Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall. Balcony (Seat BB6, $-)
Program - Where Only Stars Can Hear Us
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
It was an enjoyable evening of Schubert songs, 18 in the program, and 3 encores of which 2 were also by Schubert, one by a Venetian composer (whose name I didn't get) sung in Venetian (?), in any case an Italian dialect.
As Sulayman said after the main program, the evening was generally dark. Indeed one could have used "unrequited love and death" as the byline. Especially so if one interprets "quiet" as "death." The notable exception would be the encore song in Italian, which refers to the moon, the girl, and the water (if memory serves).
Since one of the performers is a friend, I would limit the "review" to only a few observations.
First, the tenor's voice and the fortepiano give the evening a level of intimacy very appropriate to the mood conveyed. I am sure Sulayman can boom it out with the best of them, and Yang can pound away fff notes competently, neither of which was called for. The most tense moments came from the left fortepiano line in Erlkonig, and the sound was urgent but not harsh.
Second, there isn't a song with the title "Where Only Stars Can Hear Us." I have the CD and have listened to it several times, and that never occurred to me.
Third, there were many songs that referred to the moon. One of them had a line that reminded me of the theme from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Since Schubert was only about 6 when that sonata was written, it is unlikely that Beethoven copied it from him. More likely the other way around. The Program Notes, which I read after making the above remark, also pointed this out. And the specific song is "An den Mond."
Fourth, and I don't mean any disrespect in saying this. Sulayman really did well with the Italian song. With a handkerchief in his jacket pocket, he could well pass for a gondolier serenading on a Venetian canal.
Anne and I came back from Australia the day before. It is a tribute to the music that we both managed to stay awake throughout.
Chao-Ming and Angela gave us rides to the city. We ate at Bites of Xi'an. CS, Yi-heng's dad, bought the tickets. The concert was sold out.
Weill Recital Hall is quite ornate.
Curtain Call. Altogether 18 songs were performed, including three encores.
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