Sunday December 18th, 2016 - Today's performance marked my fourth year of attending the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's annual presentation of Bach's Brandenburg concertos. Each holiday season, an ensemble of estimable musicians unite at Alice Tully Hall and perform all six of the famous concerti, varying the order of play from year to year. The Society now present the Brandenburgs on three evenings: the hall is invariably packed, with extra rows of seats in place to accommodate this festive gathering of music-lovers.
While each Brandenburg concerto has its own instrumental combination, they are all built upon the rhythmic foundations established by the harpsichord and double-bass; tonight, we had Kenneth Weiss at the keyboard and Scott Pingel on bass, gladdening us all evening with their top-notch playing.
In the first concerto, played first tonight, Bach brings us a mellow pair of French horns (Stewart Rose and Matthew Reed) and a harmonizing trio of oboes (Stephen Taylor, Randall Ellis, and James Austin Smith), along with a prominent bassoon line (Marc Goldberg). The horns are silent during the poignant Adagio, where Daniel Phillips' violin joins voices with Mssers. Taylor, Goldberg, and Pingel, along with Timothy Eddy's cello. The high horns swing into the jaunty Allegro, after which a wave of applause greeted the players. But there's a surprise fourth movement - a mix of minuet and polonaise - in which separate choirs of winds and strings dance vibrantly on to the end.
In the second concerto (in F-major), trumpeter David Washburn (above) brought forth pingy, silvery tones with some lovely subtleties etched into his flourishing coloratura. Flautist Sooyun Kim, ravishing in red, played with limpid tone and shimmering agility.
Two remarkable musicians, violinist Arnaud Sussman (above) and oboist James Austin Smith, reveled in their spirited dialogue - both in technique and artistry, they proved an ideal team. Their playing in the central Andante, joined by Ms. Kim and cellist Dmitri Atapine, with Mr. Weiss's harpsichord lending an added glow, produced a most congenial blend of timbres to which I could have listened endlessly. But Mr. Washburn's pealing trumpet summons us to the final Allegro assai; he harmonizes with Mr. Smith's colorful oboe whilst Mr. Sussman and Ms. Kim play on superbly to the concerto's celebratory conclusion.
In concerto #6 (in B-flat major), an all-string setting finds a trio of cellos (Timothy Eddy, Dmitri Atapine, and Keith Robinson) bringing a velvety texture, whilst altos Paul Neubauer and Che-Yen Chen add still more warmth to the sonic appeal. Timothy Eddy's running cello line provides fine momentum. In the Adagio - one of Bach's most poignant creations - Mr. Chen opens with a solo viola passage, which he then passes to Mr. Neubauer. Mr. Pingel's radiant low tones and Timothy Eddy's ever-pleasing timbre create a blend that - again - one wants to go on and on. But the closing Allegro sweeps us onward, with Mssrs. Neubauer and Chen echoing one another and everything in a state of perpetual motion.
The third concerto, in G-major, opened the evening's second half. It is unique in that the anticipated central slow movement is replaced by a mere couple of chords and an Arnaud Sussman flourish before going immediately into Allegro overdrive. In this all-string concerto, it's always fun to watch the animated bow-work. Mr. Sussman and Sean Lee were spirited in the opening movement, with our three cellists growling amiably at one point and Mr. Pingel's bass keeping everything on point. Che-Yen Chen led the trio of violas, with Mr. Neubauer, and with Daniel Phillips having traded his violin for a viola. Where are all these great violists coming from these days? Mr. Chen is another welcome addition to the club.
Kenneth Weiss (above, in an Arthur Forjonel portrait) dazzled us with his resplendent playing in the fifth concerto, where Bach sets the harpsichord (usually employed as a continuo accompanist) in a starring role, crafting a long and fantastical cadenza which Mr. Weiss executed to perfection this evening.
Flautist Tara Helen O'Connor (above, in a Tristan Cook photo) and violinist Kristin Lee played sweetly over Mr. Weiss's rippling motifs in the fifth concerto's opening movement; their subtle nuances were a delicious Christmas treat. A rather weird transition leads us to the famed harpsichord cadenza and to Mr. Weiss's glorious playing of it. Then Mlles. O'Connor and Lee blended voices serenely in the Affetuoso movement, underscored by Mr. Weiss's gracious phrasing. The fifth concerto finishes with a lively Allegro, Mr. Atapine's cello adding another hue.
Violinist Sean Lee took the lead in the program's concluding work, the fourth concerto (in G-major); his mixture of lyricism and bravura always impresses, and in a rapid agitato passage, his playing gave me a smile. Duetting flautists Sooyun Kim and Tara Helen O'Connor displayed crystalline qualities in the swift phrases of the outer movements and gave a sorrowful sweetness to the central Andante. Mr. Pingel's double bass and Keith Robinson's cello provided a resonant counterpoise to the high voices of the flutes and violin. Then we are down to the final Presto: a fugue-like race in which Sean Lee's virtuoso playing led his colleagues in a final sprint to victory. An exhilarating finish, with the audience saluting the musicians with hearty applause.
All would have been well had it not been for the woman who sat behind us during the second half and sang along - off-key and off the beat - creating an annoying distraction. I know this music makes you want to chime in, but let's leave it to the professionals.