New Jersey Symphony Orchestra – Christoph Konig, conductor; Stefan Jackiw, violin. April 25, 2015.

Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ.  Rear Balcony (Seat E20, $37.)

Program

The Veil of Pierrette, Op. 18 (1908-09) by Ernst von Dohnanyi (1877-1960).

Romance in F minor for violin and orchestra, Op. 11 (1873-77) by Dvorak (1841-1904).

Tzigane (1922-24) by Ravel (1875-1937).

Symphony No. 5 in F major, Op. 76 (1875, rev. 1887) by Dvorak.

When I saw Dohnanyi as the composer on tonight’s program, I naturally wondered if it was Christoph whom I know as a conductor.  Then I saw the first name, so I thought it must be the father.  The Wikipedia entry clears it up: Ernst is the grandfather of Christoph.  So a family with a long musical tradition.

“A dark tale of infidelity and poisoning, with a powerful mad scene” is how the Program describes this piece.  The plot is about Pierrette’s unfaithfulness to her lover the painter Pierrot.  She abandons him for the wealthy Harlequin.  Consumed by guilt, she goes back to Pierrot and the two make a suicide pact.  Pierrot dies, she survives because she is too frightened to take the poison.  She goes back to the wedding, but forgets her veil.  Pierrot’s ghost returns it to her, and Harlequin finds out about her infidelity.  She breaks down completely and dies.  Dohnanyi told the story with five movements that add up to about 25 minutes: (1) Pierrot’s Complaint of Love; (2) Walzer-Reigen (Waltz Round Dance); (3) Lustiger Trauermarsch (Jolly Funeral March); (4) Hochzeitswaltzer (Wedding Waltz); and (5) Pierettens Wahnsinnstanz (Pierrette’s Dance of Madness.)

The music was quite pleasant, and followed pretty much the description in the Program.  However, the fourth movement flourish ending was such that many in the audience, thinking that it was the end, started to applaud.  Instead of showing annoyance, Konig turned around, picked up the microphone, and explained that the ending was unfortunately tragic.  I was a bit disappointed that the promised madness wasn’t all there, though.

Before the concert began, the assistant principal violist Elzbieta Weyman talked about the violin soloist Stefan Jackiw.  They were in the same youth orchestra, and basically Jackiw’s playing convinced her she should opt for the viola instead.

Jackiw is young (mid 20s?), tall, and thin.  A graduate of Harvard, and an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, he has performed with several major orchestras already.

Romances are melodic pieces that are typically quite short, so they don’t get programmed very much in live concerts.  Dvorak’s is no exception, although there are several passages that can be called virtuoso.  It was a good performance, but I was left with two thoughts: his stance reminds me of the violin player in Fiddler on the Roof, and he needs a better violin.  The first remark refers to how he keeps his legs apart, and often arches forward; as to the second remark, his violin certainly has the volume (helped no doubt by a small auditorium), but doesn’t have the brightness of a Strad or the warmth of a Guarnerius.

My first encounter with Tzigane was in Alice Tully Hall with Vadim Repin a few years back.  Even though he botched it quite terribly, I still enjoyed it, thinking that the piece was close to unplayable anyway.

The piece started with a long and difficult violin solo; you could hear the collective breath of the audience when the orchestra came in.  I must say technically Jackiw did a much better job, and Tzigane is for all purposes a show piece anyway.  Zigeunerweisen by Sarasate is the other “gypsy” air that comes to mind.  While (probably) less demanding technically, Sarasate’s piece certainly is more entertaining: you get to enjoy the tunes while on the edge of your seat.  With Ravel it is all about the edge of your seat.

Clearly there are few technical challenges that Jackiw cannot meet, it would be interesting to see how he grows as a musician.  He lives in New York City, so I imagine there will be opportunities to see him again.

After the intermission, Konig again talked to the audience, saying this time we will have a traditional program, and joked that a good time to nap would be the slow second movement.  It turned out to be advice some would take to heart.  Brahms famously was reluctant to write symphonies because he heard “the footsteps of a giant.”  Evidently Dvorak wasn’t intimidated by Beethoven at all, since his first was published in 1865 (the fifth ten years later.)  Of course a musicologist might explain how German and Eastern European schools evolved overtime, the point is I didn’t hear much grandness in it.  Not having a good ear for Bohemian melodies, I didn’t catch how Dvorak wove them into the narrative.  I do agree there are some “pastoral” elements in the work (there, reference to Beethoven in the Program,) and enjoyed the large scale fourth movement (Finale: Allegro molto.)  The other three movements are (i) Allegro ma non troppo; (ii) Andante con moto; and (iii) Scherzo: Allegro scherzando.

Konig is a young German conductor.  In the past I have always complained that the NJSO does poorly under a guest conductor.  Though not inspiring, tonight I thought they did okay.

The was the last of the 5-concert NJSO classical series in Red Bank.  I was disappointed at the number of empty seats in the concert hall.  In any case, NJSO has a sale on for next season, and I bought the one for Red Bank.