New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Xian Zhang – conductor; Inon Barnatan – piano. January 4, 2020.

Count Basie Theatre for the Arts, Red Bank.  (Orchestra Seat R7, $20).

Program

“The Moldau” from Ma vlast (1874) by Smetana (1824-1884).

Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 7 (1833-36) by Schumann (1819-1896).

Selections from Romeo and Juliet (1935) by Prokofiev (1891-1953).

As with the recent NY Philharmonic concert we attended, my expectations were not very high for this particular concert.  The only “positive” things going for it were Zhang as the conductor and Barnatan as the soloist.  In contrast to the NY Phil concert, however, I found tonight’s experience to be a lot more satisfying.  Perhaps it’s a case of meeting expectations, or perhaps tonight’s was simply a better concert.

The program began on a somewhat shaky “note” as I thought the initial measures of the Moldau were a bit too disjoint as a description for a river.  However, once the orchestra got to the first melody things improved greatly, and the piece became quite enjoyable.  That was probably helped by a more-detailed-than-usual description of the piece in the program notes which helped in one’s visualization of the tone poem.

After a lively rendition of "The Moldau" by Smetana.

I thought about but using “Clara Schumann” or “C. Schumann” in the Program listing above.  In my “tradition” of using the composers’ last names, I decided to use just the last name to confer “equal footing” on the composer.  Or I could have used her maiden name Wieck.  What would I do when it comes to CPE Bach?  I’ll cross the bridge when I come to it … or I can avoid him althogether.

Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn were two women musicians overshadowed by the much better-known Robert (husband) and Felix (brother).  Since their dates overlapped, and the Schumanns and Felix Mendelssohn lived in Leipzig, I do wonder if the two women had met.

The first draft for this concerto was completed in 1833, when Schumann was all of 14.  If the final product has a strong resemblance to the initial draft, then it is amazing what the composer could do as a pianist and a composer while barely in her teen years.  I was particularly impressed with the first two movements (Allegro maestoso and Romanze), and how Barnatan interpreted it. The Romanze, with a piano/cello duet, was simple yet lovely.  Despite the many “fireworks” of the Finale, I did find moments of tedium when I thought the music wasn’t moving along in any particular direction.

The Program Notes suggests one can both hear the influences of Chopin and pre-echos of Liszt in Schumann's composition.  Not this blogger.

Barnatan played beautifully, attacking when he should, holding back when he must.  As encore, he and Spitz played a Chopin duet (I thought Barnatan said it was from a concerto, but couldn’t find anything like it on the web).

Barnatan and NJSO Principal Jonathan Spitz played a Chopin piece as encore.

Prokofiev’s ballet music Romeo and Juliet was not allowed to be performed when it was completed in 1935 due to “political and artistic snags” (per Program Notes), Prokofiev extracted two sets of seven numbers each from the score of 52 numbers and published them as orchestral suites; he subsequently extracted a third set.

As did many other conductors, Zhang selected her own set of numbers to “show Prokofiev’s versatility and skill as character portrayer, also highlighting his gift to suggest both tenderness and high drama through music.”  What we heard tonight were: The Montagues and the Capulets, Juliet as a Young Girl, Minuet, Masks, Balcony Scene, Romeo at Juliet’s Tomb, The Death of Tybalt.

I have encountered this music before (both the suites and the ballet) so the music sounded quite familiar.  That is especially true of the beginning number.  However, I did get a little lost as the performance went on, that the music sounded quite different when describing a tomb scene versus a duel help me determine when the performance was about to conclude.

One can listen to music in an “abstract” manner, I have no problem with that.  I enjoy a lot of solo, chamber, and orchestral music without a story attached to it.  However, when I know there is a story to each of the numbers, I get frustrated when I lose my place.  Also, short descriptions to put the numbers in context (e.g., what minuet? what masks? How did Tybalt die?) would help the audience to picture the scenes as the music unfolds.

Brennan Sweet was the concertmaster for this evening.  Wyrick will be the soloist in the next NJSO concert series.

It was a good performance, I just wish I had gotten more of the story out of it.

I took the train down, Anne had to sit in the balcony for Smetana as she was late.  The main orchestra section was reasonably full, she told me the balcony was quite empty.  NJSO audiences don’t seem to cough as much as NY Phil audiences.