A Valentine's Celebration. Roderick Williams OBE, baritone; Yiheng Yang, piano. February 19, 2023.

Town Hall Auditorium, New York.  Balcony Left (Row C, $25.75).

Program

Robert Schumann:

   Widmung

   Du bist wie eine Blume

   Dichterliebe Op. 48

Roger Quilter: 7 Elizabethan Lyrics

Clara Schumann: Liebst du um Schonheit

Fanny Mendelssohn: Nahe des Geliebten

Joseph Lang: Abschied

Robert Schuman: Er, der Herrlichste von alten

Caroline Shaw: how do I find you

Sally Beamish: Nightingale (from 4 Hafez Songs)

Cheryl Frances Hoad: The Pros and Cons

Gerald Finzi: I said to Love

Benjamin Britten: Tell me the Truth about Love

CS told me about this concert.  Yiheng was on both the 2/18 and 2/19 concerts offered by Peoples' Symphony Concerts.

New York City does offer many different venues for music, and this was my first encounter with Town Hall, located on 43rd Street, a couple of blocks from Bryant Park.  The auditorium itself felt a bit dated, but still very functional.  (Think Count Basie before recent renovations.)

It was a rather ambitious program that - with an intermission - lasted a full two hours.  Perhaps the small auditorium helped, but to sing for 2 hours must put quite a strain on the vocal cords.  I didn't notice any deterioration in the quality of William's fine baritone voice.  Many of the pieces had the piano as an equal partner to the voice, although one couldn't but help but think of "piano accompaniment" as the pieces were being sung.  (Same reaction I had with Trifonov accompanying Goerne, even though Trifonov got the top billing.)

Williams did put some context into the program as it progressed.  I have forgotten most of it.  However, he did mention Dichterliebe as Schumann's gift to his new wife, and that the emotions in the different songs run high and low (the term "bipolar" was used).  Also, he heard one of the songs (Shaw's?) at a concert and decided he wanted to appropriate it.  He gave some context on how the songs can be grouped together also, but I suspect one has to be into these things to appreciate it.

One additional remark, about Caroline Shaw.  Her piece certainly didn't sound at all like other pieces of hers I have heard.

The concert was a full 2 hours.  Well-deserved flowers.

While today's concert was enjoyable, in hindsight I probably would enjoy more the one on 2/18 as it had more variety to it.

I took the train up, and after dinner with CS, Shirley, and others, took the train home.

Lviv National Philharmonic of Ukraine. Theodore Kuchar, conductor; Oksana Rapita, piano. February 17, 2023.

State Theater of New Jersey, Orchestra (Seat K5, $31.84).

Program

Chamber Symphony No. 3 for Flute and String Orchestra by Yevhen Stankovych.

Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 by Grieg.

Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 by Beethoven.

This is taken at the conclusion of the encore, during which the US and Ukrainian flags were displayed.

The program has traditional war horses in masterpieces by Grieg and Beethoven.  What is special is this Chamber Symphony by the Ukrainian composer Stankovych.  The wikepedia entry for him has him born both in 1942 and 1951, in the town of Szolyva in Hungary, which became today's Ukrainian city of Svaliava.  The piece is about 20 minutes long, and for the uninitiated sounds more like a flute concerto (in any case with the flute front and center).  Being my first encounter with the composer's music, I can only characterize the style as "propulsive," with a repetitive rhythmic pattern repeated many times in the orchestra, occasionally by the flute.  The piece certainly sounded more tonal than many contemporary pieces of today, but I would be hard pressed to single out any memorable melody.

The evening started with a composition by the Ukrainian composer Stankovych.  I couldn't find the name of the flutist in the program.

In the limited information I can find about the program, I don't see the name of the flutist.  I would think he warranted a mention.  As far as I could tell, the orchestra had a different person in the principal flute position (given where I sat, I caught only glimpses of the woodwind section).

If one were to name the most well-known piece by Grieg, his piano concerto must rank high on the list.  For good reason.  And tonight's soloist acquitted herself very well with her performance.  We were seated quite close to the stage, so could hear her well, most of the time.  There were still some passages where she was overwhelmed by the orchestra.  That perhaps is the lot of the soloist in a live performance.  The crowd was very appreciate after the first movement and break into a rather extended applause.  The problem with a captivating first movement is that it's a hard act to follow.  Perhaps the composition is to be faulted for that sort of (semi)letdown?

The audience greatly appreciated Oksana Rapita's performance of the Grieg piano concerto.

Similarly with Beethoven's Seventh, the defining movement (perhaps because of the movie Immortal Beloved) is the second.  The first, third and fourth movements constitute music that build up to and relax from the iconic second.  Measured that way, the performance was a disappointment.  I found the second movement to be too fast, too mechanical, and too devoid of nuances.  When performed well, the listener would admire how Beethoven can make great music with the simplest ingredients.  Tonight's performance made the composer repetitive and unimaginative.

The full orchestra after performing Beethoven's Seventh Symphony.

The orchestra played an encore piece that got many in the audience excited.  There were quite a few people wearing (what we think) "national clothing" for Ukraine, and a few clergy.  The concert had to have a special meaning for them.  For both the orchestra and the audience, the exuberance was tinged with a certain melancholy and sadness.

Opera Theater Rutgers. Puccini's La Boheme. February 11, 2023.

Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater, New Brunswick PAC. Orchestra Left (Seat G5, $12.50).

Story.  See prior posts.

Conductor - Steven White; Rodolfo - Siyuan Yin, Mimi - Manli Deng, Marcello - Chris Fistonich, Musetta - Yeawon Jun, Schaunard - Carl Muhler, Colline - Ziliang Hao.

Having attended a couple of events at NBPAC, I am on their mailing list.  This event looked quite interesting, and at $10 a ticket (for seniors, with a $5 per order processing fee), what can go wrong?

Indeed it was a most enjoyable concert.  I expected enthusiasm, and perhaps stage fright, but didn't expect how well the opera was performed.

Perhaps it was the intimacy of a small theater (seating less than 400 people), the voices sounded great.  At first many singers' voices came across as harsh - particularly that of Mimi - but they grew on the audience.

The orchestra (Rutgers Symphony) also was up to the task.  I couldn't see the pit, and suspected a keyboard was used to produce some of the sounds.  It did on occasion overshadow some of the softer vocal lines.

The set was simple, perhaps out of necessity.  The different scenes have backdrops projected onto panels.

After Act II.

Curtain call (from left): Marcello, Musetta, Rodolfo, White (conductor), Spierman (Stage diector), Mimi, Schaunard, and Marcello.

I do wonder how much effort was spent to put this together.  All involved have every reason to be proud.

The question still remains, though.  Why is Lucia called Mimi?