Avery Fisher
Hall at Lincoln Center, Orchestra (Seat T12, $40.)
Program
Overture to Le nozze
di Figaro (1786) by Mozart (1756-1791).
Cello Concerto
in C major (c. 1761-65) by Haydn (1732-1809).
Symphony No. 4
in B-flat major, Op. 60 (1806) by Beethoven (1770-1827).
This is the
second of the five MM concerts we will be attending this summer. I am writing this a week later, so I only
remember a few things about the concert.
(That’s the reason why I blog, just having written something about an
event makes it stay in my memory for a long time.)
The short but
delightful overture is what summer music festivals are about, as least for
me. One could sit there and simply enjoy
the music; and if one is in the mood, there is a lot to learn about this
particular overture, and how Mozart made it interesting (e.g., by using a
7-measure theme.)
Haydn’s cello
concerto was discovered about two centuries after its composition, in a Prague
museum, and was heard for the first time in May 1962. I have some level of familiarity with Haydn’s
music (mostly his string quartets,) and wouldn’t have guessed this was written
by him. I wonder if musicologists did a “number” on the discovered parts,
because the piece – particularly the cadenza - looked much more difficult than
I thought Haydn would write. The 25 or
so minute long program has three movements: Moderato, Adagio, and Finale:
Allegro molto.
It was
delightfully performed. I saw Gabetta in
Hong Kong several years ago playing Dvorak’s concerto (my memory probably was
helped by having written about that concert,) and thought she did an overall
good job. Tonight she was great, even though the cello came across a bit weak.
She played an
encore that was modern sounding, and at some point sang some notes as part of
the music. I went back to my 2011 blog
entry and noticed that she did the same thing (this I didn’t remember!) My remarks were not the kindest (“keep her
day job.”) Tonight her voice sounded much better. Of course I am not sure it’s the same piece
of music.
The program
concluded with Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony.
Anne and I are sure we have heard this before, but neither of us thought
it sounded any familiar. Did the
orchestra butcher the performance, or are we so forgetful? The four movements are Adagio – Allegro vivace,
Adagio, Allegro vivace, and Allegro ma non troppo.
As I was
watching the musicians at work, it suddenly occurred to me my prior thought
that the concertmaster was too energetic compared to the rest of the section
might have the problem pinned on the wrong party: perhaps the rest of the
section (and may be the entire orchestra) could use some of the enthusiasm he
shows at these concerts.
Cornelius
Meister looks very young, and he was dressed to the nines for this debut
event. I enjoyed how he led the concert.
I was surprised
to find a New York Times review on this concert. The reviewer raved about multiple
aspects, heaping considerable praise on Gabetta and Meister. He also named the encore piece
(Dolcissimo movement by Latvian composer Peteris Vasks) which was written
partly at Gabetta’s request. The reviewer also said “she is, no question, a
better cellist than a vocalist.”
This morning
(day of concert, not of writing) we drove back to New Jersey from the Poconos
after spending a couple of days with Ellie and family. Tomorrow (day of writing) we will drive down
to New York from Boston to attend our third MM concert.
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