David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. Orchestra (Seat T108, $50).
Pre-Concert Recital
Rhapsody in E-flat major, Op. 119, No. 4 (1893) by Brahms
(1833-1897).
Reminisceneces de Don Juan (1841) by Liszt (1811-1886).
Dominc Cheli, piano.
Program
The Chairman Dances (1985) by Adams (b. 1947).
Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K.216 (1775) by Mozart
(1756-1791).
Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21 (1799-1800) by
Beethoven (1770-1827).
I studied (in a cursory manner) Brahms’s piano compositions
numbered Op. 11X (e.g., Op. 119, simply titled “Four Pieces”) many years ago,
and retain some familiarity with the Rhapsody played in tonight’s preconcert. I could make out the structure of the piece,
but not the subtleties. Nonetheless, it sounded
more like a meditative piece rather than the brilliance and playfulness one
associates with, say, ones by Liszt and Gershwin.
Liszt’s piece is based on Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni. While I am generally aware of the story
behind the opera, I am familiar with only two of the tunes, one of them, “La ci
darem la mano” is used extensively in this rather long composition by Liszt.
The Program Notes notes that Liszt’s conception “rearranges the opera’s moods,
offering doom seduction, and high living in that order.” I was just blown away by how difficult the
piece appeared (I looked at the score beforehand) and how Cheli seemed to coax
the different moods from the piece. A
better knowledge of the opera probably would have helped with the enjoyment,
but I was nonetheless mesmerized by how demanding the piece was. At some point one wonders if the fingers move
faster than a video camera can catch the movements (30 fps); I will do some
calculations to find out.
Dominic Cheli put in impressive performances of works by Brahms and Liszt.
The “classical” parts of today’s program are from the
respective composer’s early periods. Mozart
was all of 19 when he wrote his third violin concerto. This is a piece popular with violinists early
in their student careers, not too difficult, but has enough showmanship to highlight
one’s skills. Lozakovich, all of 16
years old, gave a lovely rendition of it.
As with many of these popular concertos, I have in my mind a way it
should be performed. So for me he put
too strong an accent on some of the notes, and slowed down too much on some of
the notes. So there are different ways
to get the job done, and the audience applauded after every movement. This unfortunately became the practice for
the entire concert.
Lozakovich and Langree after the Mozart violin concerto.
For encore Lozakovich played Bach’s Sarabande, a piece
that was a bit beyond his grasp. A well-played Bach violin solo would sound
like chamber music, here he was struggling to get the notes out correctly.
I wonder if this was an opportunity missed for this young
man.
Many consider Mozart’s violin sonatas less intellectual
(for lack of a better adjective) than his later works; I don’t recall similar
remarks being made about Beethoven’s first symphony (he was 29 at the
time.) And it was indeed a full-blown, mature
work, only “simple” when compared with his later symphonies.
This was a well-performed work. Many different instruments got a workout, and
met the challenges beautifully.
After Beethoven's First Symphony.
“Nixon in China” was one of John Adams’s operas, and “The
Chairman’s Dance” was an elaboration of material from that opera, with a
storyline somewhat like Salome (the Program Notes has Adams’s description of
the scene.) Unfortunately, the storyline
was a lot more interesting than the music, which sounded a bit monotonous.
There were some interesting percussion instruments scored, including these two
plates that made a sound when rubbed against each other – I was wondering if
static electric would be generated as a result.
The Evening's Program started with John Adams's "The Chairman's Dance."
Getting in for the pre-concert meant we had to hurry with
our meal; today we had Chinese takeout.
Weather has been good so far: all our meals were eaten in the woods by
the Opera House.
No comments:
Post a Comment