David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. Orchestra (Seat O6, $52.50).
Program
Romeo and Juliet, Overture-Fantasy (1869, rev.
1870 and 1880) by Tchaikovsky (1840-93).
Wires (2016) by Bryce Dessner (b. 1976).
Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39 (1898-99, rev. 1900) by
Sibelius (1865-1957).
There were several firsts with this concert. This series of concerts was the debut for
both the conductor and the soloist; this was the first time the electric guitar
was a featured solo instrument in a New York Phil classical concert (called an
orchestral concert in the Playbill); and this was also the premiere for Dessner’s
composition.
For me – it turned out – both the Tchaikovsky and the
Sibelius were unfamiliar. I did a search
of this blog just now, I have heard the Tchaikovsky piece once, performed by
the Moscow State Symphony, back in 2014.
Of the many encounters with Sibelius, not once did I hear Symphony No. 1
(No. 4 seems very popular, on par with his violin concerto). It was well into the piece (about 10 minutes)
that the familiar theme in Romeo and Juliet appeared for the first time, and it
was (close to) worth the wait.
Per Playbill, some “wags” have called the first Sibelius
symphony Tchaikovsky’s seventh (the Pathetique was written in 1893);
interestingly, Sibelius liked to compare the last movement of the symphony
(appropriately titled: Final (quasi un fantasia) – Andante – Allegro molto)
with Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, written quite a bit earlier in 1830. In any case, Sibelius was one of the last
composers of the symphonic tradition, one challenged by the Liszt-Wagner camp.
Despite my unfamiliarity with this symphony, I found it
“easy-listening” and enjoyable. The
first three movements are Andante ma no troppo – Allegro energico; Andante ma
non troppo lento; and Scherzo: Allegro.
The “easy-listening” was in no small part due to my
experience with Dessner’s Wires.
First of all, I have limited knowledge of the range of sounds the
electric guitar could make, so it took a lot of concentration just to pick up
the instrument. On top of that, the
music – while not grating on the ears – was not easy to follow. While the sentence “I was thinking just about
[how] instead of sending e-mails we used to send wires” makes sense on the
surface, I have no idea how that comparison was realized in the music. The Playbill specifically mentioned two other
wired instruments in the ensemble: the harp and the piano, my question is why
weren’t they at the front of the stage.
I could hear the piano, but couldn’t see it at all from my seat.
Dessner and Rouvali. The white object to the right of Dessner is the amplifier.
After the performance of Sibelius's First Symphony.
And I am sure some string players were chuckling as they
went through a col legno passage, perhaps an indication they didn’t know what
was going on either?
A somewhat un-related remark: this orchestra does have a
great sound that one could always count on.
I say that thinking about NJ Symphony, still on occasion a hit-or-miss
affair. Nearly all the principals were
missing today, from the concertmaster to the timpanist. The principal flute did come back for the
Sibelius. We saw Rouvali a few years
back (he was very young then), with the New Jersey Symphony. My
remarks about both the orchestra and the conductor were not kind. Rouvali still conducted with much exaggerated
motions, but the orchestra seemed to respond, to an overall good effect. As readers of the blog know, my opinion of
the NJSO has improved tremendously, although every now and then doubts still
creep in.
We got these tickets from Today Tix at $52.50 each (seats
cost $99 on website, plus fees), and the price on the ticket was $41.50.
We took the 6:16 pm train in, and caught the 10:20 pm
train back. Worked out quite well.
No comments:
Post a Comment