Wednesday, June 03, 2015

New York Philharmonic – Susanna Malkki, conductor; Kirill Gerstein, piano. May 21, 2015.

Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, First Tier Center (Seat CC10, $64.50.)

Program
Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a (1873) by Brahms (1833-97).
Tranquil Abiding (1998) by Jonathan Harvey (1939-2012).
Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15 (1858) by Brahms.

Nathan and Sharon are in town, so we decided to make an evening of it by having dinner followed by a concert.  Even though I thought I left in time, early summer traffic, on a Thursday before the long Memorial Day weekend, proved to be quite heavy.  We were a bit late getting to dinner at Atlantic Grill. The place was packed and service was slower than the last time I visited, so it was eat, ask for the check, pay, and walk quickly to Lincoln Center.  Anne had to leave earlier to pick up the concert tickets, I moved a couple of our concerts to get four tickets.  Even though the concert was nearly sold out, I still managed rather good seats in the First Tier.

There is quite a bit of discussion in the Playbill about how well designed the Variations are, including how wonderful it is that the 5-measure theme manages to sound balanced.  The theme (Chorale St. Antoni) is familiar, and the variations delightful.  They are different from some other variations (say, Rachmaninoff’s variations on a theme by Paganini) in that it was relatively easy to relate the different movements to one another.  Brahms liked to collect old works, and had copied the theme in 1870 (still a teenager.) This work has made the Haydn theme very well-known, thus it is quite ironic that most musicologists now believe Haydn didn’t write the tune.  Brahms also published the same work (Op. 56b) for two pianos.

As a listener the 19 or so minute piece is light-hearted and easy-listening.  I would need the score, and a lot of time, to appreciate the subtleties of the work.  In addition to the theme (Andante) and the Finale (Andante), there are eight variations: poco piu animato, piu vivace, con moto, andante con moto, vivace, vivace, grazioso, and presto non troppo.

Of the two Brahms’ piano concertos, I usually prefer the more serene and subtle No. 2.  I didn’t realize this was written when Brahms was only about 25, that he was the soloist at its premiere, and that it took a lot of persuasion by Joachim before Brahms would publish the work.  Today’s performance was certainly majestic and enjoyable.  The balance was uniformly great (for our seats), and both the piano and the orchestra held their own as equal partners.  Actually right at this moment I can’t recall the tunes in Concerto No. 2.  (I am inside BA8004 EWR-Paris Orly as I type this; and I did find the second concerto in my iPhone.)

I believe this is the first time we heard Gerstein, and he is certainly impressive.  For someone as careful as Brahms, it certainly took a long time to say what he wanted to say (about fifty minutes, with three movements Maestoso, Adagio, and Rondo – Allegro non troppo.  I did find the second movement a bit too slow, but was surprised to find that it was quite long at more than fifteen minutes – it felt much shorter than that, makes me wonder if they edited some parts out.

Jonathan Harvey was a British composer who died in 2012 from motor neuron disease.  His daily routine was a “Buddhist inspired meditation” although he claimed not be a Buddhist.  Having written work relating to other religions (Hinduism, for instance,) this piece suggests a Buddhist concept.  The Playbill quotes the composer “It’s for music to articulate the true nature of man in his blissful, enlightened forms.  No less than that should be demanded.  It’s a way of charm and simplicity which no verbal concepts, least of all mine, can ever encapsulate.”  With remarks like that, I can imagine being inside a monastery, with the percussion (including bamboo clusters and bells) providing the requisite sounds.  Sharon summed it up best: very zen.

I think both the orchestra and the audience need to be tuned to this “zen” for the music to be effective.  In my case, I tried to analyze the piece, catch the structure as outlined in the Playbill, and watch the different percussion instruments at work.  This resulted in my not able to listen to the music and to put myself in it.

We saw Susanna Malkki in a Mostly Mozart concert a couple of years ago, and she’s quite competent.  She seemed too mechanical in how she led the Harvey piece, although I certainly couldn’t blame her for that, and in the Brahms’ piece I didn’t find the great inspiration I associate with a great conductor.  But I will go to another of his concerts.


Afterwards we said our goodbyes to Nathan and Sharon, and drove back to NJ. 

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