New York Philharmonic – Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, conductor. December 13, 2013.

Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center.  Orchestra 1 (Seat G111, $46.25.)

Program

Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93 (1811-1812) by Beethoven (1770-1827).

Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life), Op. 40 (1897-98) by R. Strauss (1864-1949).

Today is going to be a double-header.  For various reasons – one of which is to avoid NYC gridlock during the holiday season - we decided to move our tickets for Der Rosenkavalier to coincide with this afternoon concert.  It ended up being a rather long day, especially for Anne: she left the house at 9 am for her class, and didn’t get home until 1 am.  More on that in the next blog.

James Keller, the New York Philharmonic program annotator, can’t seem to make up his mind whether there are real distinctions between Beethoven’s odd- and even-numbered symphonies; for today’s notes he uses the term “more intimate celebrations.”  However, it is quite clear that the Eighth didn’t catch on as quickly as Beethoven’s other symphonies, one factor was it had the “misfortune” of being premiered together with the Sixth and Seventh.

If I had been a music critic at that time, I would have a hard time finding things not to like about the symphony.  It was generally light-hearted, with nice tunes, and – to the modern ear – easy to follow, even though it may be have radical for its time.  All in all, a great appetizer for today's concert.  The four movements are Allegro vivace e con brio, Allegretto scherzando, Tempo di Menuetto, and Allegro vivace.

I consider Strauss a difficult composer for the average audience member (i.e., me), and find it interesting that he is quite popular among concert programmers.  I have seen three of his operas (Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Egyptische Helena, and Capriccio), and each time came away scratching my head to various degrees.  His tone poems (Also sprach Zarathustra being the latest one) are a bit easier to grasp, especially if there are programs associated with them.

It speaks to Strauss's ego that he thought it was time to write a musical tribute to himself at age 34.  The 45 or so minute piece is performed non-stop and spans the hero’s entire life: The Hero – The Hero’s Adventures – The Hero’s Companion – The Hero’s Deeds of War – The Hero’s Works of Peace – The Hero’s Retirement.  Even though that was the extent of the program, the differences from one section to the other were marked enough that I could tell what part of his life I was listening to.  Even though a large orchestra was used – including “an imposing 18-member brass section” – I didn’t find the music particularly loud, especially given our seats in the front.  And I didn’t notice our violist using her earplugs either.

The concertmaster had quite a few solos to play, mostly in The Hero’s Companion section.  The passages are quite difficult.  Glenn Dicterow didn’t have any trouble with the technique, although I continue to quibble with his sound.

From my prior blogs I noticed that I had heard de Burgos conduct about a year ago.  He evidently used a chair at that concert, but got up quite often.  I also remarked that he was in his early eighties.  Turns out he turned 80 earlier this year.  And whatever ailed him last year went away: he stood, and did his job with gusto and lots of rather exaggerated arm movements.  There is an article in the Playbill where many NY Phil players sang his praises.  I am sure that is all true.

The New York Times review was a bit critical on how The Hero’s Life was performed, but loved how Dicterow played.  The reviewer also made the remark that the Philharmonic’s sound has turned “bright and unsubtle, with a glimmer of metal.”  I wonder if I would notice the change if I pay more attention.