Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, Orchestra 1 (Seat G111, $59).
Program
Piano Concerto by Tan Dun.
The Firebird (Complete, 1909-10) by Stravinsky (1882-1971).
We didn't know what to expect with the concert. Tan Dun is known for two works: the soundtrack to the movie “Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragons” and the opera “The First Emperor”. The former is a kung-fu movie, the latter is based on the story of Emperor Qin. I saw the movie, and caught glimpses of the opera (both on TV), and wasn't particularly impressed. However, we booked this concert because we were curious, and Lang Lang was going to be the soloist.
There was a “Hear and Now” session before the concert. This was the first such event we attended, so I didn't know what to expect. The concert hall (reasonably full) was darkened and a spot light was trained on the stage. Basically the soloist (XXX, principal percussionist of the orchestra) played with water using his hands and various implements. A bit novel, yet quite monotonous. I found out later this was a concerto written by Tan Dun about 10 years ago. Following that, Robert Stucky conducted an interview with Leonard Slatkin which was informative – but I have forgotten it after two weeks.
The concert began with a short video of an interview of Tan Dun, he talked about how he wanted to have this collaboration with Lang Lang, and that the concerto is based on the martial arts movements of pointing with fingers, flipping with fingers, chopping with an open hand, and pressing with the forearm. I am not knowledgeable about martial arts so am in no position to argue.
The concerto actually turned out to be quite exciting. It is in three movements: Lento, Adagio melancholia [attaca], and Allegretto. We were seated in the sixth row, so had a good view of the soloist and the orchestra (at least those in the front anyway). Since we were on the right side of the hall, we didn't get to see his fingers. Nonetheless, one could tell indeed these motions were used in the concerto. There is enough interplay and structure to the music to keep one's attention focused and interest going. Every now and then the repetition of notes reminds one of the pi-pa. To this listener, the concerto is well-knitted, showcases what it is supposed to (martial arts and artist), even there are intervals of wandering every now and then. A page turner was on stage to help with the music, and Lang Lang sometimes had to count, so the piece is not one easily committed to memory.
Neither Glenn Dicterow nor Sheryl Maples was playing tonight, so it fell to Michelle Kim to lead the orchestra. The principal violist Cynthia Phelps wasn't there either, and the lead had a broken foot that had to be propped up.
The program says the Firebird Suite was last played on February 19, 2005. I am sure I saw it quite recently, indeed my notes indicate we did so on September 16, 2006. Perhaps they were referring to the complete work? Although I thought we listened to the suite its entirety then. In any case, the program describes the Suite as follows: First Tableau: Kaschchei's Enchanted Garden; Appearance of the Firebird, pursued by Prince Ivan; Dance of the Firebird,;Capture of the Firebird by Prince Ivan, Supplications of the Firebird – Appearance of Thireteen Enchanted Princesses; The Princesses' Game with Golden Apples (Scherzo); Sudden Appearance of Prince Ivan; Khorovod (Round-Dance) of the Princesses; Daybreak – Prince Ivan Sneaks into Kaschchei's Palace; The Magical Carillon, Appearance of Kaschei's Guardian-Monsters and the Capture of Prince Ivan – Arrival of Kaschei the Immortal – Dialogue between Kaschei and Prince Ivan – Intercession of the Princesses – Appearance of the Firebird; Dance of Kaschei's Retinue, under the Firebird's Spell; Infernal Dance of All Kaschei's Subjects – Lullaby (The Firebird) – Kaschei's Awakening – The Death of Kaschei – Deep Shadows. Second Tableau: Disappearance of the Palace and of Kaschei's Sorcery, Bringing to Life of the Petrified Warriors, General Happiness.
As described above, the story of the Firebird is quite simple. The movements run on, I managed to get quite lost even with the descriptive titles. We know only a couple of tunes, despite the fact the work is well known.
I think this is the first time we saw Slatkin conduct. I can't comment on how he did with the Tan Dun piece, but am not particularly impressed with the Firebird, which was a bit flat (perhaps in comparison to the piano concerto?) In any case, I notice Lang Lang has never appeared with Lorin Maazel, the four or five times I have seen him were all with guest conductors. And he won't be appearing with Maazel next year either.
What I find amazing, though, was that the work of Stravinsky was tame in comparison to that of Tan Dun's. Perhaps music evolves after all. On the other hand, I am sure many contemporary work considered great by today's critics will fall by the wayside eventually. Stravinsky had his contemporaries, and most of them are forgotten today.
We have tickets to “The First Emperor” in May, I somewhat look forward to seeing it.
See the New York Times review.
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