Program
Night on Bald Mountain (1867; arr Rimsky-Korsakov, 1886) by Musorgsky (1839-81).
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C manor, Op 26 (1917-21) by Prokofiev (1891-1953).
Scheherazade, Symphonic Suite, Op. 35 (1888) by Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908).
I am writing this review about a week after the event, so I
have probably forgotten most of it. So
let me at least get to the details of the program. The Prokofiev concerto consists of three
movements: (1) Andante – Allegro; (2) Tema con variazone, Tema: Andantino, Var
I: L’istesso tempo, Var II: Allegro; Var III: Allegro moderato (poco meno
mosso); Var IV: Andante meditative; Var V: Allegro giusto; Tema: L’istesso
tempo; (3) Allegro ma non troppo.
Scheherazade consists of four movements: (1) Largo e maestoso – Allegro
non troppo; (2) Lento – Andantino; (3) ndantino quasi allegretto; (4) Allegro
molto. Glenn Dicterow plays the violin
solo passages.
If I remember correctly, Musorgsky (that’s how it is spelled
in the Program, I had always thought it was Mussorgsky, and MS Word doesn’t tag
the latter as a spelling error) had problems with alcoholism and died
relatively young. His work was usually
modified by his contemporaries. Night on
Bald Mountain is no exception, there are many versions of it, and tonight’s version
was arranged by Rimsky-Korsakov, and is the one most familiar with the
listening public.
The Program Notes emphasizes the symphonic nature of
Scheharazade and doesn’t use the familiar descriptions of (1) The Sea and
Sinbad; (2) The Story of the Claendar Prince; (3) The Young Prince and the
Young Princess; (4) Festival at Baghdad, The Sea, The Ship Goes to Pieces on a
Rock Surrounded by a Bronze Warrior, Conclusion. As far I am concerned, it is completely okay
to have a narrative associated with the music; it actually keeps the listener’s
mind more active.
My comment on the Rite of Spring performance last week was
that it was too loud. I thought the
loudness was much more appropriate for tonight’s two orchestral pieces. Both were done very well by the orchestra.
Gilbert in his introduction to the Program talks about how
Glenn Dicterow taught his sister Jenny how to play the violin solo part in
Scheharazade. I hope she does better
than her teacher. Some passages are
quite difficult, and Dicterow pulled them off, but the overall result was on
the uninspired side.
There is a saying that talent is God’s way of being
unfair. In Trifonov’s case, one could
make the case that God is very much so.
He was just amazing, both musically and technically. I totally enjoyed the music. Not being a pianist, I usually can’t tell how
technically challenging a particular work is.
There was no doubt tonight that this is a virtuoso piece in its
extreme. And he pulled it off effortlessly. I sat there amazed, and interestingly not
worried that he would make a mistake – his playing was just that confident. At the tender age of 21, he has a long career
ahead of him. Let’s hope he continues to
get his audiences excited about his performances.
By the way, he sat in the audience for the second half. He had to rush out afterwards, warding off the hordes of well-wishers pursuing him.
Overall, this was a much more enjoyable concert that that of
the opening week.
The New York Times review is very postive. Trifonov played an encore at that performance
the reviewer attended.
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