David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. Orchestra (Seat Y119, $79.50).
At the conclusion of the concert.
Program
The Unanswered Question (1900-ca. 1941) by Ives (1874-1954).
Double Concerto (2019; New York Premiere) by Felipe Lara (b. 1979).
Petrushka (1947 version) by Stravinsky (1882-1971).
"If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all" is something we learned as a kid. By that rule this will be the shortest review I have ever written. But I am not a nice person.
Most of my venom, such as it is, is directed at the piece by Lara. It started with the name of the bassist, who decided capitalizing the first and last names was for ordinary people, and she certainly wasn't ordinary. I thought of quoting some of the more ridiculous statements in her bio in the Playbill, and decided it's not worth my time. Similarly, the Program Notes talked about how the composer's "humility" about his success, and gratitude for his good fortune, are woven into the fabric of the Double Concerto." One can be pretentious if one has the talent to back it up, but neither the composer nor the soloists could back it up, in my opinion.
The first reaction I had to the actual performance was "no words." True on two levels: there are no words to describe the piece (none worth writing down, anyway), and there are no words in the piece, despite all the vocalizing and humming by the bassist. The second reaction was: it's a piece of gibberish occasionally interrupted by a few coherent notes. The flutist spent as much time spitting into the various instruments she used as she did actually playing them. It evoked the image of someone so frustrated with her ability to perform that she crossed the line into insanity. I found the contrabass flute quite interesting: if only she produced some pleasant sound from it.
Wait, there is more. Some instruments are tuned a quarter-note higher/lower than their counterparts. I honestly don't know how that combination works in a sane world; things probably would sound slightly out of joint. In the context of this piece it doesn't matter at all, whatever dissonance this produced was lost in the overall chaos.
I thought this was a good reflection of much of today's aesthetics: I pretend to do something complex, revolutionary, beautiful, and otherwise great, and you pretend to appreciate it. Is the composer spitting in the audience's face just as the flutist spits into her instruments?
Someone sitting behind me remarked that this piece was 36 minutes long by her watch. To that I say it's 40 minutes too long. The enthusiastic applause at the end generates a couple of thoughts: do we really want to encourage this? What's wrong with you people?
The flutist Claire hase and the bassist esperanza spalding.
The concert started auspiciously enough. Ives's short piece showed off the colors that an orchestra could produce. And the trumpet (at the rear of the auditorium) and the flutes (above, in the second tier) created a good effect. Given half a chance, the New York Phil can generate great music.
Stravinsky's Petrushka is a lot more accessible than many of his other works. With proper narration, one can probably visualize a ballet in one's mind. Without a detailed plot, it was still a piece woven together nicely. We heard the 1947 version, which was intended more as an orchestral piece. About ten years ago we heard the 1911 version. It would be interesting to compare the two.
On prior occasions, I described Malkki's conducting as somewhat mechanical. But it appears to get the job done.
The ticket for tonight's concert was discounted by 30%. Overall attendance was quite good.
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