David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. Orchestra (Seat DD104, $66.50).
Program
Babylon Suite (2014) by Widmann (b. 1973).
Symphonia domestica, Op. 53 (1902-03) by Strauss
(1864-1949).
We are now on the fourth blog entry. And it will be short.
Per the Playbill, Jorg Widmann was commissioned by the
Bavarian Staatsoper to write an opera (his third) which resulted in “Babylon.” The resultant work, first performed in 2012,
is described as “personnel from the orchestra pit overflows into the side boxes
of the theater, … provides lush, extremely colorful sonic experiences.” The work was also “greeted with a range of critical
response, including a lot of head-scratching.”
He was further commission by several organizations to excerpt a suite
from the orchestra, condensing the three-hour composition into 30 minutes. He probably didn’t try very hard to reduce
the instrumentation, as the list is one of the longest I have seen; although
from where we sat the orchestra didn’t look particularly imposing, with five or
six percussion players in the back.
The piece is basically as advertised: the sound “range
from ferocious modernism to reactionary waltzes and marches, with salutes along
the way to a good many earlier composers, … not to mention the folk song Scarborough
Fair.” To me it sounded like one walking
around the busy streets of a “music town,” as one turns a corner different
sounds and melodies are heard over the hustle and bustle of the town. Indeed interwoven into the suite are
stretches of music that sounded very traditional. I didn’t catch the specific composers
referenced, nor anything from Scarborough Fair.
Even though I am not a fan of music that requires more analysis than appreciation,
I must say this was quite interesting, and enjoyable.
Note the large number of percussionists in the back of the orchestra.
Richard Strauss went about documenting his domestic life
when his son Franz was about five years old.
The seven sections each depict a personality or event in the Strauss
household. The sections are (i) Theme I:
Agitated, describing Richard; (ii) Theme II: Very lively, describing Pauline,
his wife; (iii) Theme III: Peaceful, their son Franz; (iv) Scherzo: Vigorous;
(v) Lullaby: Moderately slow; (vi) Adagio: Slow, describing private time
between husband and wife; and (vii) Finale: Very lively, a new day begins. The clock strikes seven twice in this piece,
after sections v and vi per the Program Notes.
I heard them strike twice (sound from a triangle) but not at the places
described in the Notes, or I got the sections mixed up.
After performing Strauss's Symphonia Domestica.
I don’t find Symphonia Domestica as compelling thematically
as Strauss’s other tone poems (or symphony poems, not sure what the difference
is), but it is pleasant enough a composition, and it is always fun to correlate
what I hear with the “program.”
Frank Huang got quite a few solo lines in both pieces, he
didn’t come across as clearly as I expected.
Speaking of musicians, we saw the NJSO cellist in the
cello section again. NJSO will be
playing the next day (Saturday) while this program is repeated, I wonder if we
will see her in New Brunswick “tomorrow.”
(I know the answer, but let’s keep things suspenseful for a short
while.)
It is interesting to compare the control of the NY Phil
with the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Things are a lot more precise, and great
contrasts (and volumes) can be generated without sounding wild. And there were some loud passages, I could
see many musicians covering their ears as the brass and percussion sections got
very loud.
Welser-Most conducted with precision. I thought he elicited a great response from
the orchestra. The applause was on the
reserved side.
We took the train in for this 2 pm concert.
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