New York Philharmonic. Daniele Rustioni, conductor; Joshua Bell, violin. January 8, 2025.

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.  Orchestra (Seat AA103, $136).

Joshua Bell after performing Dvorak's violin concerto, with Rustioni looking on.

Program

Overture to The Merchant of Venice (1933) by Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968).

Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53 (1879, rev. 1880 ad 1882) by Dvorak (1841-1904).

Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 (1877-78) by Tchaikovsky (1840-93).

Today's program paralleled yesterdays: a (relatively) modern piece, a soloist, and a symphonic composition.  Yesterday's solo piece was not nearly as well-known as today's; and - good as Leonard may be - Bell certainly has a "better" reputation.  He probably will be on many people's "top 10" list while Leonard may not make a similar cut.  That's reflected in the price also (for similar seats).  Tchaikovsky's symphony is probably programmed more often than Strauss's Zarathustra.

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco emigrated to the United States to escape Fascism in the 1940s.  He already had a thriving career as writer of film scores in Italy by that time.  The Merchant of Venice (which I have not read, and know little about) is a comedy darkened by race, religion, and antisemitism (one reason perhaps it's seldom staged nowadays).  Castelnuovo-Tedesco took the many moments and moods and set them to music, not necessarily following the order of the plot.  Overall the piece was a good piece of dramatic music.  (As I don't know the plot, it didn't matter what order the moments and moods were in.  I do wonder how people familiar with the story feels about it.)

The Program Notes describes the progression of the music.  I could follow it when the piece was being played.  Various section leaders got some solo lines, but Frank Huang also had to work very hard at the extensive violin solos.

Frank Huang had a considering amount of solo passages in the Overture by Castelnuovo-Tedesco.  Here being acknowledged by Rustioni.

For some reason I thought today's violin concerto was Brahms's.  It took me a while to recalibrate to Dvorak - and then it made a lot more sense.  Folksy tunes instead of long melodies, for one.  And technically difficult: the Program Notes discusses how Joachim reacted to Dvorak's earlier "drafts" and had many inputs into making the concerto more playable.  The composition was dedicated to Joachim, but he never performed it in public.  We know Joachim and Brahms had a fallout, did that happen between Joachim and Dvorak as well?

Bell handled the technical challenges adeptly.  Slight intonation issues crept in every now and then, but didn't detract from the overall mastery of the piece.  The violin also produced a great tone.

I have two comments on the performance.  The first one is the soloist's sound was often overwhelmed by the orchestra.  During those moments I could still hear the violin, rather clearly most of the time, but kept on wishing the soloist sounded stronger.  An examination of the photos from yesterday's entry would show a larger orchestra for today (4 pairs of first violins upfront yesterday; 5 pairs today).  The second one was that I was surprised there wasn't a lot of musicality (call it story-telling, if you want) in his performance, which was unusual for him.  I ended up admiring his violin skills more than his interpretation.  He had the score in front of him, and referred to it quite often; a surprise for a world-class musician at his prime.

For an encore he played an adaption of a Chopin Nocturne for violin and harp (played by Nancy Allen).  Google tells me it's No. 20, in C Sharp Minor.

Tchaikovsky provided a "program" of his fourth symphony for his patron Nadezhda von Meck.   I excerpt further from the excerpts provided in the Program Notes.  The first movement (andante sostenuto - Moderato con anima) describes fate, attempts to overcome it, and failure to do so at the end.  The second movement (Andantino in modo di canzona) is "another phase of depression" which leads to idleness.  The third (Scherzo.  Pizzicato ostinato: Allegro) is the feeling of slight intoxication.  The Finale (Allegro con fuoco) is a picture of the "festive merriment."

Rustioni decided to take the music for a controlled wild and enjoyable ride.  The orchestra responded beautifully.  While the "festive merriment" did offer much hope that fate did not have to run its course, the intrusion of the fate theme near the end makes me wonder what wins at the end.  I suppose that's subject to interpretation both by the music makers and listeners.  Tonight it was ambiguous, which is perfectly fine.

At the conclusion of tonight's concert.

Tonight's concert was considerable longer than yesterday's, so we caught the 10:23 pm train back.  There were a lot passengers, and some quite loud.

New York Philharmonic. Kevin John Edusei, conductor; Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano. January 7, 2025.

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.  Orchestra (Seat AA101, $75).

Isabel Leonard and Kevin John Edusei after the performance of Berlioz's "Les Nuits d'ete."

Program

Elysium for Orchestra (2021) by Moussa (b. 1984).

Les Nuits d'ete (The Summer Nights) Op. 7 (1840-41, orch. 1843, 1855, 1856) by Berlioz (1803-69).

Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra), Tone Poem (freely after Friedrich Nietzsche) for Large Orchestra, Op. 30 (1895-96) by R. Strauss (1864-1949).

It is just midnight Jan 8 (1 am Jan 9) as I type this.  By this time I had gone to another NY Phil concert.  Later today we will be off on a one-week trip.  I will be quick: just jot down some of my thoughts and observations for these two concerts.  I will also try to do that chronologically: that is, do this one without having the additional insight I got from the Jan 8 concert.  So here we go ...

First, it wasn't my intention to go to these back-to-back concerts.  When I tried to book the season (quite a few months ago), the NY Phil website would only give a limited amount of time for each booking, so I ended up booking two separate batches of tickets.  Either a poorly designed system on their part, or I simply didn't work fast enough.  It was only afterwards I discovered the two concerts are on Tuesday and Wednesday - and NY Phil rarely has a series ending on Tuesday and another beginning the day after, anyway.

"Elysium," to the extent I understand the word, is the Greek equivalent of Valhalla, where good people go to enjoy their afterlife.  Per the Program Notes, Samy Moussa gave his work this name after he finished composing it.  The Program Notes also provides a rather accurate description of the work.  It begins with "a radiantly shimmering B-flat-major chord, sustained by divided strings and undergirded by a bassoon/contrabasson fundament," and ends with "... coming to rest again on a lingering B-flat-major chord - but a far cry from the sonority that opened the piece."  The middle part of this 12-minute piece was where things "happened" (my term), generally interesting, with a wide range of dynamics and range.  Helped by the Program Notes reference, one can tell Bruckner influenced some of the orchestration (calling it "of a cosmic scale" may be too much).  I don't know how this composition is regarded by today's critics and musicologists, but I certain found it enjoyable.  I am not so sure if the image of Elysium will come to mind if one just listens to the piece without the help of the Program Notes, much less the subtleties the piece tries to convey.

Moussa's Elysium calls for a large orchestra.  There were 14 different percussion instruments listed in the Program.  I counted five percussionists.

This was the piece's premiere at the New York Phil.  The composer came on stage.

The term "Summer Nights" perhaps can invoke different thoughts, images, and emotions: relief from the heat of the day, fireflies, sitting on a porch, or pesky insects, thunderstorms and other unpleasantries.  What I didn't expect was a series of songs that speak of separation, death, and regret.  The texts were written by Theophile Gautier: (1) Villanelle, about the start of a new season with hope; (2) The Specter of the Rose, a rose pinned on one's lapel is still a dead rose no matter how much it is admired; (3) On the Lagoons: Lament, weeping for one's dead love lying in a coffin; (4) Absence, searching high and low for one's love; (5) In the Cemetery: Moonlight, the dead are forgotten; (6) The Unknown Isle, sail away with one's love.  (The comments after the titles are mine.)

I remember seeing Isabel Leonard in Dialogues des Carmelites, it turns out I have see her in several other concerts too.  Today she brought out very well the sadness and regret inherent in the lyrics, and her voice carried well into the rear part of the auditorium orchestra section.  Every now and then I noticed some intonation problems, especially when she sang a long, sustained note.

The Program Notes also talked about how "sloppy" Berlioz was in his harmony, often providing that as an afterthought.  And the opinion was by another eminent composer: Ravel.

One problem with Thus Sprach Zarathustra is that the highlight can be found in the first few minutes of the tone poem.  If one studied Nietzsche, or perhaps just the score, one could probably correlate the "messages" the piece is trying to convey.  The sections are listed in the Program Notes: Of Those of the Unseen World; Of the Great Longing; Of Joy and Passions; The Dirge; Of Science; The Convalescent; Dance Song; and Night Wanderer's Song.  As it was, I had a hard time deciding when each section ended and the next one began.  Even though the piece ended in a climax (instead of simply fading away), it was not nearly as gripping or compelling as the introduction.  And it was sloppily done.

Edusei acknowledging Frank Huang, who had a lot of solo passages in Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra.

Frank Huang, the concertmaster, did get quite a bit of work out.  Edusei is German, he studied sound engineering, classical percussion, and conducting (interesting combination) in Germany and The Netherlands.  Tonight's concert was the last of a series of four, so it was puzzling there was still considerable sloppiness in the performance.

Subway 1 had a bit of delay, so we were a bit rushed to make the 7:30 pm concert.  We left soon after the concert ended, and managed to catch the 9:38 pm train back to South Amboy.

New Jersey Symphony. Jeannette Sorrell, conductor. December 22, 2024.

Cathedral Basilica Sacred Heart, Newark, NJ.  Center (Seat Z-2, $89).

Program

Messiah (1741) by Handel (1685-1759).

Artists

Sonya Headlam, soprano John Holiday, countertenor; Ed Lyon, tenor; Kevin Deas, bass-baritone.

Montclair State University Singers.  Heather J. Buchanan, director.

Church as seen from third floor.

Side of church.

Back of church.

I was expecting to be carried away by tonight's performance.  I had heard the NJ Symphony perform this oratorio a couple of times before (once in NJPAC, and once in Princeton Richardson Auditorium), and recall being quite impressed with what I heard.  Tonight's performance was good, but didn't leave me with a "wow, that was splendid" impression.

Perhaps a lot of that can be attributed to the cathedral not being designed with this sort of music in mind.  The large cathedral seats about 1500 people (my estimate) but has room for up to 4000 (many standing, of course).  With its high ceilings, the reverb and echo can last up to 2 seconds.  (I jotted down some of these facts from attending a Beethoven Choral Symphony concert in 2012).  During intermission I talked to the "soundman" in the middle, he confirmed that speakers were used throughout for sound enhancement.

The chorus members sang crisply, precisely, with good dynamics.  Their rendition was generally enjoyable.  Anne did notice - and I agree - that today the sound was generally too young and not quite fully developed.  Overall volume was good: I counted at least 65 chorus members.

The soloists were in general quite good.  The countertenor actually sang with more authority than the one we heard at the NY Phil concert.  For "I know my redeemer liveth," only a quartet and continuo was used as accompaniment, with Wyrick standing up.  I heard the harpsichord clearly, and thought it was Sorrell that played.  She came back on the conductor's podium after this solo, and I still could hear the harpsichord - so much for that observation.  And I am sure the organ was used at times.

End of Part I.

Cellos and double basses at intermission.

End of concert.  From left: Kevin Deas, Ed Lyon, John Holiday, Jeanette Sorrell, Sonya Headlam, and Heather Buchanan.

We weren't sure we would attend this one as Joe P's family was coming down to visit, and we had Harrison with us (he came with me to NJ yesterday on the Amtrak).   At 2:15 hours (including intermission), it was on the short side.  I did a comparison of Part I (NJ Symphony and NY Phil), the NJS version actually contained an extra number.  Selections for Parts II and III, however, were quite different.  NJS had six movements (counting the final "amen" as one) while NYP had 9.

This was our third Messiah this season, and I must say it didn't feel "too much."  There were/are arguments if Messiah should be performed in a secular setting (concert hall) or a sacred one (inside a church); to me it doesn't make a different.  Both seemed appropriate for this time of the year, even though it was first performed during the Easter season.  If we have to pick a "best" one out of the three, it would be the NY Phil one.

Parking near the church was easy to find (we did get there at 6:15 pm or so for a 7:00 pm concert).  The church as limited number of bathrooms, so several port-a-johns were placed outside the main entrance.  It was a very cold evening ...

Healy School Winter Concert Grades 3 - 8. Beverly Mosby, music department director. December 16, 2024.

Healy School Cafeteria.  Somerville, MA.

Program

Orchestra

Chorus

World Percussion

Band

Harrison playing in the band.

Program

Orchestra

Chorus

World Percussion

Band

Both Harrison and Emmie are participating in this school event.  Harrison sang and played the trumpet, Emmie sang and played the cello.  With so many different pieces and the time it took to "reposition" between pieces, the concert lasted about 90 minutes.  Quite a few people left early (after their children's performance, I would guess).  Kudos to those who showed enthusiastic support till the end.

NEC Prep: String Training Orchestra 8. Peter Jarvis, conductor. December 14, 2024.

Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, Boston.  (Free)

Program

Gregorian Rhapsody by Elliot A. Del Borgo (1938-2013).

Winter Reverie by Kathryn Griesinger (b. 1979).

Rocky Mountain Switchback by Robert S. Frost (1942-2013).

Emmie joined the STO 8 which rehearses Saturday morning at 8 am (hence the name).  They put out two concerts a year.  This one was about 20 minutes in length.

This was my first time to visit Jordan Hall.

We had breakfast at the NEC cafeteria afterwards.

The hall was open at 8 am as the orchestra went through it's last rehearsal.

This was at the end of the concert.

Both sets of grandparents came to support and to enjoy.

New York Philharmonic. Ton Koopman, conductor/harpsichord. December 11, 2024.

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.  Orchestra (Seat AA-102, $130).

After the first half of the concert.  The trumpets and timpani are not out yet.

Program

Messiah (1741) by Handel (1685-1759).

Artists

Maya Kherani, soprano; Maarten Engeltjes, countertenor; Kieren White, tenor; Klaus Mertens, bass-baritone.

Musica Sacra, chorus; Kent Trittle, director.

This was our second Messiah concert this season.  As usual, there are slight differences in the movements included in the oratorio.  Are there standard editions, or much depends on the needs of a particular performance.  (Somewhere I read there are 43 different versions of the 15 arias, all written by Handel.)

The orchestra took a while to settle down, so to speak.  I had a similar observation before, and attributed to the musicians' familiarity to the piece.  There probably were few rehearsals before tonight's performance, and this was the first of four performances.

This was a New York Phil debut for all four soloists, so it had to be a big deal.  I suppose they are all excellent vocalists, but they all put in somewhat uneven performances.  The tenor was the exception, he was solid throughout (if my memory serves).  Again this may be opening night jitters.  They all used paper scores.

The chorus did very well.  Anne thought the 16th-note runs were close to being staccato, which would be okay with me.  There were about 40 in the group, and their voices filled the auditorium.

Perhaps in keeping with Handel's time, the strings didn't use much vibrato, except every now and then someone would forget and moved his/her hand.

As far as I could tell, the violins were all women, and, except for the leader Staples, Asian.  (Just an observation.)  There wasn't a lot of harpsichord playing, but the organ was called on quite a bit.

There were seven of us attending this concert.  Five got on at the Hazlet station, Anne and I joined them when we boarded the train at South Amboy.  By mistake we got on an express subway that took us to 70th Street, so we ate at Legend Restaurant on 72nd.  We caught the 10:23 pm train back to NJ.

End of First Half of concert.  (I didn't manage any photograph with all the soloists and the conductor facing forward.)

The trumpets and timpani showed up for the second part of the concert.

Group photo of the seven of us, heading to the subway statin at the end of the concert.

The Knights. Eric Jacobsen, conductor; Alex Sapp, flute. December 8, 2024.

Town Hall, New York City.  Orchestra (Seat N117, $15).

This was after Alex Sapp performed Fantasy on a Theme by Joni composed by Allison Loggins-Hull.  Eric Jacobsen, the conductor, looked on.

Program

Flute Quartet in D Major, K. 285 (1777) by Mozart (1756-1791).

Rhapsody on a Theme by Joni by Loggins-Hull (b. 1982).

Sinfonia Concertante in E-Flat Major for Violin and Viola, K. 364 (1779) by Mozart.

This is another PSC concert.  "The Knights" is a group that characterizes itself as "flexible in size and repertory," and "engage ... through vibrant performances that honor the classical tradition ..."  The description in the Program Sheet contains many more adjectives, I quoted those that make some sense to me.  I counted 23 names in the roster, and the cellist Eric Jacobsen also doubled as a conductor for the pieces that required one.  I do wonder why they don't go the entire Orpheus route and do the program without a conductor altogether - admittedly a bit difficult for the Loggins-Hull piece.

Having said all that, this was a delightful concert, bookended by Mozart's flute quartet, and the double concerto for violin and viola.  The flute quartet was especially well done, with a great balance between the flute and the three string instruments.  The strings were acting mostly as accompaniment for the first two movements.  The third movement had a more balanced dialog among the instruments.  The double concerto could use more precision and better balance, but the soloists brought out a compelling interpretation of the piece.

Before her piece was performed, Allison Loggins-Hull had a brief conversation with Eric Jacobsen on the piece.  She remarked she and Alex Sapp have known each other for a while, and that Alex Sapp is an artists of many talents: singing, composition, and flutist.  Since Loggins-Hull is a flutist herself, a lot of virtuoso passages can be found in the piece.  Joni indeed refers to Joni Mitchell, and, according to Loggins-Hull, Sapp's singing has some resemblance to hers. (By the way, Loggins-Hull is also NJ Symphony's Resident Artistic Partner.)

Oftentimes the description of the music (verbal or in print) is more interesting than the music itself.  The first few minutes did capture my attention, but just when I began to think it may be too long, there was a nice change of pace.  Indeed by mixing things up every now and then, the music continued to be interesting.  I don't know what constitutes virtuoso flute playing, but could certainly appreciate that the pace, the interval jumps, the fast runs are difficult.  One thing that was obvious was Sapp breathed noticeably harder than when she played the flute quartet - in that case it didn't even occur to me it would be an issue.  For good measure a cadenza was included.  I couldn't catch the Joni Mitchell theme, though; of course I know only a few songs sung/written by Mitchell.

After performing the Mozart flute quartet.  The cellist is Eric Jacobsen, who would conduct the next two pieces.  The violinist and violists are Colin Jacobsen and Nicolas Cards, if the order in the roster is any indication; they also soloed in the Sinfonia Concertante.

Conversation between Loggins-Hull and Jacobsen on her Fantasy on a Theme by Joni.

At the conclusion of the program.

The program ended at around 3:40 pm, which meant I could catch the 4:07 pm train back to South Amboy.  The musicians seemed to be ready to do an encore, but I decided - given how the main program went - I wasn't going to stay and miss the train.

It was very cold for a few days.  Today was a bit warmer - in the mid 40s.  It was a pleasant afternoon to be out and about.

Boston Symphony Orchestra. Andris Nelsons, conductor; Benjamin Grosvenor, piano. November 30, 2024.

Symphony Hall, Boston.  First Balcony (Seat G24, $63).

Grosvenor and Nelsons at the conclusion of the Grieg piano concerto.

Program

Finlandia, Op. 26 by Sibelius (1865-1957); conducted by Ross Jamie Collins.

Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 by Grieg (1843-1907).

From Holberg's Time, Suite in olden style, Op. 40 by Grieg; conducted by Na'Zir McFadden.

Symphony No. 7 in C, op. 105, in one movememt by Sibelius. 

This was the second concert we attended for the day.  It was a much better experience compared to the Messiah concert we did earlier.

The singers sounded weak at the Messiah concert, that it was due to bad acoustics at the seat got dispelled tonight.  Our seats were one row behind (Row G), on the left side of the center balcony section.  The music came across loud and clear.  We moved to Row C after Finlandia, and enjoyed the rest of the concert from there.

Grosvenor was a substitute because the pianist originally scheduled had to withdraw.  It was not an issue at all as Grosvenor put in a thoroughly enjoyable performance.  For encore he played Ravel's Jeux D'eau.  (I could tell it was Ravel, but needed Google to identify the piece.)

Grieg's Holberg Suite is not nearly as well-known as his Peer Gynt Suite.  For one it doesn't have as many hummable or "exciting" melodies.  While Peer Gynt was based on an Ibsen drama, Holberg was written as a tribute to the Norwegian Ludwig Holberg (1684-1754), considered by many the founding father of Norwegian letters.  Grieg specifically harkened back to the music of Holberg's time - think Bach and Handel - and indeed the piece has a strong baroque feel to it.  It was first composed for a solo piano, which Grieg adapted for a string orchestra.  The movements indeed reminds one of the markings of baroque music: (I) Praeludium.  Allegro vivace; (II) Sarabande.  Andante - Un poco mosso - Tempo primo; (III) Gavotte.  Allegretto - Musette.  Poco piu mosso - Da capo.  (IV) Air.  Andante religioso; and (V) Reigaudon.  Allegro con brio - Poco meno mosso - Da capo.  I do wonder if the piece was performed with period instruments during Grieg's time.

Tonight's program concluded with Sibelius's Seventh Symphony.  It was a 22-minute single movement work, with tempo markings Adagio-Vivacissimo-Adagio-Allegro molto moderato-Allegro moderato-Vivace-Presto-Adagio-Largamente molto-Affectuaoso-Tempo I (I hope I didn't miss anything in the transcription).  The Program Notes advises against listening for all the tempo changes, but instead describes an overarching three-movement design: Adagio, Vivacissimo, and Allegro Molto, with Presto as a coda.

Sibelius's Finlandia was conducted by Ross Jamie Collins.

Grieg's Holberg Suite was conducted by Na'Zir McFadden.

Conclusion of the concert.  Time stamp: 10:14 pm.

What is particularly interesting - for me anyway - is the choice of pieces for the program.  My first reaction after seeing Grieg's and Sibelius's names was that it would be a depressing program.  Turns out it was mostly composer writing "patriotic" music under somewhat unpleasant circumstances (Grieg's Norway against Sweden, and Sibelius's Finland against Russia).

A couple of additional remarks.  Two of the pieces were conducted by BSO Fellows.  For the young composer it's rare to have opportunities to work with a world-renowned orchestra, and the two gentlemen made good use of the short time they had in the lime light.  I have seen Nelsons conduct several times before, this was the first time he spoke to the audience expressing his appreciation of being where he was.  He mentioned that he was a "middle-aged man," and I found out he just turned 46, which meant he was named the BSO music director at 36.

With the piano encore and Nelson's speech, the concert didn't end until around 10:15 pm.  We were in the Symphony Hall vicinity from 2:30 pm to 10:30 pm, it didn't feel long.

Handel and Haydn Society. Jonathan Cohen, conductor. November 30, 2024.

Symphony Hall, Boston.  First Balcony (Seat F15, $69).

Program

Handel's Messiah.

Artists

Jeanine De Bique, soprano; Reginald Mobley, countertenor; Nicholas Phan, tenor; Sumner Thompson, baritone.

H+H Society Orchestra and Chorus

H+H Society Youth Choruses Chamber Choir

H+H Society CitySing Participants

Anne and I found ourselves in the Boston area, with some time on our hands, so we decided to get tickets to this concert (starting at 3 pm), and for a BSO concert that would start at 8 pm the same evening.

We attended an H+H Messiah at Symphony Hall for the first time last year, and frankly wasn't particularly impressed.  So I wasn't sure I would do it this year, but eventually decided to give it another shot.

We walked away again somewhat disappointed.  The major issue this time was sometimes we had to strain to hear the soloists.  Our knowledge of the lyrics helped - but one shouldn't have to depend on that.  The chorus did a lot better, though.  H+H evidently spawned several choruses, and the addition of Youth and CitySing about tripled the number of chorus members.  The "guest artists" didn't do all the choruses, but they did add a lot of grandeur to the more majestic passages.

From left: Mobley, De Bique, Cohen, Phan, and Thompson.  On the left are the CitySing participants, on the right the Youth Chorus.

The directors (maybe?) of the different choruses at curtain call.

For a while I thought the cheap tickets I got had bad acoustics.  Tier 2 overhangs the seats, so there may be some truth to that.  However, I realized we had seats in the same row last year, and I didn't say anything about weak acoustics in my writeup.  Further, we had seats one row behind for the evening BSO concert, and certainly had no problems then.  (Caveat: we moved to closer empty seats after the first piece).

We had no problems sitting through the entire performance, and enjoyed the afternoon's music.  This concert would be the first of three we will attend this year:  NY Phil on 12/11, and NJ Symphony on 12/22.  If things work out as planned, this would be the first seasonal triple header for us.

Joe dropped us off, and picked us up after the BSO concert.  We ate at a nearby Japanese restaurant between the two concerts. Traffic was light in both directions.