Monday, March 30, 2015

Joshua Bell in Recital. Sam Haywood, piano. March 28, 2015.

State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ.  Balcony (Seat P107, $19.)

Program
Sonata No. 4 in A minor, Op. 23 by Beethoven (1770-1827).
Sonata No. 1 in F Major, Op. 8 by Grieg (1843-1907).
Sonata No.1 in G Major, Op. 78 by Brahms (1833-1897).
Rhapsody No. 1, Sz. 87 by Bartok (1881-1945).

We bought these tickets via Amazon Local, at $19 each, nothing could possibly go wrong.  And nothing did.  Actually this turned out to be a very enjoyable event, even though our seats, at about 110 feet away per the theatre’s seating chart, were a bit far from the stage.  When we picked up at “will call,” we were actually offered upgraded seats for $15 each but decided against it.  I would gladly have paid $34 per seat if they had been available at the time of purchase; strange, this human psychology.  In any case, I am glad the hall was reasonably full.

By the large Bell produced a very pleasant sound, and his cooperation with the pianist was excellent.  As a violin student, I played several of Beethoven’s violin sonatas and worked hard at the Brahms sonata for an examination.  My teacher decided to skip over Beethoven’s fourth, so it was a fresh piece.  Per the Program Notes, Grieg’s sonata is rarely performed nowadays.  I really enjoyed it, and wonder what moved artists away from the piece – it sounded elegant, reasonably complex, and pleasant.

The Bartok Rhapsody was the most technically challenging piece.  The two movements lassu (slow) and friss (fast) are based on Hungarian folk tunes.  However, here Bell and Haywood may have met their match technically; I was so worried about their making the notes that I didn’t catch much of the melodies the piece is based on.  This reminds me of the Repin recital where he had trouble with Ravel’s Tzigane.

During my final year of high school I took a certificate exam offered by the Trinity School of Music.  I spent countless hours on the Brahms sonata which was on the syllabus, and (glad to report) passed.  Of course I listened to multiple recordings of the piece, and eventually formed an opinion on how it should be performed.  Bell didn’t quite do the piece the way I did, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.  (Disclaimer: that was more than 40 years ago, and I can’t play it the way I did.)

A violin sonata is supposed to be a co-operation between the violin and the piano.  My experience with Beethoven and Brahms is indeed they are.  Not today, not most of the time anyway.  Bell just dominated the show, which somewhat detracted from the musical aspects of the program.  I didn’t mind; I don’t think much of the audience did either.  This audience also couldn’t help itself from applauding after each movement.

For completeness, here are the movements of the different sonatas: Beethoven – Presto; Andante scherzoso, piu Allegretto; Allegro molto; Grieg – Allegro con brio; Allegretto quasi andantino; Allegro molto vivace; Brahms – Vivace, ma non troppo; Adagio, Allegro molto moderato.

For encore the pair played Chopin’s Nocturne in C# minor, and a Brahms Hungarian Dance.


We spent most of the day with Ellie and family in Philadelphia, leaving for New Brunswick after an early dinner.  The free off-street parking was an added bonus.

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