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.

Count Basie Theater Gospel Choir. Gwen Moten, conductor. November 25, 2024.

The Vogel at Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, NJ.  Floor (Seat E-13, $18).

Program - Giving Thanks

Selection of Songs

Jennifer now sings in this chorus.  Tonight they celebrated Thanksgiving with a selection of songs, some familiar, some new to m.

The choir consisted of about 30 members, the conductor, and a band of about five musicians.

I jotted down the titles (or first lines) of the songs they sang, probably missing/mislabeling a few in the process.  One song was led by a choir member.

As we sometimes did in the past, we had dinner at Juanito's afterwards.

Dinner at Juanito's.

Hong Kong Philharmonic. Elim Chan, conductor; James Ehnes, violin. November 23, 2024.

Hong Kong Cultural Center Concert Hall.  Stalls 2 (Seat EE-66, HK$269).

As encore Ehnes performed Ysaye's Sonata No. 3, Op. 27

Program

... aux cendres (2024) by Angus Lee (b. 1992).

Violin Concerto in D, op. 35 by Tchaikovsky (1840-1893).

Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, op. 100 by Prokofiev (1891-1953).

I was visiting Hong Kong for the week and found out about this concert.  With the Tchaikovsky violin concerto and Prokofiev's fifth symphony on the program, attending the concert was an easy decision.  Angus Lee is a young composer based in Hong Kong, so I am somewhat curious how his music would come across.  As if the deal needed to be sealed, Elim Chan has been mentioned a lot in the US press recently, and this would be my first encounter with her conducting.  To set the expectations high, this is a concert in the "Swire Maestro" series (maestra?), implying Chan to be in that league.  Other conductors in this series are van Zweden, Petrenko, and Paavo Jarvi.  So Chan is in good company.

One major caveat.  Today is December 7, a full two weeks after the event.  For someone who has trouble remembering what happened the day before, this concert is a distant memory.  I do think my general impression remains valid, but specifics may be incorrect.  And, this is one of four concerts I attended in the past two weeks, so the writeup will also be brief.

Overall, this was a good concert, but in my opinion didn't live up to the hype (admittedly a lot of that was my own).  Daniel, who attended the event as well, said afterwards it was rare to see concerts with musicians performing at such a high level.  Having been to many concerts (and I am restricting my reference points to HK Phil concerts), I wouldn't have characterized tonight's as such.

Now some specific take-aways.

I attended the pre-concert talk by Joanna Lee, who explained what to listen for in music.  For the Angus Lee piece, she emphasized rhythm and timbre.  Good selection, as looking for melody and harmony is likely a futile exercise.  I am surprised she didn't mention instrumentation/orchestration, though; the piece used quite a few percussion instruments (too bad the Program only lists "percussion"), a piano, and a harp.  This piece was dedicated to Elim Chan, and was written a companion piece to one premiered in June, serving as an attempt to overcome a repressed, traumatic memory to that imaginary event.  Deep thoughts that would require a lot more analysis and explanation for me to grasp, if at all.  The composer went on to describe his work in the most inscrutable way, concluding that the "diptych" pays homage to the one by Kaija Saariaho, who passed away last year.

One would think this chart applies to more than just "new" music.

Yes, people can misjudge how great a piece may end up being.  The implication that same situation applies to the Angus Lee piece is a bit on the "are you kidding me" side.

Why was it necessary to title the piece the way he did?  Nothing wrong with "to the ashes," and I won't even object to no upper case for "to."

I have no recollection at all of what I heard.  And it is likely that if I listen to it again it would sound all new.  The best I can say about it is "I don't mind listening to it again."

The composer acknowledging the audience.

Ehnes is certainly a virtuoso violinist who gives a strong vibe of "nothing fazes me, it's just another day at the office."  That posture worked very well when he played Beethoven, and if one had one's eyes closed  listening to tonight's Tchaikovsky.  I wasn't looking for a violinist moving all over the podium, but a live performance is more than a purely "aural" experience.  There is no doubt that the piece was well-performed, but I somehow felt something missing.  It didn't help the violin - a Strad - sounded weak, even in the intimate setting of the Concert Hall.  (I have made similar remarks about the sound of this violin before.)  For encore Ehnes played Ysaye's Violin Op. 27 Sonata No. 3.  I heard "Ysaye," the rest of the tune identification was done by Google.

I am not familiar with any of Prokofiev's symphonies.  The Program provides some interesting information on both the composer and the piece.  The structure of the piece was described in some detail.  Written during WWII, it mostly reflected the defiance and celebration felt by Prokofiev as the war drew towards a close.  During the premiere performance, conducted by the composer, one could hear in the distance artillery fire.  It turned out to be a celebration of the Red Army's victorious entry into Germany.  (I got this from the Program.)  I didn't read the Program in advance of the performance, and didn't get either the structure or the emotions involved after I read the Program.  Some additional listening is required.

After the Tchaikovsky violin concerto.

Elim Chan at the end of the concert.  The audience was very appreciative of a local girl making it to the international stage.

As to how well Elim Chan did, I must say the overall concert wasn't extraordinary.  If one goes with the adage that the conductor adds a few percent to the orchestra's performance, I felt that percentage was small.

I met up with Daniel L at American Club's Central location for coffee and snacks before heading over to the Cultural Center for the pre-concert talk.  I also ran into Sonny Y right before the concert started.  I stopped by a Causeway Bay cafe for beef noodles at around 11 pm, before heading back to the apartment.

This is not a food blog.  But I was famished by 11 pm, so this tasted very good.