw FEBRUARY 13th! Non-refundable. Final performance. The choice was either eat it or go.
The action, based on a short story by Herman Melville, takes place on a British ship during the Napoleonic wars. I saw a DVD of the 2010 production with two of the same cast members, Jacques Imbrailo in the title role and Jeremy White as his old shipmate Dansker. Last night’s live performance surpassed the DVD in visceral impact. The original Captain Vere was a very good tenor singing a sympathetic role, but Mark Padmore delved into the character’s inner turmoil. A sharp, final intake of breath planted a seed of doubt in his self-absolution of events from the summer of 1797.
The original Claggart played the snarling villain, but Brindley Sherrat showed several psychological layers of the sadistic master-at-arms. He was thoroughly booed at the end. Every one of the fifty or so men on stage gave an equally committed performance, from warrant officer down to able seaman.
Was it worth it? Absolutely YES!
The London Philharmonic Orchestra and Glyndebourne Opera brought their 2010 production of Billy Budd to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. I had it in my mind that the performances were in March, so Thursday the 13th would have lined up perfectly with a trip I was already taking to New York on 3/14-3/15. Imagine my surprise when I printed the ticket and saw FEBRUARY 13th! Non-refundable. Final performance. The choice was either eat it or go.
The action, based on a short story by Herman Melville, takes place on a British ship during the Napoleonic wars. I saw a DVD of the 2010 production with two of the same cast members, Jacques Imbrailo in the title role and Jeremy White as his old shipmate Dansker. Last night’s live performance surpassed the DVD in visceral impact. The original Captain Vere was a very good tenor singing a sympathetic role, but Mark Padmore delved into the character’s inner turmoil. A sharp, final intake of breath planted a seed of doubt in his self-absolution of events from the summer of 1797.
The original Claggart played the snarling villain, but Brindley Sherrat showed several psychological layers of the sadistic master-at-arms. He was thoroughly booed at the end. Every one of the fifty or so men on stage gave an equally committed performance, from warrant officer down to able seaman.
Was it worth it? Absolutely YES!
Billy Budd at the Met – past report 5/4/2012
On Friday night I went to see Billy Budd at the Met. I'm a fan of Britten's score, so I had no higher plans than going to enjoy a night of good music. I'm happy to say that this production far exceeded expectations. John Daszak was an ideal Captain Vere. I couldn't imagine a more perfect tenor from the current ranks to fully capture that role. James Morris was vocally secure as Claggart, if a bit stilted in his stage presence. Nathan Gunn was likable in the title role, but sometimes overpowered by the orchestra.
The set was amazing. What started as the topdeck of HMS Indomitable was transformed by the Met's magic elevators into a multi-leveled three-decker man-o'-war. A section midstage rose up to show the captain's cabin, then continued its elevation to reveal the deep hold.
The first act threatened to become a show about a sword, as a weapon slipped from the wall of the captain's cabin and none of the singers reacted to its lying on the floor. I think the prompter saved the moment by gesturing to the cabin boy to pick the sword up and return it to the wall.
The second act was a show about a hat. When Billy knocked Claggart dead in the captain's cabin, Claggart's hat rolled to the forestage. It remained there during Billy's court martial (as a reminder of the deed just committed?), and during the captain's soliloquy (to torment him about having to sacrifice a good man for accidentally killing a bad 'un?). It would have been a great acting moment for Vere to pick up the hat and curse Claggart for the muck he brought about, but alas, no.
The hat stayed in the dimly lit downstage while Billy was imprisoned belowdecks (mocking torment?). And there was the hat when the topdeck was restored until a chorus member kicked it behind a cannon. I'm sure the stage manager was tearing his hair out and cursing that one of the six able seamen who removed Claggart's body had bloody well make sure his hat goes with him next time.
The hat stayed in the dimly lit downstage while Billy was imprisoned belowdecks (mocking torment?). And there was the hat when the topdeck was restored until a chorus member kicked it behind a cannon. I'm sure the stage manager was tearing his hair out and cursing that one of the six able seamen who removed Claggart's body had bloody well make sure his hat goes with him next time.
So even though this was a revival, there was very much a sense of opening night. A voice caught singing outside the cabin hadn't quite internalized that the door opened out, not in. He at least was saved by the courtesy of the first officer. All of the mishaps actually made the show more endearing as a human feat of live theater, and I am magnifying the hiccups of what was otherwise a masterfully executed performance.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Charles Dutoit to the rescue
Saturday night at Symphony Hall: I was puzzled to see Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit leading this concert, because I didn't recall ordering a ticket with his name on it. An insert clarified that Dutoit had stepped in on short notice for an injured Lorin Maazel and would perform the same program of Mozart and Mahler.
Dutoit is a regular guest conductor with the Boston Symphony, and he was clearly as comfortable with the musicians as they were with him. He showed a dancing familiarity with the first work, Mozart's Symphony No. 38, 'Prague'. Dutoit lavished much of his phrase shaping on the violins, and they responded with delicate precision. This convincing performance made me a fan of the composition.
I don't associate Charles Dutoit with Mahler, but Symphony No. 5 was obviously in the conductor's back pocket. He had a clear vision of what he wanted to do with the work, and the opening trumpet call and the answering orchestral chord gave notice that the band was right there with him.
In Gustav Mahler's music there are usually three things going on at the same time -- often more. The initial movement tonight was slower than I am used to hearing, but it was not lacking in intensity. As proof, the french horn features of the second movement blazed. While Dutoit missed the sweep of other readings, he allowed the audience to savor the details of the score.
The central Scherzo waltzed along in a more expected manner, and Dutoit actually pushed the Adagietto a bit. He resisted the temptation to luxuriate in the lushness of the strings and solo harp, which produced a more poignant effect.
The Finale whirred along in kaleidoscopic counterpoint, and after the closing bar there was an instantaneous and vigorous standing ovation. Before the conductor left the stage he shook hands with each of the brass players and led the principal trumpet and principal horn to the podium to the roars of the audience. When Dutoit returned to the stage there was a kiss on each cheek for the harpist.
The BSO will soon embark on a concert tour of China and Japan, with maestro Dutoit again taking over for Maazel. From what I heard tonight, the orchestra couldn't be in better hands.
Friday, April 18, 2014
Nicholas Phan debuts in Cambridge
Thursday night at the Longy School of Music: American tenor Nicholas Phan made his Celebrity Series of Boston debut accompanied by Myra Huang in a program of songs by Franz Schubert and Benjamin Britten. The singer had three distinct gears to his voice: the first an easy, speak-singing mezzo piano to mezzo forte. Within this dynamic range Phan conveyed the song texts with immediacy.
The second gear was marked by vocal, facial and physical contortions for a crooning piano to forte. Phan shifted into this gear for his top notes, but the mannerisms created a barrier between song and listener. The third gear was a bellowing fortissimo that overpowered the brittle acoustics of the small auditorium. A conservatory such as Longy deserves a better performance space than Pickman Hall.
Between song groupings Phan had an affable patter that would suit a cabaret show. The centerpiece of the Schubert set was the epic-in-miniature Viola D786, which the singer explained was about a little flower that bloomed too early and was killed by a late frost. This drew chuckles from a Boston audience that knew all too well about a backward spring.
Phan stopped himself shortly into Frühlingssehnsucht D957 (Longing for Spring), apologizing that he had sung the wrong verse. Huang snarked from the piano, "Not that anyone would have known!" – again to the amusement of the listeners. The second go went without a hitch.
The Britten half of the program featured Winter Words op. 52, a cycle of eight songs to poems by Thomas Hardy, and various folk tunes arranged by the composer. Phan's delivery of the English texts was captivating until his oversinging continually broke the spell.
The first encore was Schubert's final song, Die Taubenpost D978a (Carrier Pigeon); the second encore was Britten's arrangement of Greensleeves. The understated treatment of these gems left me wishing I could have heard an entire evening of Nicholas Phan stuck in first gear.
The second gear was marked by vocal, facial and physical contortions for a crooning piano to forte. Phan shifted into this gear for his top notes, but the mannerisms created a barrier between song and listener. The third gear was a bellowing fortissimo that overpowered the brittle acoustics of the small auditorium. A conservatory such as Longy deserves a better performance space than Pickman Hall.
Between song groupings Phan had an affable patter that would suit a cabaret show. The centerpiece of the Schubert set was the epic-in-miniature Viola D786, which the singer explained was about a little flower that bloomed too early and was killed by a late frost. This drew chuckles from a Boston audience that knew all too well about a backward spring.
Phan stopped himself shortly into Frühlingssehnsucht D957 (Longing for Spring), apologizing that he had sung the wrong verse. Huang snarked from the piano, "Not that anyone would have known!" – again to the amusement of the listeners. The second go went without a hitch.
The Britten half of the program featured Winter Words op. 52, a cycle of eight songs to poems by Thomas Hardy, and various folk tunes arranged by the composer. Phan's delivery of the English texts was captivating until his oversinging continually broke the spell.
The first encore was Schubert's final song, Die Taubenpost D978a (Carrier Pigeon); the second encore was Britten's arrangement of Greensleeves. The understated treatment of these gems left me wishing I could have heard an entire evening of Nicholas Phan stuck in first gear.
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