David Geffen
Hall at Lincoln Center. Orchestra (Seat
Y105, $54.50).
Program
Kleine
Dreigroschenmusik (Little Threepenny Music) for Wind Ensemble (1928-29) by
Weill (1900-50).
Piano Concerto
(2016) by HK Gruber (b. 1943).
Symphony No. 2 in
B-flat major, D. 125 (1814-15) by Schubert (1797-1828).
Other than for
the title, which I have known for a while, I know very little about the
Threepenny Opera. The suite we heard
today was a 22-minute piece extracted from the 90-minute opera by the composer
Kurt Weill soon after the opera debuted.
The Playbill has quite a bit of background on Weill and the piece, for
tonight’s music, what suffices is the summary of the plot provided by David
Drew: “The gangster Macheath ‘marries’ Polly Peachum, whose father is boss of
London’s beggars; flees Peachum’s wrath; is betrayed by the whore Jenny;
escapes; is recaptured, taken to the gallows, and miraculously reprieved.” The titles of the numbers are close to being
self-explanatory: Overture (Maestoso), The Moritat of Mack the Knife (Moderato
assai), The Instead-of Song (Moderato), The Ballad of the Easy Life (Fox-Trot
molto leggiero), Polly’s Song (Andante con moto), Tango-Ballad, Cannon Song
(Charleston Tempo), and Threepenny Finale.
The ensemble
probably had quite a few extras in it, as saxophonist, banjoist, and guitarist
are not usually in a symphonic orchestra’s roster. What we thought was an accordion was actually
a bandoleon, which were first produced in Germany but became popular in South
America. Knowing what it is doesn’t mean
I could pick up its sound from the ensemble, though. And when did banjo and guitar get classified
as wind instruments?
The Bandoleon.
Wind Ensemble that Performed Weill's Piece.
In any case, it
was an interesting composition. I could
follow along with what I read in the Playbill, which was a good thing. The opera is probably more interesting
though. The music went about as
expected, but I could feel some awkwardness as the orchestra tried to morph
into a big band, with Gilbert trying to be the band leader.
Heinz Karl Gruber
is “one of Austria’s most admired composers,” and was composer/conductor of BBC
Philharmonic (Manchester), yet today was my first encounter with him. The piano concerto was commissioned by New
York Phil and others, with Ax as the soloist.
While not written for virtuosity’s sake, it was written for Ax’s hands
and musical gifts (in the composer’s words.)
Based on Gruber’s 2014 opera “Tales from the Vienna Woods,” the concerto
supposedly has the piano as tip of an iceberg, with the orchestra serving as an
echo chamber for the “factual” discourse between the pianist, the harp and the
tuned percussion. It will be all good if
I could hear the harp, which didn’t come across at all to my usually
acoustically good seat. The harpist was
a man, so definitely wasn’t Nancy Allen.
The percussion came across fine, though.
Ax came on stage
with his usually smile and exuberance, music score in hand. He was all serious when going through the
score, and one could see the tremors in the page-turners hands. Against a full orchestra, the piano sometimes
didn’t come through.
I suspect I can
eventually get to understand and appreciate the music, but not after one
listen. As with many of these modern
compositions, it will be more of an intellectual understanding than an
emotional one, at least for me.
Gilbert, Gruber, and Ax after Performance of the Piano Concerto.
The
concertmaster had quite a few solo passages, and Huang generally did fine,
although a bit weak at times. Again, a
better violin?
When one thinks
of child prodigy composers, one usually thinks of Mozart, and that’s probably
the right answer. Lately, however, I
have come to appreciate Mendelssohn (have been listening to his violin sonatas)
and Schubert, who both died in their 30s.
This concerto was written when Schubert was 18.
I am sure this
was my first encounter with the music (too rushed to find out), and it was easy
to understand and to like. Indeed many
of the tunes sounded quite familiar. The
Playbill talks about how Schubert imitated the styles of Haydn, Mozart, and
Beethoven. I must say I heard a lot of
Haydn, some Mozart, but very little Beethoven.
The movements are Largo – Allegro vivace, Andante, Menuetto: Allegro
vivace – Trio, and Presto vivace. The
orchestra put in a spirited rendition, and the audience showed their
appreciation by applauding at the conclusion of a couple of the movements.
The New YorkTimes review “Concert Hall, Meet Cabaret” is an apt title, refer to it for a
blow-by-blow description of the piano concerto.
Little is said about the Weill and Schubert pieces, though. The reviewer also pointed out the “extras”
are from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
Our drives in
and back were both quite straightforward.
This was our first concert this year, while the concert was fine, I
would have preferred a more memorable one (not exactly in what sense, though.)
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