Basie Center, Red Bank, NJ. Balcony (Seat J110, $36.)
Program
Don Juan, Op.
20 (1888) by Strauss (1864-1949).
Violin Concerto, Op. 15 (1939) by Britten (1913-1976).
Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, “Rhenish,” Op. 97 (1850)
by Schumann (1810-1856).
The heading for this concert, “Augustin Hadelich Returns,”
was the main reason I bought tickets for this event. We had seen Hadelich a few times before, and
were always impressed with the way he played.
For those not familiar with the violin repertoire (such
as I), the Britten and Barber violin concertos must sound somewhat
interchangeable. Indeed they were both
written around 1940.
Nothing can be further from the truth. While there are difficult passages in Barber
(which we heard Frank Huang perform with the NY Phil a couple of days ago,)
there is quite a bit of lyricism in that composition. The tunes in tonight’s piece are not as readily
hummable, and the entire work has a very different feel to it, structurally and
harmonically. From the very beginning of
the first movement (Moderato con moto) we heard this rhythm da-dot-dot-da-da (long
shortx2 long long) which stayed throughout the movement and provided the surreal
quality to the work. It reminds me of
the theme in Shostakovich’s cello concerto.
The soloist would soon launch into these triple stops and fast double
stops that would give pause to most violin students. (I remember the dread I felt when as part of
an exam I had to play an etude of triple stops.)
It gets more difficult from there. Quoting the Program Notes on the second
movement: “The perpetual motion of the Scherzo [vivace] requires extraordinary
technique. The solo part abouts in
harmonics, glissandi, scales in thirds, sixths, octaves and 10ths (10ths!),
demanding great virtuosity.” The words
are difficult, the execution of the music is even more difficult. While not flawless (mostly intonation
problems during the slow passages,) Hadelich impressed with how he seemed to
breeze through the music.
The third movement [Passacaglia: Andante lento (un poco
meno mosso)] follows a cadenza. This
movement ends on a trill on the violin that doesn’t try to resolve anything (“leaves
us feeling uncertain and searching,” per the Program Notes.) The piece is performed without pause,
although it was easy to tell what movement was being performed.
Hadelich’s 1723 “Ex-Kiesewetter” Strad rose above the
orchestra; and we are talking about a large complement of musicians, including
the tuba and multiple percussion instruments.
I was surprised that the violin sounded a bit harsh at times, though.
Augustin Hadelich at the end of the Britten violin concerto.
I was disappointed that there was no encore. I was ready to listen to another Paganini caprice.
Don Juan was
one of the ten tone poems Strauss composed, telling a rather familiar – though abridged
– story. It was easy enough to follow the
different sections and correlate them with the chapters in Don Juan’s life,
including love scenes (by the violin and the oboe.) The Program Notes noted that the piece is
demanding on the French horns, and they came through.
One of the characteristics of Schumann’s Rhenish Symphony
is that it has five movements. The movement
markings are: Lebhaft, Scherzo: Sehr massig, Nicht schnell, Feierlich, and
Lebhaft. The Feierlich (solemn) movement
was initially titled “in the style of an accompaniment to a solemn ceremony,”
probably the result of his trip to Cologne where they saw the installation of a
Cardinal at the town’s cathedral. Even
though Schumann withdrew these descriptions prior to publication, the name “Cathedral
Scene” has stuck. It was easy to imagine
the Rhine in the background as the symphony is performed.
Koenig used every available gesture to lead the
orchestra, including crouching down at several moments. Whatever his method, the orchestra responded
well with a precise and nuanced rendition of the music.
Anne and I met up in Red Bank since we were occupied with
different things during the day. (I
attended long-time friend and colleague Brian’s memorial service in Randolph.)
The balcony was quite empty, and we moved up two rows after Don Juan – it made
quite a difference.
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