Five Things about the SA Symphony: VIVA ALONDRA

I heard the San Antonio Symphony Friday night at the Majestic Theatre in downtown San Antonio.
1. The program began with the Star Spangled Banner - odd for the second classics concert - which is really not a big thing, but should they play it for all the concerts? Someone mentioned this was the start of a different series than the last concert; but come on SA Symphony management, seriously? Make it standard on ALL concerts or just the FIRST of the season; or better yet, do different versions every time, which would be nice for the audience AND the players/singers.
2. Clarice Assad's Brazilian Fanfare is downright fun. Not a serious piece at all, it changes moods and themes quickly. While it is not a seasoned work, it shows brilliant orchestration and rhythm. These were brought out with the orchestra by the talented Maestro Alondra de la Parra - who should be the next Music Director of the SA Symphony.
3. Debussy's Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun was sumptuous. de la Parra brought out stunning dynamics and soaring melody lines from the orchestra. Principal flute Tal Perkes was delightful, as well as Principal Horn Jeff Garza in solos.
4. Rounding out the first half was Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto. The soloist was Jennifer Koh, who I have seen several times in concert (read previous Five Things) and interviewed on the radio before. Somehow, this was not the star I have heard, no doubt due to a cold. Often it was scratchy, as if she was impersonating Zukerman(!), instead of her usual gorgeous sound. In the audience, cellphones and snores detracted from the performance. An encore of Bach (Partita #2, allemande) was better, but after hearing Shaham's Bach recently in the same space, it was not as inspiring. Again, I believe it was poor health that contributed to this performance - even quarterbacks like Kurt Warner have bad days, you just hope they aren't the day of the Superbowl...
5. The program ended with Beethoven's glorious Seventh Symphony. String Basses were moved to the back of the stage and brass brought to the side, experimenting with the sound at the Majestic - with great improvement! The energy of Alondra was infectious, for the ensemble (who castly improved from the morning rehearsal) and for the audience who leapt to their feet and gave a huge ovation for de la Parra. It was well deserved. This "war horse" had shape and motion, an arc that moved logically, artistically and brilliantly through Beethoven's music. This is a concert to catch and share with your friends - it repeats tonight at 8pm.

The San Antonio Symphony should move now to hire Alondra de la Parra. Not just for marketing reasons: she is a young, beautiful, latina conductor who has spark and moxie. Nor should they hire her just for the raw talent which shows and gleams in her attitude, baton and spirit.
They should hire her because it is the right thing to do. True EXCITEMENT in the classical world is rare unfortunately. de la Parra exudes charisma and intelligence. She has ideas on audience building, music, outreach, and education. In an uncertain world, hiring Alondra would go to having leadership, a musical guide and energy building force for the San Antonio Symphony. The path is clear in this, stop the search and announce that Alondra de la Parra is the seventh Music Director of the San Antonio Symphony.

Here is an interview with Alondra on stage @ the Majestic:

SA Sym: Alondra de la Parra from Classical Spotlight on Vimeo.

Pastoral not out to pasture

Some really old Beethoven...what a story!

Two Bs

I caught the second of Adele Anthony's Bach Sonatas and Partitas last night at Gretna Music in Elizabethtown. It was delightful with the G minor Sonata, B minor Partita and the C major Sonata. Anthony was much more in control than her November performance, and showed talent and musicality beyond her years. Especially dazzling were her tempos in the 1st Partita.
Also, major highlights for me were the fugues in both sonatas, both well thought out and melodic lines clearly and cleanly presented.
I had fun giving the preconcert talk, and laid out the scores for the audience to see across 12 stands at the back of the room - it was nice to see people take a look before, at intermission and after the performance.

Today, I heard the Orchestra of St. Luke's in music by Thomas Ades and Beethoven, with soloist Helene Grimaud and conductor Xian Zhang. It was also a breathtaking concert - with a perfect rendition of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto. Grimaud performs with depth and conviction (and despite a cellphone ring in one of the most sensitive portions of the first movement) with incredible dynamics. I melted with the precision of the last movement, which was not only clean but touching. My friend and coworker Cary who came along said he could barely sit still hearing such awesome playing.
The Ades was disappointing, a tribute to Couperin that was unmoving and quite static. Beethoven's 4th Symphony was put through its paces and showed lots of flair and excitement. Again, a very precise and uptempo take on a true classic.

Another highlight was meeting up with friend and composer Steve Stucky for lunch at a good Thai restaurant beforehand. aLater, Cary and I caught a quick cup of coffee and tiramisu after the concert and had an easy trip home, hearing part of Superbowl XLII on am radio.

A super Sunday indeed.

They're back baby!

Cleveland rocks, and you'll be able to hear them soon!
From a press release from Rebecca Davis:
Hamburg, March 2007.
One of the world’s elite orchestras is recording again – and Deutsche Grammophon is its proud partner.

Deutsche Grammophon takes pleasure in announcing this association with The Cleveland Orchestra, long regarded as one of today's pre-eminent ensembles, with the release of The Cleveland Orchestra's recent performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, recorded under the baton of Cleveland music director Franz Welser-Möst, at their January 2007 concerts in Severance Hall, the orchestra’s magnificent home.

Of their interpretation of the Ninth, the Miami Herald wrote: “One would expect Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra to put on an impressive display in the music of Beethoven. But the soaring, eloquent performance heard Friday night was remarkable even by the Clevelanders' elevated reputation.”

In the symphony’s finale, The Cleveland Orchestra is joined by the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and four outstanding vocalists, all with connections to Deutsche Grammophon.

Making her Deutsche Grammophon debut is the exciting young Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman, whose new exclusive contract was recently announced. She sings alongside the celebrated German bass, René Pape, another Deutsche Grammophon exclusive artist.

Two American singers complete the impressive line-up: mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor has been garnering widespread critical acclaim for her starring role in Deutsche Grammophon's 2007 Grammy®-winning recording of Osvaldo Golijov’s opera Ainadamar, while Frank Lopardo, one of today’s most distinguished lyric tenors, has already been featured on numerous important Deutsche Grammophon recordings.

In his first Deutsche Grammophon recording project is Franz Welser-Möst, now in his fifth season as The Cleveland Orchestra’s music director and his second season as the Generalmusikdirektor of the Zurich Opera. This Austrian-born maestro is in constant demand by the world’s leading concert and opera organizations. Beginning next season at the Vienna State Opera – where in November 2005 he participated in the gala concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the house’s post-war reopening – Welser-Möst is conducting the new production of Wagner’s Ring. His extensive discography includes a number of award-winning recordings.

Michael Lang, President of Deutsche Grammophon, says: “Ever since our first collaboration with Cleveland’s great orchestra back in 1975, the Deutsche Grammophon catalogue has been immeasurably enriched with their benchmark performances of music by wide-ranging composers from Beethoven to Berlioz.”

Matthew Cosgrove, Deutsche Grammophon’s Vice-President of Artists & Repertoire, remarked: “To forge a closer connection with a great orchestra is a significant artistic undertaking for a classical record company, and few orchestras in the world enjoy the prowess and prestige of Cleveland’s. This is an auspicious occasion for Deutsche Grammophon.”

The Cleveland Orchestra’s Executive Director, Gary Hanson, stated: “To re-enter the recording arena with such a partner as Deutsche Grammophon is important to the Orchestra, and we are pleased to renew our association with this renowned label. We look forward to the Deutsche Grammophon release of the Cleveland Orchestra recording of Beethoven’s Ninth, marking their first with Music Director Franz Welser-Möst.”

Maestro Welser-Möst adds: “To this day, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony remains powerfully relevant, as it is a high point in humankind’s coming to terms with being human. I feel a special affinity for this symphony and am very pleased that our new recording of it will be appearing on Deutsche Grammophon, which has such a long and distinguished Beethoven tradition.”

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Franz Welser-Möst will be released by Deutsche Grammophon in summer 2007.

Past & Future Saturdays

Last Saturday the Met broadcast Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin in theaters. One audience member was Garrison Keillor, who has written about it here.
Friends I saw at a concert later that night also raved about it. I'm looking forward to the next one, Rossini's Barber of Seville, which will feature a friend of mine up on the big screen, Joyce DiDonato.

The concert I did attend last Saturday night was a real let down. The only thing I can say is that the best thing about the program is that the group did NOT play Beethoven's Quartet Opus 135.

A response to a response

More from Comparing Notes at Minnesota Public Radio. Here's what I had to say:
John-
Thanks for your response, and congrats on a successful drive!

A few more points, to help clarify (or clare-ify if you will, hahaha)
If John had read carefully, I wrote "perhaps" they walk out because the music is bad.
Great word, "perhaps"...and I agree completely. Most of this discussion comes from my part reading it before coffee and a cigar. I’m now trying to take time in making these comments precise and with thought (hence sleeping on it last night and posting today.)
I just don't see that many folks walking out on concerts in general - nor do I really want them to leave unless they do give it a chance (be it Beethoven or Babbitt!) – what is “giving it a try” length?

Quantity ain't necessarily quality.
I'm asserting that the many concerts I take in there IS great quality to the performance and music choices. Of course, I spend a large amount of time figuring out what concerts to go to before I go - which I recommend to others as well.
I am not asserting that since there are so many composers these days that music is on a higher level - but in general I want to make a point that American music really is top form – hence the Vienna of the 1890s comparison. You should really give music every bit of chance. Perhaps this is why I don’t watch American Idol: I want to make my own opinion, and I also do not want to judge immediately.

This assumes that a) you gave it a fair shake, and b) it's not disruptive to others at the concert who *are* getting the experience they came for.
Amen! and there (being disruptive) is where I have a huge problem: talking during the music or being loud in leaving. Please, if you must leave, be kind and respectful to the other audience members.

If it was simply a matter of being averse to "sonic disturbances," people would be leaving movie theaters in droves every night of the week at Dolby THX suburban multiplexes across the land.
THIS is where I mentioned the latest movies. Sorry, but I didn’t get the idea you were talking about volume, rather I took it as content.

if the art that's presented to them has a compelling story to tell, one that makes them so engaged that they can't wait for the next scene, the next movement, the next chapter.
I will maintain that if you go through a journey, things become clearer. Should people leave after the first chord in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony finale?! Gosh, if you don’t like percussion, shouldn’t I leave Beethoven’s Ninth when the second movement starts with that awful timpani?! If you stay through an entire piece, you’ll get the architecture and perhaps some catharsis…I will say if the orchestra is butchering a work, say a masterpiece like Beethoven’s Ninth, you should feel free to leave. (But again, please be considerate to other concert goers!) [A cinematic comparison could be made with the movie “Crash” – where after the first hour things are connected that weren’t before; if you left the theater after that hour, you would have a very different view of this movie than staying for the entire film. A literary example might be an Ayn Rand novel where five seemingly unrelated elements are all drawn together to make a compelling and remarkable story. Yet, if you stop reading it, you don’t realize the elements are there to clarify it.]
Mostly I yearn to keep an open mind about art – especially music of our time. I do not want to give any ammunition for the bashing of new music. It’s close to my heart and I try to protect it in any way possible.

John, I will admit there are compositions I don’t care for, but you’ll hear me plead for those that I love, rather than those I hate. (Hard to believe after my passionate defense above, huh?) I write a regular “Five Things” post on ClassicallyHip about concerts I attend. They are on the whole positive, because I write about what I liked, rarely about the negative.

So, I’ll come around and answer, What keeps me in my seat?
Creativity, originality, beauty, and curiosity.
More specifically, performers like Helene Grimaud, Janine Jansen, eighth blackbird, and Gil Shaham. Composers like Andrzej Panufnik, Jennifer Higdon, Augusta Read Thomas, Elliott Carter, and John Harbison to name a few.
I hope more folks comment on what keeps them in their seat, I’m anxious to know!

Five Things about Joshua Bell

I heard the phenomenal violinist Joshua Bell on tour last night in Philadelphia at the Kimmel Center.
1. Josh was joined by pianist Jeremy Denk who was a wonderful match to collaborate with this program. The two were at ease with each other and have similar styles, both musically and technically.
2. The first half consisted of two romantic sonatas - close enough to be comparable and different enough to be contrasting. Both Schumann's first and Beethoven's last sonatas were played with passion and panache, not as if they were written two hundred years ago, but as if the ink was still fresh.
3. The ink was still fresh on Edgar Meyer's Concert Piece, but you wouldn't have guessed it from the stellar performance and interpretation - you'd guess it was an old friend that Bell and Denk could pull out anytime and just play, like the rest of the program which was "tba".
The inner movements of Meyer's piece were especially well crafted and exciting - looking forward to hearing this recorded soon. I also mentioned to a friend that I thought the Meyer stood up well against the Schumann and Beethoven. She mentioned another hearing would be awesome.
4. Bell and Denk then charmed the audience with Rachmaninoff's Vocalise, Ponce's Estrellita, and Sarasate's Introduction and Taratella. After a standing ovation, they came back for an encore - playing Tchaikovsky's None but the Weary Heart.
5. I've heard Josh many times live, and usually find something I adore about his playing. This performance it was his vibrato that captivated me. It was varied, sometimes used sparingly - I felt I had a lesson, from a narrow and quick arm vibrato to a more unique wrist motion, his sound is stellar.

Josh is touring with this recital and soon with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Check his website for more information, he's in great form.
You can also hear an interview I did with Bell before the tour here.