Prudential Hall at NJPAC, Newark. Orchestra (Seat D104, $38.)
Program
Suite No. 2 in D Major from Water Music (1717), HWV 349 by Handel (1685-1759).
Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15 (1795, rev. 1800)
by Beethoven (1770-1827).
Improvisations
by Levin.
Symphony No. 5 in D Major, “Reformation,” Op. 107 (1830,
rev. 1832) by Mendelssohn (1809-1847).
With the NJSO, one never knows how guest artists would
work out. I had not heard neither the
conductor nor the pianist before, and didn’t have a chance to look into the
program – actually I thought it was the Brandenburg concertos. I was happy with what I heard. Not necessarily an intellectually stimulating
program, but a fun one. Very appropriate
for a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.
Handel’s Water Music was an hour long program. In part due to royal blessing, it “promptly
became the rage of London.” Handel and
his publishers compiled three suites out of the music. The second suite consists of five movements:
(i) Allegro, (ii) Alla Hornpipe, (iii) Minuet; (iv) Lentement; and (v) Bourree. (ii), (iii), and (v) are dances. The orchestration supposedly highlighted the
strengths of the royal orchestra in winds, and the sound would carry well
outdoors. Not quick music one feels
compelled to sing along, but pleasant to listen nonetheless.
Robert Levin teaches at Harvard and Julliard, need one
say more? The Program Notes mentions his
work in restoring the Classical period practice of improvised embellishments
and cadenzas, and that he is a noted theorist and Mozart scholar. The first Beethoven piano concerto certainly
allowed him to highlight the practices he wanted to restore. They included “riffing” (as he put it) at the
piano during the orchestra tutti passages, improvised embellishments (frankly I
don’t know the “standard” music well enough to appreciate them), and different
cadenzas every time he performs the music (I will have to take his word for
it.) The performance itself was quite
enjoyable, but the audience probably spent more time trying to catch these “new
things” than to appreciate the music.
Which was fine.
McGregan and Levin after performing the Beethoven Concerto.
Levin then explained what he would do with “improvisation,”
which was to be real time. He asked members
of the audience to write themes and put them in a jar, and he would pick three
of them and string some music together.
There were quite a few entries submitted, and he “randomly” picked (I
think) a theme from the TV series Honeymooers, a phrase in a Beethoven
symphony, and the starting theme of the last movement of the Spring
Sonata. Sure enough he put on a show,
transitioning rather effortlessly from one theme to another. It was fun to watch, but frankly it was more
like an amusing lounge act. The level of
difficulty should be well within reach for someone trained in this art – not that
I can do it.
If one wonders why a work written by a 20-year old
Mendelssohn would be labeled Op. 107, the answer is the work was published
posthumously. The work was intended to
commemorate the 1530 Augsburg Conference, and the young composer permeated the
work with Protestant themes, including “The Mighty Fortress is our God” by Martin
Luther. The other theme is the Dresden
Amen, with I didn’t know, at least not by that name. In any case, the work is yet another
illustration of the genius of Mendelssohn.
As with Mozart, one wonders what could have been if he had lived longer.
The Dresden Amen per Wikipedia.
Generally the orchestra put in a good performance. One complaint today, however, was some strings
stood out, which is a fundamental “no-no.”
I liked the way McGegan conducted. He got the players attention when he needed
it, let them be when appropriate.
We exchanged another NJSO program for this one because of
schedule conflict. That was supposed to
be the Brandenburg, explaining partly my confusion. Turns out Orchestra Row D isn’t the fourth row
from stage, as there is another section in front that starts with Row AA. And behind the main orchestra section there
are single letter rows again. There must
be a simpler way to label the seats.
Before the main program some young people from the “El
Sistema New Jersey Alliance” performed a couple of short pieces (William Tell Overture and Somewhere from West Side Story). It must be
exciting to get on a main stage for them.
The Orchestra from the El Sistema New Jersey Alliance. The Sister Cities Girlchoir would join them for "Somewhere" from West Side Story.
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