New Jersey Symphony Orchestra – Xian Zhang, conductor; Derek Fenstermacher, tuba; Ying Li, piano; Zitong Wang, piano. April 8, 2017.

State Theatre, New Brunswick.  Balcony.  (Seat G115, $37).

Program

Internet Symphony No. 1, “Eroica” (2008) by Tan Dun (b. 1957).

Tuba Concerto in F Minor (1954) by Vaughan Williams (1872-1958).

The Carnival of the Animals (1886) by Saint-Saens (1835-1921).

Bolero (1928) by Ravel (1875-1937).

The concert was billed as “Ravel’s Bolero” which didn’t do justice to the program.  Both the Tan and Vaughan Williams pieces were NJSO premieres, and Saint-Saens piece is equally interesting – and longer – as Ravel’s Bolero.  I wonder if more people would have bought tickets with a title that is more descriptive than the one offered.

Tan, best known for the musical score for “Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon,” was commissioned by Google and YouTube for an internet premiere a few years back.  I knew about the piece, and had always thought it was a substantial piece of composition.  I was surprised that the music lasted only 5 minutes or so (duration given as 6 minutes in the Program, and as 4 by Robert Wagner, the principal bassoon who spoke before the concert.)  Even more surprising is the claim that it consisted of four movements; I tried my best and could make a case for three.  The other unconventional aspect was the use of tire rims and brakes: their pitches seemed calibrated.  The overall effect was quite pleasant, and definitely worth a second listen.  I should remark we had heard a piece by Lindberg which also employed various pieces curated from a junkyard; and that was written in the mid-1980s, three decades before Tan did this.  Wagner did ask the percussionist to demonstrate the sounds of these “instruments,” which helped.  He also asked the horn to demonstrate the “whooping sound” it would make during the performance.  These certainly helped clarify things for the audience.  Finally, Tan supposedly quoted a lot from Beethoven’s Eroica symphony.  All I heard was the main theme played by the violins.

On YouTube there is a recording with music score.  The score looked complex enough: I counted 28 lines.  The music didn’t sound nearly as complex, and one gets the idea that Tan ran out of idea and had to resort to a lot of doubling and repetition.  And other than tempo changes, I had a hard time finding the four movements.  I must, however, I didn’t mind listening to it a second time.  (That it was short helped, no doubt.)

I can name the number of tuba concertos I know: one.  And before this concert?  Zero.  One seldom hears a clear tuba line in any classical orchestral music, the instrument tends to just provide the ump-pa at low frequencies.  The instrument turns out to have quite a range (from D1 to F4, per a Wikipedia article.  Again, one can find the score on YouTube, and it is incredible that such complex tunes can be played on such a “bulky” (for lack of a better word) instrument.  One would think even if the fingers are nimble enough to make the moves, it is not clear that the air in the instrument can respond that quickly.  This seems to be confirmed both by the YouTube performance, and the performance by Fenstermacher, NJSO’s principal tuba player.  It was a good attempt, and it showcased how beautiful the tuba can sound.  This short 10-minute piece is comprised of three movements, which are (i) Prelude: Allegro moderato, (ii) Romanza: Andante sostenuto; and (iii) Finale – Rondo all tedesca: Allegro.  There was no confusion about the movements in this piece.

Per Wikipedia, Vaughan Williams wrote this piece for the London Symphony Orchestra’s principal tuba Philip Catelinet.  Initially thought of as an eccentric idea, the piece eventually became one of the composer’s more popular pieces.  Wagner, in his introduction, said this was the first time the piece was performed by the NJSO.  Perhaps “popular” is relative.  The Program Notes described how Vaughan Williams treated the instrument in a serious manner, minimizing its jocular side.

Fenstermacher after performing Vaughan Williams's Tuba Concerto.  

For encore we heard a movement from a Bach Partita.  Despite Fenstermacher’s best efforts, one couldn’t but wonder how Bach would disapprove: there was no way to string different parts together from the disjoint notes.

Saint-Saens wrote The Carnival suite as a lark, over the course of a few days.  It got so popular that Saint-Saens withdrew most of the work, worried that it would be considered typical of his compositions.  That was unfounded worry, and in any case Saint-Saens allowed the complete work to be published after his death.  It was easy to follow the description of the different movements by how the music sounded.  They are (i) Introduction and Royal March of the Lion, (ii) Hens and Roosters, (iii) Horses of the Tartary (Fleet Animals), (iv) Tortoises, (v) The Elephant, (vi) Kangaroos, (vii) Aquarium, (viii) People with Long Ears, (ix) The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Forest, (x) Aviary, (xi) Pianists, (xii) Fossils, (xiii) The Swan, and (xiv) Finale.  The Program Notes also contains some interesting tidbits about various movements, such as the use of the tune “jingle jingle little star.”  Even though the bass was a bit weak (perhaps that’s the range), and “The Swan” was played a tad too fast, the soloists all fared quite well.  The two pianists are Curtis students from China.  With the pianos facing each other, their hand movements sometimes are quite pleasant to watch.

The two pianists worked well together during the performance of The Carnival of the Animals.

The headline piece rivals The Carnival Suite in popularity.  In some sense this is an introduction to the various instruments of the orchestra: the flute, various clarinets, and others.  When played well, one is amazed at how Ravel manages to build a simple tune up into a climax. The piece started soft enough: Anne was saying it was so soft that instead we heard the humming of the gentleman sitting in front of us.  Unfortunately, despite the (shall I say) frantic urging of Zhang, the volume never built up to a level I expected.  I do appreciate how the snare drum kept its beat throughout.

The nj.com review is generally positive.  The reviewer also had problems with how Ravel was performed.

Overall this was an enjoyable concert experience.  I just realized NJSO doesn’t allow photos during their concerts, which is a bit puzzling as one would think they want as much buzz as possible given the typical attendance at their concerts.  Someone at NJSO needs to research how to make use of social media.  Their counterpart across the Hudson manages to find a way to make the accommodation.