New York Philharmonic. Jaap van Zweden, conductor; Antoine Tamestit, viola. May 23, 2024.

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.  Tier 2 (Seat CC03, $85).

Program

Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (1996, rev. 1998) by Sofia Gubaidulina (b. 1931).

Requiem, K. 626 (1791, completed by F.X. Sussmayr) by Mozart (1756-91).

Ave Verum Corpus, K.618 (1791) by Mozart.

Tamestit at the end of the viola concerto, with van Zweden looking on.  One can see in the front NY Phil's principal bass as part of the quartet.

A digital organ was evidently used in the concert.  One would think an organization such as NY Phil would have a "real" organ installed (even if most people can't tell the difference).  It's is the only major auditorium I've been to without a pipe organ.

Artists

Amanda Forsythe, soprano; Cecelia Hall, mezzo-soprano; Nicholas Phan, tenor; Michael Sumuel, Bass-Baritone

Musica Sacra, chorus; Kent Trittle, director. 

The New York Philharmonic's last concerts of the season constitute to a farewell to van Zweden, who will leave after the conclusion of this season.  We have tickets to the last three concerts for the "occasion."

Gubaidulina is a Russian composer who now lives near Hamburg, Germany.  Shostakovich was quoted as encouraging her to "... continue along your mistaken path," something she has carried "close to her heart."  Of course many would argue that Shostakovich chose his own mistaken path also.

This viola concerto has many interesting aspects to it.  Very noticeable is the large orchestra, and the myriad of instruments used, including the Wagner tuba, finger cymbals, piano, celesta, and an amplified harpsichord.  There is also a quartet comprising the principal players of the violin, viola, cello, and bass sections with instruments tuned a quarter-tone lower.  The piece itself is quite long (ca. 32 minutes per the Program Notes), without any distinct movements.  The violists get to play most of the time - there are only two extended passages the violist gets a break.

This must be one of the more interesting viola concertos around, and satisfying for the violists who can pull it off.  There are so many passages played in the high registers that even I could hear the notes clearly.  It is somewhat unfortunate that Tamestit had a bit of intonation problems at the top end of the fingerboard.  The harmonics, however, were well executed.  There were a couple of themes - a la Shostakovich - that were easy enough to pick out, and they provided some continuity for me.  The differently-tuned quartet was quite visible, but I simply couldn't tell how its playing affected the music.  Perhaps things would sound "sunnier" if their instruments were tuned "properly?"  If A were set at 440 Hz, then G# would be 415.3 Hz, so would the "lower" A be tuned to 427.65 Hz?  And would that drive someone with perfect pitch crazy?  During my best days as a violinist I could tell if the pitch was slightly off (never measured it, but much less than a quarter-tone, I am sure).

With modern compositions I often complain they are too long, usually after 10 minutes as I feel the composers had by that time exhausted all their ideas.  Not this one, I stayed with it for most of the 32 minutes.  Sitting in Tier 1, I could see the percussionist hitting the fourth drum of the timpani set, which was usually in the domain of the timpanist.  At one point, when I felt the the composer had run out of things to say, she kept it interesting by added an extended del segno passage for the orchestra.  (Well, sometimes I feel Schubert's Great Symphony is too long.)

Before Tamestit played an encore, he mentioned he met with Gubaidulina and the experience was like talking to one's grandmother (she will turn 93 later this year).  He probably explained how that led to the encore piece (he?) constructed out of Ukrainian melodies with some Bach thrown in.  It was an enjoyable piece.

Ken Trittle has been NY Phil's organist for a long time.  Today he figured prominently in the program, mostly through the ensemble Musica Sacra, and his role at the organ for the Ave Verum Corpus.

It is well-known that Mozart's Requiem was a commission by an anonymous wealthy patron, widely believed to be Count Walsegg.  It was to be used at the anniversary of the Count's wife, who died at age 20.  Mozart finished a few sections, sketched out a few, and didn't do much work on the rest.  Many people (even today) have attempted to complete the work, although the most widely performed version is that by his student Sussmyer.

I jot down from the Program Notes what Mozart did before he passed away: Introit, Kyrie, and Sequence (through the beginning of Lacrimosa).  Sussmyr composed the Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei (partially drawing on ideas Mozart had shared with him).  For the Communion, Mozart's Introit and Kyrie were reused.

Ave Verum Corpus was composed in June, 1791, and describes Christ's death on the cross.

This was the first time I sat in the Second Tier of the renovated auditorium (it's been a few years), and I must say the acoustics were quite excellent.  The chorus's singing was great, and the soloists came through with their lines.

The Ave Verum Corpus was performed right after the Requiem.  Standing next to van Zweden are Sumuel, Phan, Hall, Forsythe, and Trittle.

Anne couldn't make this event due to her recent surgery, so I dropped her off at Ellie's place before taking public transportation to Lincoln Center.

Recital. Geneva Lewis, violin; Evren Ozel, piano. May 5, 2024.

Town Hall, NYC.  Orchestra (Seat N117, $15.45).

Program

Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major, Op. 78 (1879) by Brahms (1833-1897).

Out of Doors, Sz. 81 (1926) by Bartok (1881-1945).

Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 7 (1997) by Fazil Say (b. 1970).

Per the Program, both Lewis and Ozel are up and coming musicians.  They were recent Avery Fisher Grant winners, which put them in great company.

I have loved the Brahms G Major sonata since I studied it in high school.  It was the first "complete" work I played, with a conservatory student playing the piano.  I still remember my mother - not a great fan of classical music - telling me how nice the melody sounded.

Lewis explained this as a work expressing Brahms's love for Clara Schumann.  Their relationship is also a mysterious and possibly sad one.  However, by the time the sonata was finished, Robert Schumann had been dead for over 20 years, and Brahms and Clara probably had parted ways (permanently) by then.  Thus I find it unlikely Clara Schumann commented on it the way Lewis described it: that she would want the third movement to accompany her to the next life.  Makes for an wistful story, though; and certainly more intriguing than simply calling that movement "raindrop."

All that aside, it was an enjoyable performance.  My only "wish" would be for a louder violin.

Bartok's piece "Out of Doors" was for piano only.  And it was Ozel's turn to talk about it before the performance.  With his reputation of being an ethnomusicologist, it's no surprise that there were considerable folk elements in the Bartok piano suite.  Ozel gave a brief description of each of the movements.  I.  With Drums and Pipes - Pesante, just as the title suggests; II. Barcarolla - Andante, boatman's song; III. Musettes - Moderato, (I forget); IV.  The Night's Muse - Lento - Un poco piu andante, what you expect to hear at night; V.  The Chase - Presto, galloping horses.  That helped considerably with my appreciation of how the music progressed.

Ozel also described how he heard and fell in love with Say's sonata at a very young age, and that he asked the piece be put into today's program.  The names of the movement certainly correlated well with how the music sounded, and Ozel described it as a romp (my word) through the Anatolian landscape.  Since I have never been to that part of Turkey (not completely true as I did visit some cities once), I will have to take his word for it.  The movements are: I.  Melancholy - Andante mysterioso, II.  Grotesque - Moderato scherzando;  III. Perpetuum Mobile - Presto; IV.  Anonymous - Andante; and V.  Melancholy (Da Capo) - Andante mysterioso.

One way to characterize the piece is a Mozart sonata on steroids.  In two senses: first, the piano part clearly dominates in terms of what the audience hears; and second, the violin part is extremely difficult, I am sure the piano part is equally virtuosic.  I can like the piece if I get a chance to be more familiar with it.

The astute observer will notice there are two more pieces in the program which I didn't describe.  I left after the Say piece.  Not because I wasn't enjoying the concert, it's that there were other things on my mind.  The day started quite early in Hackensack, I had an evening meeting, and I hadn't eaten anything since toast for breakfast.  Together with being back from Europe just a few days ago, and that this would be a busy week, I just didn't want to miss the 4:07 pm train.  Given what I heard, I am sure the last two pieces would also be nicely done.

Studio L Dance Co. 2024 Recital. May 5, 2024.

Bergen County Academies, Hackensack, NJ.  Left Section (Seat P-1, $25).

Everly is the rightmost kid in this group of purple dresses.

The Program.  Everly's group did "Make Some Noise."

The music was generally too loud.  It hit as high as 102 dB where we sat.  The little girl seemed unprepared for that level of noise.  I covered my ears a few times during the show.

I don't know how to judge dance.  But some of these moves are clearly very acrobatic.

Our youngest granddaughter goes to this academy for her dance lessons.

For this event they hired a rather large auditorium seating approximately 1200.  Not filled, but a respectable showing nonetheless.  Of course each student brought in several audience members - in Everly's case, 5.  So 200 students would fill the auditorium if all the families are equally enthusiastic; and there were easily 200 students.

Afterwards Anne and the Garssons went to P F Chang's for lunch.  I took the Route 4 Jitney (first time) to cross the GW Bridge, and then the A train to Port Authority to attend a concert in the Town Hall.

New York Philharmonic. Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor; Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello. May 1, 2024.

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.  Orchestra (Seat J103, $80).

Frank Huang, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, and Salonen at the end of the Shostakovich Cello Concerto.

Program

Concerto No. 1 for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 107 (1959) by Shostakovich (1906-75).

Symphonie fantastique: Episode de la vie d'un artiste (Fantastic Symphony: Episode in the Life of an Artist), Op. 14 (1830, rev. 1832) by Berlioz (1803-69).

Let's jump right into it, starting with the Shostakovich concerto.

Fairly or unfairly, the British cellist Kanneh-Mason is best known for performing at Harry and Meghan's wedding, believed to be seen by 2 billion (yes, B) people.  I suspect that number eclipses all other cellists - even Yo Yo Ma playing at a president's inauguration did not garner such numbers.  The natural question is: how much hype, and how much substance?

Having listened to this, there was a lot of substance.  To this non-cellist, the concerto seems impossible to play well, and they young (b. 1999) Kanneh-Mason did an excellent job.  Being seated in the tenth row, it was amazing to see how he pulled the piece off without any difficulty.  He played an encore: Prelude No. 18 by Mieczyslaw Weinberg.  (Per the review in "New York Classical Review,"  Google couldn't figure it out.)

Whenever it comes to this work, a couple of things come to mind.  One is for me the definitive performance remains the one by Alisa Weilerstein, back in 2011.  That was the performance that made me "understand" the concerto, and it was the first time I heard it.  The specifics may not stay with me, but the "spark of understanding" will always be there.  The other is this Shostakovich theme of D-S-C-H, which we heard in his quartet performed in Hamburg not even a week ago.  I am happy to say that idea still remains refreshing.

The story behind Berlioz's symphony, and Berlioz's obsession with Smithson, is well-known.  Today's Program Notes includes the notes Berlioz himself penned, although the narratives are so familiar by now that it was barely necessary.

The piece is also a showcase for an orchestra's capabilities, and NY Phil certainly met the challenges with ease.  I suspect this piece is so "standard" that the ensemble would put in a solid performance even without a conductor.  Salonen, who recently quite the San Francisco Symphony, was certainly enjoying himself.

Four harps (!) used in the Berlioz piece.

Sitting in Row J, we could clearly see Salonen enjoying the concert.  What's not to like?

In Berlioz's own words.  I suppose this was translated from the French, especially the composition was premiered in Paris.

All in all a great concert.  One could ask how these two pieces found their way into the same program.  I can offer up one compelling reason: both pieces rely heavily on their respective themes.  We talked about Shostakovich earlier, and in Berlioz's case it was the "idee fixe" that did the job.  Well, Dies Irae didn't hurt, either.

Regardless, this was an immensely enjoyable concert; and I didn't even have to prepare for it.

We were in NYC earlier in the day for Anne's medical appointments, and drove to Hoboken, parked our car, and took public transportation into the city.  It worked out well, but made for a long day.

Stevens Cooperative School. The Jungle Book Kids. April 30, 2024.

Stevens Cooperative School Jersey City.  (Free)

Reid was the Baby Elephant, Maisie a Vulture.

Notice that Reid's ears grew.

We got back from Europe the day before, and were a bit exhausted from the trip, so we skipped the 4/29 performance and attended this one instead.

In addition to the rehearsals, the kids also helped out in making the costumes and preparing the props.

The performers enjoyed themselves.  The audience had a good time.

By coincidence, this is the same play put on by the Hoboken Children's Theater earlier.  They felt very different, though.

Reid had his first solo line.