David Geffen
Hall at Lincoln Center, Orchestra (Seat HH111, $64).
Program -
Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival.
Week 2.
Russian Theme,
Op. 11, No. 3 (1894; orch. A. Leytush).
Piano Conerto
No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40 (1926; rev. 1927/41).
Symphony No. 1
in D minor, Op. 13 (1895).
We had very good
seats for the Thursday concert, but couldn’t make it. There were very few seats left when we tried
to do the exchange, and Anne and I ended up sitting in separate sections (she
had EE101, a much better seat.)
The interesting
thing about this program is all the pieces belong in the more obscure part of
Rachmaninoff’s work. Most people know of
the piano concerto and the symphony. I
suspect few had heard of Op. 11, which consists of six piano duets, “a
collection of straightforward pieces of limited technical challenge that range
through popular musical genres,” per the Playbill. The orchestration was done in 2011. This is the first time the music is performed
by the New York Philharmonic.
It was indeed a
simple-sounding piece with the principal theme repeated multiple times. An enjoyable five minutes, nonetheless. It was a bit strange that the audience took a
while before they started to applaud.
Rachmaninoff’s
first symphony was so poorly received at its premiere that the composer stopped
composing for a while, resuming only after seeking psychological help from a
doctor. The symphony itself went into
obscurity, and was performed the second time 48 years later, after the
composer’s death. And this series of
concerts constitute its premiere with the orchestra.
Unfortunately, I
am not sure I managed to appreciate the performance any more than the first
listeners did. Among the brutal comments
is this one by Cesar Cui: “If there were a conservatory in Hell, …, then he
would have fulfilled his task brilliantly …” I would only attribute the
scratching of my head to my limited knowledge of music. There are nice moments and interesting constructions
in the composition; and to be fair, the 45 minutes went by rather quickly. While I didn’t know enough about Russian
liturgical chants to hear them, I certainly got the many references to Dies
Irae in the first movement. The four
movements are Grave – Allegro ma non troppo, Allegro animato, Larghetto, and
Allegro con brio.
Compared to the
two orchestral pieces, the piano concerto is downright popular. It was last performed by the orchestra in
2004. Last revised in 1941, it certainly
showed a lot of maturity compared with the composer’s earlier works. A couple of curious facts about the piece. First, the 1941 version has 192 measures
excised from the original version as it was considered too long. At a tempo of (say) 90, 4/4 time, that is
about 8 minutes, which would have made the “original” about 32 minutes, not all
that long. Second, Rachmaninoff
considered the fact that the orchestra is almost never silent a fault; I am not
sure why that’s a problem. The three movements are Allegro vivace, Largo, and
Allegro vivace.
Compared to
other times I heard Trifonov, today’s performance didn’t feel nearly as
intimate. Part of the can be attributed
to the acoustics, the piano sounded weaker than usual and often couldn’t be
heard above the orchestra. I could hear
the Gershwin influence mentioned in the Playbill, but not the Ravel. He played a short encore that was more
delightful than virtuoso, which is fine by me.
One thing I did
notice about Rachmaninoff’s work: the movements often end abruptly. When he was done, he was done; not the type
that would put in a long coda.
Interesting, as his music tends to be on the sentimental side.
There are a few
well-known conductors with the last name Jarvi, and Neeme is the father. His conducting was economical, but produced a
good sound from the orchestra. He
certainly showed a lot of stamina for a 78 year old. Only curious fact was he didn’t walk offstage
with Trifonov after the concerto.
The audience
applauded after each of the symphony’s movements, and Jarvi turned around to
acknowledge the crowd. For me it’s just
another reason to lose faith in this concert-going crowd.
I thought it is
interesting to program the less popular compositions of Rachmaninoff, something
probably won’t be done in a “regular” program with a Rachmaninoff piece. A sophisticated listen can contrast how
diverse the composer’s music can be.
Regrettably I don’t have that level of sophistication. In any case, perhaps that’s why a
Rachmaninoff Festival makes sense?
The New York Timesreview, titled “Resurrecting a Pair of Rachmaninoff’s Flops,” raves about
Trifonov’s playing, but is harsh on the orchestra and the conductor, relegating
them to an afterthought.
We have been
staying in Jersey City, so the rides into and out of NYC were
straightforward. Dinner was again pizza
on Columbus Ave.
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