Prudential Hall at NJPAC, Newark. Orchestra (Seat C106, $38).
Program
Overture to Candide
(1955-56) by Bernstein (1918-1990).
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77 (1878) by Brahms
(1833-1897).
Symphony No. 1 in D Major (1884-88; rev. 1893-96, 1906)
by Mahler (1860-1911).
The pieces on the program are all well-known.
Candide is one of Bernstein’s most famous compositions,
and this year many ensembles perform Bernstein’s work as he was born 100 years
ago. Indeed in April the Monmouth Civic
Chorus had an all-Bernstein program as a commemoration. The overture contains some of the most
memorable melodies in the oper(ett)a, and most who hear it would silently hum
or tap along. That does not make it an
easy piece, with some of the quick runs testing the precision of the
orchestra. Despite a muddled phrase here
or there, the orchestra put in an exciting performance, with a huge range in
dynamics, and didn’t shy away from the fast tempo needed.
Brahms’s violin concerto is often compared to that of
Beethoven’s (fairly or not), although it sounds (and is) more difficult and
complex than Beethoven’s, also in D Major.
There was no reason to doubt Shaham’s ability to pull it off with clarity
and aplomb; our seat in the front of the orchestra gave us a great vantage
point (not the third row, the rows go inexplicably AA-FF, followed by A). One comment I have always made is “Shaham
needs a lot of space” as he moves from close to the conductor’s podium to close
to being on top of the violins; and he often has this grin while the soloist
has his silent moments. The concerto is
difficult, requiring precision figuring and bowing. Even though Shaham was all business when he
was playing, and seemed to take great care especially during the many double
stop passages, he had to be familiar enough with the piece that every now and
then there was the impression that it was just a day at the office for
him. Consequently I felt less excitement
about the piece than I normally do.
Shaham and Zhang at conclusion of Brahms's violin concerto.
After many years of listening to Mahler and Bruckner, I
can appreciate the differences in style between the two composers. Mahler’s first symphony, however, is very
different from his later ones. One thing
I didn’t know (or forgot) about Mahler was he also revised his composition
extensively over long periods of time. Per
today’s Program Notes, he did it with the first symphony for 22 years. Despite all that, the first three movements
remain quite different from his subsequent works. I don’t know how many times I have heard this
symphony, but these movements all sounded quite familiar (Langsam Schleppend,
Kraftig bewegt, and Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen). They are all characterized as bright and happy. The last movement (Sturmisch bewegt) is of a
completely different character and is more in line with the majority of his
work – wandering, painful to the degree of screaming. The piece lasts 53 minutes (per Program
Notes) and I enjoyed nearly every minute of it.
The Program Notes had two statements about this symphony
that I take issue with. First was that
the third movement begins with “the best-known string bass solo in the
orchestra repertoire.” It is true in the
sense that this is the only solo I know of (and there can’t be that many.) However, the melody is short as others soon
join in, simple, and not all that memorable by itself. The other statement is that the fourth
movement’s duration is “nearly as long as the three prior movements combined.” True only if one thinks 23 minutes is as long
as 30 minutes (roughly). Nothing wrong
with the statements, except they raised unmet expectations.
While the “headline” for the concert is “Shaham plays
Brahms,” the concerto also could be considered a bold statement by the NJSO and
their Music Director Zhang that the organization can do a credible job with a
challenging program. While I heard better
performances of each of the pieces (notably by the orchestra across the
Hudson), I am glad they pulled it off.
We were in Hoboken last night so it was easy to get to
Newark for this 1:30 pm concert.
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