NY Brass Arts Trio. July 2, 2019.

Richardson Auditorium, Princeton, NJ.  Balcony (Front Center, free).

Program

Three Sinfonias by Bach (1685-1750) (arr. Jolley).

Trio in C Major, Op. 87 by Beethoven (1770-1827) (arr. Avitsur).

Till Eulenspiegel by Strauss (1864-1949) (arr. Jolley).

Selections from Pulcinella Suite by Stravinsky (1882-1971) (arr. Jolley).

Three Children’s Songs by Chick Corea (b. 1941) (arr. Burgstaller).

Selections from Porgy and Bess by Gershwin (1898-1937).

Libertango by Piazzolla (1921-1992) (arr. Burgstaller).

Artists

Joe Burgstaller, trumpet; David Jolley, French horn; Haim Avitsur, trombone.

The Princeton University Summer Chamber Concerts puts out four events in early summer, our schedule this year allowed us to attend only this concert.

Evidently the three gentlemen are world-class artists in their respective instruments, and all teach at various schools at at least the “associate professor” level (Peabody, Mannes School of music, University of Hartford, and others).  They also said a few words about each of the pieces, and threw in some humor that might or might not work.

The unfortunate fact is the repertoire for this combination of instruments is very limited.  As jotted down in the “Program” section of this entry, many of the pieces performed tonight were arranged by the Trio members themselves.  The majority of them didn’t quite work musically, at least in my way of understanding music.

The program started with three sinfonias by Bach (Allegro, Andante molto expressivo, and Allegro).  When I listen to Bach I go for his counterpoints and architectural constructions.  His sinfonias are 3-part contrapuntal pieces, so one would think the effect could be simulated with three brass instruments.  Alas, I heard little counterpoint in the three selections played this evening.

Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto is listed as Op. 73 and was composed in 1809.  His trio for two oboes and English horn, Op. 87, was written in 1795 – go figure.  I don’t know how each of the original instruments map into tonight’s arrangement, but things again didn’t sound as harmonious as I would expect, especially from an early Beethoven work. The movements are Allegro, Adagio, Menuetto, and Finale.

The fully fledged Till Eulenspiegel is performed by a large symphonic orchestra.  My blog entry indicates that I enjoyed it in 2015, even though I have little recollection of it.  If I remember correctly, Strauss had extracted a shorter version of the composition, and that was adapted for tonight.  It should be relatively easy for three brass instruments to mimic the pranks and chaos the music describes, and they did fine.  I do appreciate (was it) Jolley pointing out the Till theme.

In between his early sensations such as The Firebird and his adoption of the 12-tone scale starting in the 1950s, Stravinsky underwent a neo-classical period.  The selections from the Pulcinella Suite were easy enough to grasp and reminded me of what a brass ensemble should sound like.

A couple of the musicians turned into piano accompanists for Corea’s “Three Children Songs.”

Despite the entry in the program, there was one selection from Porgy and Bess: Summertime.  We heard this played by the NJSO in their outdoor concert a few days ago, and the NJSO put in a more enjoyable performance, bad sound system notwithstanding.

The program concluded with Piazzolla’s Libertango.  Wikipedia describes this work as marking Piazzolla’s break from classical tango.  If I recall correctly, the piece we heard from the NJSO was also in this Nuevo genre – or it was the same piece.  In any case, as David remarked to me, Piazzolla certainly seemed to be in vogue these days.  Or there is a herd mentality at work.

Curtain Call.  There were altogether three trumpets used for this concert.

I am amazed at how long this write-up is, and it is a tribute to the interesting remarks by the musicians.  That my enjoyment of the actual concert wasn’t at the same level, is perhaps a tribute to their skill as teachers.  That’s a charitable way of putting it.  The standard remark is … those who can’t, teach.

Our friends David and Vivien came back from Leipzig a few days ago, after attending the Bach Festival in that city.  We spent time at Panera Bread before the concert, although Vivien went to Richardson Auditorium to make sure we have good seats.  It was good to be able to catch up.