Oberon's Grove

TURANDOT at The Met - 4th of 4

Above: a Met TURANDOT blast-from-the-past with Birgit, Franco (Z, not C), Jimmy, Eva, Liz, and Placi

Saturday January 30th, 2016 matinee - I took a score desk this afternoon to hear the fourth of four sopranos who have sung the role of Turandot during the current Met season. My history of Turandots at The Met goes back to the Old House, where Mary Curtis-Verna was the first soprano I heard in the role. Since then, I have witnessed almost every singer to tackle this part in New York City, from The Big B (Birgit Nilsson) to sopranos you never heard of, several of them at New York City Opera where a perfectly nice Beni Montresor production held forth for many seasons. 

At The Met, where Franco Zeffirelli's extravaganza (which replaced Birgit's Cecil Beaton setting in 1987) has been home to such post-Birgit divas as Eva Marton, Dame Gwyneth Jones, Ghena Dimitrova, and Jane Eaglen, audiences still cheer - as they did today - the massive vision of the royal palace as it comes into view midway thru Act II.

Act I today was very pleasing to hear: after a dragging tempo for the opening scene of the Mandarin's address (grandly declaimed by David Crawford, who had the breath control to fill out the slo-mo phrases), conductor Paolo Carignani had everything just about right. The score is a marvel of orchestration: so much detail, so many textured layers of sound. I simply love listening to this music, especially passages like "O taciturna!" where Carignani drew forth such evocative colours from his players.

Anita Hartig sang very attractively as Liu, her voice reminding me just a bit of the wonderful Teresa Zylis-Gara's. Hartig did not do a lot of piano/pianissimo singing, which can be so very appealing in this music, but she had the power to carry easily over the first act's concluding ensemble. The Romanian soprano's concluding B-flat in "Signore ascolta" was first taken in straight tone; she then allowed the vibrato to seep in: quite a lovely moment.  Hartig's voice has an unusual timbre and just a touch of flutter to bring out the vulnerability of the character.

I was likewise very impressed and moved by the singing of Alexander Tsymbalyuk as Timur: mellow and warm of tone, and with a deep sense of humanity. 

Whilst not holding a candle to such past Calafs as Corelli, Tucker, McCracken, Domingo, or Pav, Marco Berti did very well in Act I: his idiomatic singing carried well (though Carignani swamped him a couple of times, unnecessarily), and his piano approach to the opening phrases of "Non piangere, Liu" was finely judged. Berti firmly sustained his final call of "Turandot!" at the act's conclusion.  

The three ministers - Dwayne Croft, Tony Stevenson, and Eduardo Valdes - did well, especially as they reminded Berti/Calaf that La vita è così bella! These three singers, as far as I know, sang these trio roles at every performance of TURANDOT this season and made a fine job of it; but a 'second cast' might have been given an opportunity. Variety is the spice of operatic life, after all.

After the ridiculously long intermission, Act II started well but then things began to unravel a bit. Mr. Croft experienced some hoarseness, and Mr. Berti didn't sound solid in the vocally oddly-placed lines at "Figlio del cielo!" where he re-affirms to the old Emperor his desire to play Turandot's riddle game. A silence of anticipation filled the house just as Nina Stemme was about to commence "In questa reggia", but the moment was spoilt by voices from the lighting bay at the top of the hall shouting "Have you got her?" The chatter continued through the opening measures of the aria.

Ms. Stemme's now-prominent vibrato sounded squally at first; the phrasing was uneven and frankly the singing had a rather elderly quality. The top notes were rather cautiously approached and seemed a bit unstable, though she was mostly able to disguise the effort. Concerns about producing the tone seemed infringe on her diction, with some odd results. The opening challenge of the riddle scene - "Straniero! Ascolta!" - did not have the desired ring. 

Stemme's posing of the riddles was a mixed bag vocally - and Berti's responses were clipped, with traces of hoarseness creeping in. By the third riddle, the soprano seemed to be gaining steadiness. In the great moment after her defeat when Turandot is called upon by Puccini to blaze forth with two high-Cs over the chorus, Stemme made no impact on the first one and was assisted by the chorus soprani for the second.  Berti responded with a skin-of-his-teeth high-C on "...ti voglio tutto ardente d'amor!" but the tenor came thru with a pleasingly tender "...all’alba morirò..." before the chorus drew the act to a close.

I debated staying for the third act, mainly to hear Hartig and Tsymbalyuk, but the thought of another 40-minute intermission persuaded me otherwise. Returning home, I found a message from a friend: "So, who was the best of the Met's four Turandots?" The laurel wreath would go to Lise Lindstrom. Jennifer Wilson in her one Met outing was vocally savvy but it would have been better to have heard her a few years earlier. The role didn't seem a good fit for Goerke or Stemme, who expended considerable vocal effort to make the music work for them (Goerke more successfully, to my mind) but both would have perhaps been wiser to apply their energy to roles better suited to their gifts (namely, Wagner and Strauss). Still, it was sporting of them to give La Principessa a go.

As with the three earlier TURANDOTs I attended this season, and the many I've experienced in this Zeffirelli setting over the years, the house was packed today. Even Family Circle standing room was densely populated. To me, this indicates the opera-going public's desire for the grand operas to be grandly staged.

There's a rumor circulating that today's performance marked the final time this classic production will be seen. It seems a mistake to discard it, since it originated fully-underwritten by Mrs. Donald D. Harrington, revivals have always been generously supported by major Met donors, and it obviously does well at the box office. Why put a cash cow out to pasture? It's already been suggested that the next Met TURANDOT production will be set in Chinatown in the early 1900s and will star Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufmann (who will cancel), with Domingo as Altoum.

Metropolitan Opera House
January 30th, 2016 matinee

Giacomo Puccini's TURANDOT

Turandot................Nina Stemme
Calàf...................Marco Berti
Liù.....................Anita Hartig
Timur...................Alexander Tsymbalyuk
Ping....................Dwayne Croft
Pang....................Tony Stevenson
Pong....................Eduardo Valdes
Emperor Altoum..........Ronald Naldi
Mandarin................David Crawford
Maid....................Anne Nonnemacher
Maid....................Mary Hughes
Prince of Persia........Sasha Semin
Executioner.............Arthur Lazalde
Three Masks: Elliott Reiland, Andrew Robinson, Amir Levy
Temptresses: Jennifer Cadden, Oriada Islami Prifti, Rachel Schuette, Sarah Weber-Gallo

Conductor...............Paolo Carignani


The Orchestra Now (TŌN): Carnegie Debut

Above: pianist Piers Lane, in a Keith Saunders photo; Mr. Lane was the guest soloist in this evening's concert at Carnegie Hall

Friday January 29th, 2016 - The Orchestra Now (TŌN) in their Carnegie Hall debut, playing works by Beethoven and his contemporaries, under the baton of Leon Botstein. Piers Lane was the soloist in Ferdinand Ries' piano concerto #8, having its New York premiere tonight - some 190 years after it was written.

The Orchestra Now is a new orchestra, comprised of young musicians who are transitioning from conservatory to career. With the women of the orchestra all wearing dresses in shades of blue, yet each one unique, the ensemble is as appealing to the eye as to the ear. 

The program was perhaps more interesting as a concept than as a musical experience: the Cherubini overture was a good choice, and the Ries piano concerto was a pleasant surprise. But the longish Reicha symphony, having its US premiere tonight, meandered forward amiably enough but seemed something of a waste of preparation time for the young musicians since it's unlikely they'll ever be called on to play it again.

Luigi Cherubini (above), best known for his opera Medea, was a composer greatly admired by Beethoven. Thus tonight's program, subtitled Beethoven's "Likes", opened with the overture to another Cherubini opera, Les Deux Journées. This dramatic piece takes a while to gain traction, but it was well-played by the young musicians. 

Anton Reicha (above), an exact contemporary and good friend of Beethoven, left us a large catalog of chamber music as well as eight symphonies, eight operas, and some large-scale choral works. As professor of counterpoint and fugue at the Paris Conservatory, Reicha numbered among his pupils Berlioz, Liszt, Gounod, and Franck.

 

Reicha's 3rd symphony in F-major dates from the same year as Beethoven's famous 5th, but that's about the only thing they have in common. Aside from a rather nice clarinet solo in the Adagio, nothing in the Reicha really grabbed my attention. It's an elegant work, and perfectly pleasant, but lacking in the peaks and valleys that make for a memorable symphonic experience. As Maestro Botstein remarked before he took up the baton for this work: "You'll never hear it again!"

 

 

Ferdinand Ries' piano concerto No. 8 on the other hand was a lovely discovery. In his brief remarks prior to playing the concerto, pianist Piers Lane said the music would remind us of works by several other composers but that Ries (above) has crafted it in a way very much his own. He was right!

 

The concerto's manuscript  bears the inscription 'Gruss an den Rhein' ('Greetings From The Rhine') - a tribute to the river Ries he grew up near - and indeed the first movement does evoke the gentle flow of the river along its broad banks. In the Larghetto that follows, there seems to be a heralding of the Romantic age in some of Ries' very appealing melodic and harmonic writing. The concluding Allegro molto, its mega-abundance of rapid notes brilliantly tossed off by Mr. Lane, had the infectious and vivacious charm of an opera buffa cabaletta.  Throughout, the genial pianist made the strongest possible case for the concerto, winning the audience's  joyous appreciation at the end.

 

Sad to say, our enjoyment in experiencing this "new/old" concerto was compromised by a trio of young people who took seats in front of us as the houselights went down following intermission. They obviously had friends onstage - or perhaps they were members of the orchestra who were off-duty for the second half of the program -  and they spent the entire time-span of the concerto whispering and nudging one another while the girls shared a bottle of water. We decided to leave after the concerto, our evening having been spoilt by their thoughtlessness.

Beethoven & Bruckner @ The NY Phil

Above: James Ehnes, violinist, performing with The New York Philharmonic tonight

Wednesday January 27th, 2016 - The New York Philharmonic playing masterworks by Beethoven and Bruckner under Juanjo Mena's baton, with James Ehnes the featured soloist. 

The Philharmonic's been the talk of the town this week with the announcement of the appointment of Jaap van Zweden as the orchestra's next music director; read more about the good news here.

Tonight, Mr. Ehnes played the Beethoven violin concerto with silken tone and technical aplomb, evoking an atmosphere of hushed attentiveness in the hall and finishing to a prolonged ovation with a triple "curtain call" and with the artists of the Philharmonic joining in the applause. The tall violinist is as congenial to watch as to hear, and he and Maestro Mena formed an elegant musical affinity as the concerto progressed, sharing a warm embrace at the end.

Beethoven's violin concerto was written and first performed in 1806 and - after it's premiere performance by Franz Clement, the 26-year-old principal violinist and conductor at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna - it took years for the concerto to catch on. That first performance must have been something of a nightmare: Beethoven completed the work just two days before the premiere, and the surviving autograph score is a mess of crossings-out, over-writings, and alternative 'versions'. The soloist, having had no time to learn and rehearse the long and complex work, had to use the score for the premiere; for much of the time he was virtually sight-reading. One reviewer wrote: "Beethoven could put his undoubtedly great talents to better uses".

Prior to publishing the work, Beethoven modified and clarified it following the 1806 premiere. The concerto finally began to work its way into the standard repertoire after a highly-praised performance in London in 1844, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn and played by the 12-year-old prodigy Joseph Joachim. It comes down to us as one of the greatest works of the violin concerto genre.

James Ehnes gave a lovingly detailed performance; a series of high trills in the opening movement were dazzlingly clear, and his dynamic control throughout was simply exquisite. Maestro Mena sculpted the opening passages of the central Larghetto to perfection, the violinist then joining in with playing of sweetly sustained lyricism. The 'Kreisler' cadenzas were spun off with serene virtuosity. At every moment - whether playing fast or slow - Mr. Ehnes maintained an enchanting sheen on his tone. Thus the audience's grateful show of the enthusiasm at the end was eminently deserved.

Following the interval, Maestro Mena (above) and the Philharmonic musicians gave a thoroughly impressive performance of Bruckner's 6th symphony. It's always pleasing to have Sheryl Staples in the concertmaster's chair, and to have Cynthia Phelps and Carter Brey leading their sections with such committed artistry. I often wish that the wind players could be seated on risers so we could better savour their individual performances: passages of wind chorale in the Bruckner were beautifully blended.

The orchestra were at their finest in the compelling themes of the symphony's Adagio. Both here and in the opening Majestoso, Maestro Mena was deeply involved in drawing forth the inner voices to give a full range of colour to each gorgeous passage. 

In the third movement, a Scherzo, it seems to me that Bruckner's imagination flags ever so slightly. The concluding movement - wonderfully played - felt over-long, almost as if the composer was unsure of how he wanted the piece to end. This 'finale' was not publicly performed until 1899, three years after Bruckner's death; perhaps he would have tailored it more concisely if he'd been able to judge the effect in an actual concert performance. We'll never know. Yet overall, the sonorous grandeur of the 6th makes a vivid impression.

Pre-concert photo by my friend Dmitry.

NY Philharmonic Taps Jaap van Zweden

The New York Philharmonic have just announced that Jaap van Zweden (above) will succeed Alan Gilbert as the orchestra's music director. van Zweden's 5-year contract commences with the 2018-2019 season; he will be music director designate for the 2017-2018 season.

Maestro van Zweden was my personal choice for the position. The NY Philharmonic concerts that I have attended in recent seasons when he was on the podium have been particularly gratifying; and the musicians seem to respond to him both on an artistic and a human level.

Here's my article about a wonderful NY Philharmonic concert van Zweden led earlier this season; at the end of it, I expressed my thoughts about him taking over the music director's post. I am really happy that it's come to pass, and I look forward to many more concerts under his baton.

Delia Reinhardt

Delia Reinhardt, mostly forgotten today, was born in 1892. She was 'discovered' by Bruno Walter, who invited her to join the Munich Court Opera. In the mid 1920s she moved on to the Berlin State Opera, where she became a very popular soprano.

Reinhardt's career suffered under the Nazi regime because her second husband was Jewish; she was an out-spoken critic of Hitler. Reinhardt survived the war, despite her house having been destroyed by a bomb in 1943. With the help of Bruno Walter, with whom she was romantically involved, she managed to flee Germany to Switzerland. and then to America, where she became fairly well-known for her paintings. She later moved back to Switzerland, where she died in 1974.

These excerpts from Act I of WALKURE show Reinhardt's deeply feminine vocal quality and wonderful expressiveness: an ideal Sieglinde.

Delia Reinhardt as Sieglinde

 

Tatiana Troyanos as Venus

The inimitable Tatiana Troyanos as Venus in Wagner's TANNHAUSER, photographed by Winnie Klotz. 

Tatiana Troyanos - Geliebter komm! from TANNHAUSER - Met bcast 1992

 

New Works By Parsons and Skarpetowska

Wednesday January 20th, 2016 - The opening night of the Parsons Dance 2016 season at The Joyce. New works by David Parsons and Katarzyna Skarpetowska were on offer, as well as Robert Battle's TRAIN, a revival of David Parsons' UNION, and two of David's signature classics: NASCIMENTO and CAUGHT.

It was a grand night for dancing; each of the six works presented offered ample opportunity for the vibrant Parsons Dancers to dazzle us with their strength, passion, and fearlessness. If it's true that there's no rest for the wicked, then these dancers must be very naughty indeed. They danced full-out, with nary a hint of pacing themselves, all evening. The vociferous screams (yes, screams) of delight from the packed house at the end of each piece said it all.

David Parsons and I go way back, to his dancing days with Paul Taylor's company and his earliest explorings of the choreographic terrain at Jacob's Pillow. Read a bit about this history here.

Above: dancers of Parsons Dance in a © Lois Greenfield photo. (Check out Ms. Greenfield's latest book, Moving Still, here). These six dancers - Ian Spring, Omar Roman de Jesus, Geena Pacareu (back row), Sarah Braverman, Eoghan Dillon, and Elena D'Amario (foreground trio) comprised the cast of tonight's opening work: David's newest creation, FINDING CENTER. Having its New York premiere this evening, the piece is inspired by a series of paintings created in the 1980s by artist Rita Blitt.

FINDING CENTER is danced to a laid-back score by Thomas Newman. Throughout the work, Ms. Blitt's oval-shaped images - in vivid, ever-changing colours - are projected behind the dancers. Howell Binkley, David Parsons' long-time lighting collaborator, again proved his essential value to the on-going success of the Parsons repertory: his lighting is always perfect. 

Among the many arresting choreographic elements in this new work are unusual lifts of the women in seated positions. An adagio for Elena D'Amario and Ian Spring finds Mr. Parsons' gift for inventive partnering at full-flourish: not only are there some gorgeous lifts, but twice Ian suspends Elena in a floating plank position, her body parallel to the floor and only inches away from it. Mlles. Braverman and Pacareu, squired by Eoghan Dillon and Omar Roman de Jesus, turned what might otherwise be considered ensemble roles into beautifully expressive moments.

Photographer Travis Magee and I watched a rehearsal of David Parsons' UNION a couple of weeks ago. This dancework premiered at the New York State Theatre in 1993 as part of an AIDS benefit gala. It marked a collaboration between the choreographer, composer John Corigliano, and fashion designer Donna Karan. 

The elegy from Mr. Corigliano's Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra creates an atmosphere of luminously pensive mystery...even before the dancing begins. The eight dancers, clad in Ms. Karan's provocatively 'nude' costumes, enter in slow-motion from upstage left; they cross the diagonal and pause center-stage where they become entwined and entangled. Individual dancers rise out of the dense human hive only to inexplicably vanish again. Suddenly they begin to move faster, though the music maintains is eerie adagio tempo. As the music fades, the tribe gather their energy to continue their diagonal trajectory, moving toward some unknown fate.

Among the individual dancers in this work, Sarah Braverman stood out - as she had at the rehearsal (above, with Ian and Omar in Travis Magee's photo) - for her ability to maintain a deeply feminine lyricism every moment she is onstage. Whether she's dancing fast or slow, or being suspended upside down, Sarah is always hypnotic to watch. 

It was also in UNION tonight that we met the two newest members of Parsons Dance...

...blonde and luscious Zoey Anderson...

...and Ahmad Simmons, a pillar of strength and a born mover.

The evening continued: 

Above: Elena D'Amario, in a Travis Magee portrait. Elena's solo in Robert Battle's TRAIN was simply thrilling.

TRAIN is set to a blazing percussion score performed by Les Tambours du Bronx. It's not about trains as a mode of transportation, but rather about training the body for rigorous sports activity. Here the dancers, whether in marching mode or sailing about the space in free-flowing passages, took on an almost animal intensity. Elena D'Amario's solo, in which Mr. Battle makes uncanny demands on the dancer, was performed with Ellie's trademark daring and all-out commitment, winning this beauteous dancer a forte round of cheers when she took her bows.

Katarzyna Skarpetowska, a particular favorite of mine among choreographers currently on the scene, offered her latest creation, ALMAH, and added yet another feather to her cap with this finely-conceived and musically inspired work. Performing live, the musicians of Ljova dazzled us with their colourful playing. A felicitous soundscape - combining fadolin (an acoustic 6-string violin/viola/cello hybrid made by Eric Aceto), tuba, trumpet, bass clarinet, and drums - evoked beer gardens, country weddings à la LES NOCES, and visions of Russian villages and the people who live there. 

Ms. Skarpetowska had wonderful dancers to work with - Elena D'Amario, Zoey Anderson, Eoghan Dillon, and Omar Ramon de Jesus - and she used the music as an inspiration for their rich and detailed movement, with some intriguing partnering motifs in the mix.

Two pas de deux for Geena Pacareu and Ian Spring (above, rehearsing with the musicians of Ljova in a David Parsons photo) are high points in this excellent work; in the longer of the two, the voice of Inna Barmash cast a spell over the theatre with her one-word vocalise - talk about creating an atmosphere! - to which Ian and Geena responded with dancing that was truly heartfelt. 

Ms. Skarpetowska took a bow to warmly affectionate applause at the close of this premiere of her newest piece, her silver shoes a charming touch. How I would love to see Kate working with oh-so-many dancers/dance companies...and most especially with the Martha Graham troupe. Let's make it happen!

    

Above: beloved dancers Sarah Braverman and Ian Spring, in a Lois Greenfield photo 

No Parsons Dance evening is complete without CAUGHT, the unique strobe-light solo that includes 100 jumps and leaves audiences in a stupefied state of "how-the-hell-did-he-do-that?" wonderment. I have seen it dozens of times and tonight, as always, I was thinking: "Oh...Caught...again!" and then moments later I was whooping and hollering along with the rest of the crowd.

Ian Spring gave an astonishing performance; at first he moves slowly from one pool of light to another as Ljova intoned the opening phrases of the Robert Fripp score live. And then Ian takes off, flashing in and out of our vision in a series of perfectly timed snapshots. Like a dreamworld spirit, he pops up uncannily in various parts of the stage, seems to suspend himself above the floor, walks on air. Periodically the 'real' Ian materializes, as if he'd been standing still the whole time. Dazzled by the visual magic and by the dancer's mouth-watering physique, the crowd went absolutely wild at the end while the sweat-drenched Ian - who, during his seasons with Parsons Dance, has developed into one of Gotham's modern dance icons - basked in a standing ovation, casting a benevolent smile on the adoring throng.

David Parsons' sunny and seductive NASCIMENTO (1990) is always a perfect closing work. Here the dancers fill the music of Milton Nascimento - and David Parsons' casually sexy combinations - with the effortless charisma that seems to be de rigueur for joining this elite dance family. Everyone has ample opportunity to shine - or glow, really - as they leap and sway to the tantalizing music, which includes some spine-tingly vocal passages. Meanwhile, the Binkley lighting scheme with its warm, rich colours, is an ideal setting.

So many moments give NACSIMENTO its visual appeal: there's a great passage when the girls race upstage and fly into Ahmad Simmons' arms. And a simple but savorable section where Sarah Braverman wanders wonderingly among her colleagues who are hailing us from the shore with stylized arm gestures. Overall, it's an irresistible piece performed by irresistible dancers.

A few more images:

Eoghan Dillon, a young Irishman who is carving out his own niche in the Company...

...and Geena Pacareu, the Spanish beauty, with Omar Ramon de Jesus, a sweetly sexy guy, and a suave mover; I borrowed this picture of them - on vacation - from Geena's Instagram.

And finally...The Boss, getting everything perfect. Photo: Travis Magee.

Parsons Dance continue their Joyce season thru January 31st. You'd better go see them!

Lorri Lail

The Norwegian mezzo-soprano, Lorri Lail (née Laurie Lyle) was born in Oslo of Scottish descent. She made her debut as a concert singer around 1935. Her operatic roles included Ulrica in Verdi's UN BALLO IN MASCHERA and Bianca in Britten's THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA, but she is mainly remembered as a recitalist and oratorio singer.

Lorri Lail - Sibelius song ~ Den första kyssen

Lorri Lail made several North American concert tours with great success (the first in 1948). Her church concerts in Sweden, Norway and Finland were widely admired. From around 1950 to 1968 she lived in England, touring Europe and America as well as making recordings. Lail was considered an expert interpreter of the works of J S Bach. In 1968 she moved to Sweden, where she died in 1978.

In 1953, Lorri Lail's wonderful recording of Mahler's Kindertotelieder was released on the Urania label. It has been copied from LP and can be heard on YouTube here.

Philharmonic Ensembles: In A Fishbowl

Above: composer Bohuslav Martinů

Sunday January 17th, 2016 matinee - Yet another highly enjoyable concert in the Philharmonic Ensembles series at Merkin Hall: artists from The New York Philharmonic performing chamber music in an intimate setting.

These days, more than ever, I am looking to music to lift my spirits and help alleviate the symptoms of weltschmerz that threaten to overwhelm me. Feeling particularly low this morning, part of me wanted simply to stay home; but I headed down to Merkin and just a few moments into the opening Martinů, the dark pall began to lift. By the end of the concert, I felt fortified and ready to face another week. 

MARTINŮ  -  Duo No. 1 for Violin and Cello, H.157
Joo Young Oh, violin; Alexei Yupanqui Gonzales, cello

The afternoon's opening work was composed by Bohuslav Martinů in 1927 while he was living in Paris, studying with composer Albert Roussel. It's a delightful two-movement piece - the first soulful, the second a lively dance. Superbly performed by violinist Joo Young Oh and cellist Alexei Yupanqui Gonzales, the slow movement impelled my rejuvenation process after just a few bars with its heartfelt melodies and lovely meshing of the two voices. In the second movement, a long cello solo was really a joy to hear; I thought the violin might have an equal opportunity, but instead the piece danced on to its ending. The two players had a fine rapport, the violinist reaching over to shift the cellist's score as the cello 'cadenza' was launched. 

John SICHEL  -  Fishbowl Diaries No. 3
Vladimir Tsypin, violin; Blake Hinson, bass; John A. Sichel, narrator

In something of a departure, John Sichel's Fishbowl Diaries #3 featured a spoken narrative, delivered by the composer himself. The three short vignettes were accompanied by the Philharmonic's Vladimir Tsypin, violin, and  Blake Hinson, bass. The first tale, entitled Heather From Card Member Services, was truly droll and had the audience laughing aloud. Juliet of The Rats, a story of thwarted infatuation in a laboratory setting, had Shakesperian allusions. The third and final setting, Dolphin Man: Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha, struck close to home: it tells of that moment in childhood when those of us who are 'different' realize that people are laughing at us, either gently or cruelly. Mine happened when I was nine or ten years old, and it put a damper on my self-confidence that has stayed with me to this day. It's kind of amazing that Mr. Sichel has hit this nail so perfectly on the head.

DVOŘÁK  -  Piano Trio in E minor, Op. 90, Dumky
Anna Rabinova, violin; Patrick Jee, cello; Wei-Yi Yang, piano 

Totally engrossing, uplifting, and thought-provoking was the experience of hearing today's playing of the Dvořák Dumky trio. "Dumka" literally means "thought", and the word also refers to a type of Slavic folk-song that veers in mood from mournful to euphoric. Each of the six dumka that Dvořák has strung together for us in this imaginative and marvelous work is a feast in and of itself: poignant melodies abound, only to swirl unexpectedly into vigorous dance passages. 

The music calls for both deeply emotional colours and exuberant virtuosity. Anna Rabinova's passionately expressive playing of the violin line found a complimentary spirit in the rich piano textures of Wei-Yi Yang, whilst heart-stoppingly gorgeous tone from cellist Patrick Jee gave the music its soulful core. The three musicians moved me deeply in this fantastic performance. Bravi, bravi, bravi...
     
BEETHOVEN  -  Quintet for Piano and Winds
Sherry Sylar, oboe; Pascual Martínez Forteza, clarinet; Kim Laskowski, bassoon; R. Allen Spanjer, horn; Yi-Fang Huang, piano

Still more delights followed the interval with a performance of the Beethoven Quintet for Piano and Winds. Here, Yi-Fang Huang was the lyrically deft pianist, and the wind voices gave us an especially mellow blend in the Andante cantabile. R. Allen Spanger, who I met and enjoyed chatting with often while I was working at Tower (he's an avid opera fan) produced that autumnally luminous sound that I always strove for in my horn-playing years but never achieved. The three reed players were congenially matched: Sherry Sylar (oboe), Pascual Martinez Fortenza (clarinet), and Kim Laskowski (bassoon) traded melodies and mingled their timbres in a performance rich in sonic rewards.

We emerged from the hall into a gentle snowfall. The music had worked its magic. My sincere gratitude to all the participating artists.  

Graham Winter Intensive Showcase

Friday January 15th, 2016 - Tadej Brdnik invited me to a showcase performance today at the Martha Graham Dance Company's home space on Bethune Street where participants in the Graham 2016 Winter Intensive showed a standing-room-only crowd what they'd been working on for the past three weeks.

Following some solo composition studies and repertory excerpts, presented by the Graham school's Yung Yung Tsui and Lone Larsen, choreographer Joshua Beamish had a group of male and female students demonstrate how dance can be developed from a single phrase. Maxine Sherman then presented several women in an excerpt from CAVE OF THE HEART; this solo was danced by the girls in unison and in canon. 

The male contingent from the Intensive then appeared for CELEBRATION, a 1934 work which Graham set to music by Louis Horst. Graham originally created CELEBRATION with an all-female cast; Tadej has now been tasked with re-working it for a male ensemble. Fifteen men danced it today; it's a very dynamic piece, showing Graham's customary skill in structuring movement to achieve the maximum effect. Tadej mentioned that the choreography includes approximately 400 jumps, putting it into a special category alongside David Parsons' CAUGHT.

Among the dancers today, both male and female, some showed great promise.

I always love being at Graham events, and was so happy to see - in addition to Tadej and Joshua - Denise Vale, Blakeley White-McGuire, Ying Xin, future maman Carrie Ellmore-Tallitsch, Abdiel Cedric Jacobsen, and Lloyd Knight. 

I had planned to take lots of photos, but latecomers arrived and took seats to my immediate right, and I didn't want to disturb them with my camera. So I have only the one image (at the top) of a dancer in her composition study at the start of the presentation.