Enrico Caruso
Enrico Caruso - Come un bel dì di maggio ~ ANDREA CHENIER
Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli - O Paradiso! - L'AFRICANA - recorded 1923
Carlo Bergonzi
Carlo Bergonzi - La dolcissima effigie - ADRIANA LECOUVREUR
Franco Corelli
Franco Corelli - Recondita armonia ~ TOSCA
Luciano Pavarotti
The Bulgarian mezzo-soprano Vesselina Kasarova sings Chimène's great aria from Massenet's LE CID:
Author: Oberon
Sunday November 10th, 2019 - Offering a program of works from Italian and German Baroque masters, the ensemble Pomo D'Oro appeared tonight at Zankel Hall with cello soloist Edgar Moreau. The performance sustained the momentum of what has been - to date - an outstanding classical music season here in Gotham. From Katarina Karnéus's riveting portrayal of The Woman in Schoenberg's ERWARTUNG with the NY Philharmonic to the Schumann Quartet's mesmerizing playing of Berg's Lyric Suite at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, we have simply had one engrossing musical experience after another. And the season is still young.
A six-artist contingent from the larger Baroque orchestra that is Pomo D'Oro took the Zankel Hall stage and very quickly entranced us with the vibrancy and polish of their playing. The opening work. Franz Xavier Richter's Adagio and Fugue in G-Minor, was the perfect piece to open the evening: the adagio's lamenting quality - with duo violins weeping and rich resonances from the viola, cello, and bass - shortly gives way to a pulsing interlude and then to the vigorous and dramatic fugue.
Maxim Emelyanychev, the ensemble's animated conductor, was soon literally bouncing along at his harpsichord as the fugue unfolded. The violinists Edson Scheid and Stefano Rossi, violist Giulio d'Alessio, cellist Ludovico Minasi (such a handsome fellow), and bassist Anna Mara Bator all provided playing that made the music feel so...alive!
Above: cellist Edgar Moreau. Mssr. Moreau won First Prize at the 2014 Young Concert Artists International Competition, and he made his New York recital debut in 2016 under the auspices of YCA. It was a triumphant evening for the young Frenchman, and tonight he again displayed the technique, artistry, and charisma that make him a compelling musical force.
Mssr. Moreau's cello was built by David Tecchler and dates from 1711. We usually think of the cello as a rich-toned instrument, but this one - in the hands of such a passionate and imaginative player - sounds nothing less that astonishing. And the cellist keeps it speaking to us in all its glory at all speeds and every dynamic level.
Seated centerstage, surrounded by the Pomo'Oro players, Mssr. Moreau gave us a Vivaldi Concerto in A-Minor, RV 419, filled with all manner of musical delights. Following the charming yet pensive introduction, the cellist's plush tone and commanding agility were admirable indeed; his bending of sustained phrases had a wonderful freshness. In the Andante, his soulful playing of the moving melodic themes was entrancing. The music seemed to shiver in the concluding Allegro, and Mssr. Moreau shone in the fast passages.
Francesco Durante's Concerto for Strings in G-Minor opens slowly, with affecting playing from the Pomo d'Oro sextet, and then hits Presto, with some lively duetting from the violins. The delicate touch of Mr. Emelyanychev at the harpsichord made a savourable effect in the Lento, and the concluding Allegro tripped merrily along. The composer's sense of humour was evident in some scooped notes and breezy up-sweeps from the violins.
Mssr. Moreau returned for Giovanni Benedetto Platti's Cello Concerto in D-Major. From its bustling, breathless start, the opening Allegro was a gem, and the marvelous authority of Mssr. Moreau's technical prowess was so impressive, including a mini-cadenza. The harpsichord again plays a part in the poignant atmosphere of the Adagio, wherein the cellist's opulent depth of tone stirred the soul. The zesty final Allegro brought forth stunning virtuosity from Mssr. Moreau and his colleagues.
Arcangelo Corelli's Concerto Grosso in B-flat Major, Op. 6, No. 11, opened the second half of the program. Here, the Pomo d'Oro players had many individual opportunities to shine. The Preludio has a hesitant start, and thereafter a suite of dances ensues. The ensemble's cellist, Ludovico Minasi, was exceptional in the Allemande, and the Adagio was particularly pleasing.
Johann Adolph Hasse's Sinfonia #6 in G-minor gets off to a swirling start with an Allegro full of violin flourishes. Hasse is a master creator of plaintive slow movements, as his Andante here attests. And the concluding Presto reaffirmed the Pomo d'Oro's infectious joy in music-making.
Edgar Moreau's playing of the Boccherini Cello Concerto in D-Major, G. 479, provided a perfect showcase for his artistry. Following some high-lying fiorature in the opening Allegro - and a filigree cadenza that took a plunge to the depths - Mssr. Moreau's lush beauty of tone, and his finesse in matters of dynamics, made for a superb Adagio. The concerto's final Allegro was a resplendent virtuoso affair, the cellist swaying and tapping his foot as he reveled in one brilliant passage after another.
Enthusiastic applause and cheers filled the hall, and Mssr. Moreau gave a solo encore. Eschewing an opportunity to dazzle us further with a showpiece, he chose instead the deep and soulful Sarabande from johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suite No. 3 in C-Major, wherein the sheer wealth of his tone was a perfect parting gift.
~ Oberon
The things you find by chance on YouTube: a thrilling concert performance of ELEKTRA.
Above: the Schumann Quartet
~ Author: Oberon
Friday November 8th, 2019 - This diary/blog is full of stories of audience behavior that has disturbed or even ruined evenings at the opera, ballet, or concert hall over the years. Tonight, at a performance by the Shumann Quartet at Alice Tully Hall, one of the most bizarre of such instances brought the music to a halt.
Alban Berg's Lyric Suite was the special attraction of tonight's Chamber Music of Lincoln Center concert; the Schumann Quartet also offered music by Mozart and Grieg, and soprano Tony Arnold joined them for the Berg.
The concert got off to an auspicious start, for the Schumann Quartet are a remarkably talented group of musicians: the three Schumann brothers - violinists Erik and Ken, and cellist Mark - are joined by violist Lissa Randalu. They have been performing internationally since 2012, and their appearances in New York City are always most welcome.
The Quartet opened their program with Mozart's Adagio and Fugue in C-minor, K 548. Right from the cello's opening note of the adagio, the playing was crisp and clear, with the voices entwining cordially. The cello also sets the fugue on its merry way. This precious gem of a piece is brief - 6 minutes - but they are Mozart Minutes, which make them irresistible.
Berg's Lyric Suite was eventually discovered to have been a musical love letter to Hanna Fuchs-Robettin (above) , a married woman (and also the sister of Franz Werfel) whose husband hosted Alban Berg when the composer went to Prague in 1925 for contemporary music festival. Berg fell madly in love with his host's wife: their's was an enduring love, though the story of it did not emerge for many years.
"May it be a small monument to a great love.." Berg said to his beloved of the Lyric Suite. It's music I have only heard (years ago) on a recording - one that seemed to lack the vocal element. So tonight it had the feeling of a premiere for me. And to be honest, this music is so alive that it could have been written yesterday.
I cannot imagine a better introduction to the Lyric Suite than the Schumann's spectacular rendering of it tonight. The suite's six movements - each, according to a fascinating program note, part of the composer's coded story of the lives and love of Alban and Hanna - call for a wide range of tempi and tonal colour. The Andante amoroso alone ranges thru so many moods (from eerie to witty). The super-soft plucking at the start of the Allegro misterioso, the intensity of the Adagio appassionato, and the slashing and trudging motifs of the Presto delirando: each found ideal expression the the Schumann's masterful playing.
The extraneous sound of an electronic beep was so faint at first that it seemed like a sonic illusion. But in the silence preceding the suite's final movement, the annoyance became unmistakable. Soprano Tony Arnold had just stepped forward to sing the Largo desolato when everything ground to a halt. The musicians were clearly anxious to move on with their thrilling performance - to sustain the momentum - but it would have been impossible. The source of the intrusion became clear and people called for the woman to silence the device or leave the hall. The beeping continued. At last a security guard clambered over several listeners and spoke with the woman; she finally departed, still beeping as she headed for the exit.
Tony Arnold (above) was at last able to commence her song. And what an intriguing singer she is: so natural and effortless of technique, and so intrinsically moving as an interpreter. She and the quartet were able - thru the grace of their peerless musicianship - to restore the power and beauty of the music and leave us with a striking musical memory.
The intrusion - inexcusable, really - seemed to call for a longer-than-usual intermission. At last, the program continued with Edvard Grieg's G-minor quartet, opus 27. It's a piece totally new to me, and unfortunately it was not really to my liking, although it was played with great verve by the Schumann Quartet.
The music is loaded with folkish themes and dance rhythms; gypsy music is sometimes alluded to, and at times certain passages seemed like they'd fit well into an Offenbach operetta. It's all quite cheery and optimistic, somewhat sentimental, and tending toward cuteness.
It was pleasant enough to hear once, but I don't think I could sit thru it again.
~ Oberon