New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Xian Zhang, conductor; Inon Barnatan, piano. April 2, 2022.

NJPAC, Newark, NJ.  Grand Tier (Seat L101, $29).

Program

Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19.

     Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37.

     Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58

Bird's eye view of auditorium from Tier 4.  Felt a bit of vertigo when I was up there taking this picture.

This is the second part of the Beethoven Piano Concerto series.  Just a few observations.

• The event was also quite well-attended, not near sold out, but good for NJSO concerts I have been to.
• The donor reception during the break was re-instituted.  Quite a few people showed up, and they didn't check eligibility.  Only white and red wines on offer, though.
• I didn't realize all five final movements were rondos.  In a similar vein, not all first movements were con brios.
• At some point, for me anyhow, music making ceased.  In its place was this desire to see the thing through.
• However, the musicians seemed as fresh towards the end as they were at the beginning.  The concerto concluded around 10:10 pm, and the intermission felt shorter than usual.
• Very few people left during intermission, there was this "we are in this together" feel.
• We were surprised that some movements didn't sound all that familiar.  One would think Beethoven concertos are usually listened in their entirety, so all movements in one concerto should garner same level of familiarity.
• I continue to be impressed how one can memorize nearly three hours of music.

After Piano Concerto No. 2.  Time stamp 8:33 pm.

After Piano Concerto No. 3.  Time stamp 9:11 pm.  Difference with prior one?  Second flute, two trumpets, and timpani.  Here Barnatan shaking hands with Zhang.

After No. 4, time stamp 10:08 pm.  Difference here is we are back to one flute.  (Probably hard to tell with this photograph.)

Today traffic was light, took only 35 or so minutes each way.

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Xian Zhang, conductor; Inon Barnatan, piano. April 1, 2022.

State Theater, New Brunswick, NJ.  Balcony (Seat L101, $31).

Program

Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15

       Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73, "Emperor"

One reason we came back from our Nebraska trip yesterday was so we could catch these Beethoven piano concertos today and tomorrow.  The original program pianist was Louis Lortie, but a few weeks ago we were sent a notice that he withdrew because of an injury, and Barnatan would be the "substitute."  A search of my blog indicated that I had heard Lortie once, and Barnatan five times.

Beethoven concertos must be standard repertoire for concert pianists.  However, unless Barnatan just came off another series with another orchestra, that he could do them without music was most impressive.  (This assumes he will do 2 to 4 without music also.)  I think he can be excused with a wrong note here or there (and I am quite sure there were a few), and don't think he would consider a virtue of performing live.  I guess I am referring sarcastically to the Eighth Blackbird here.

One wonders how the concertos got grouped in this particular manner.  One could argue you always want No. 5 to be the last one played.  Or one could do that chronologically (in which No. 2 would come first).  Or it could be 1, 3, 4 followed by 2, 5; which would satisfy both concerns.  I do wonder if tomorrow's performance will be a let down.  We shall see.

Our flight yesterday from Kansas City was delayed by over three hours due to weather in the Newark area, and we didn't get home until 2:30 am.  I woke up with a headache, which subsided after much coffee.  I was nonetheless worried about having trouble staying awake during the concert.  Turns out it wasn't an issue at all; and Anne was wide awake also.

There was this little girl who had trouble sitting through the concert quietly.  The parents thought it would be okay to "hide" in the back of the balcony.  The result unfortunately was every sound got projected forward, rather clearly.

Attendance was okay.  And traffic was okay in both directions.

After Concerto No. 1.

After Concerto No. 5.  How do I tell them apart.  First, there is the time stamp.  Second, notice there is no second flute in Concerto No. 1.

The State Theater went through some renovations during the last two years.  This modern "all-gender" bathroom is a sign of the times.  Works, on multiple levels.

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Louis Langree, conductor; Eighth Blackbird, ensemble. Livestreamed March 26, 2022.

Performed at Music Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Program

Wynton Marsalis: Herald, Holler and Hallelujah! [CSO Co-commission].

Kinds of Kings: Nine Mothers [World Premiere, CSO Co-commission].

Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique.

This was a live-streamed event.  The Marsalis piece was a co-commission of the CSO and the NJSO, and was premiered in January 2022 by the NJSO.  I hadn't notice that in any NJSO program.  Instrumentation: 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drums, piccolo snare drum snare drum, tom-tom, tambour de Basque, crash cymbals, finger cymbals, ride cymbals, sizzle cymbal, suspended cmybals, crotale, tam-tam, anvil, cowbells, wood block, glockenspiel, marimba, xylophone.  A couple of remarks.  Don't let the number of instruments fool you, I thought the stage was unoccupied when Langree first came out.  Without strings, and with players sitting towards the back, I didn't notice the musicians at all.  Also, what's the difference between a tom-tom and a tam-tam? Well, tom-tom is some kind of drum, tam-tam is some kind of gong.

There are words for the piece in the (digital) program notes.  Not sure if they constitute the program for the music, or a poem that the music evokes (or vice versa).  Just to quote the last few lines: "Even in passing, that glory train opens up a Big Brass Whistle and everybody testify: 'Here comes ole Buddy / Bolden calling his children home.' / And the angels sing. / Hallelujah."

Tonight was the world premiere for "Nine Mothers" composed by "Kinds of Kings."  Both a bit mysterious, but that the composition "is dedicated to our mothers and grandmothers" makes some sense.  Kinds of Kings is a composer-collective (first encounter with this term) founded in 2017.  There are right now three members from different parts of the world - although they all live in the US right now).  I do wonder - somewhat facetiously - do they expect members to come and go, and is membership restricted to one particular sex/gender only?  In the Program Notes there is this statement that "scholars" have wondered if these nine mothers are analogous to the "nine sisters," goddesses personifying different kinds of waves.  A suggestion to these scholars: just ask.

Eighth Blackbird has been around since 1996, and making a big deal whether they are celebrating their 25th or 26th anniversary this year.  Well, welcome to the club.  Everyone on earth is wondering what to think about the pandemic.  My suggestion in this case: don't take yourself that seriously by making a virtue out of "miss[ing] a note or two."

The instruments I counted in the ensemble: piano, violin, cello,  oboe and variants, flute, drums and marimba.

The story behind Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique is now a familiar one, thanks to this pre-concert lecture I attended a while ago.  I still find the work very enjoyable and was glad to sit through it.

The ensemble for Marsalis's composition.

In front are Kinds of Kings and Eighth Blackbird.  There should be three women in the Collective, but I don't know where the third person was standing.  Some members of Blackbird were blocked from view.

Full orchestra for the Berlioz piece.  Notice the empty seats in the first few rows.