Above: violinist Augustin Hadelich and Maestro Bernard Labadie at this evening's concert; photo by Steve Sherman, courtesy of Carnegie Hall
Thursday May 5th, 2022 - Tonight's concert by the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall has been a red-letter date on my calendar since it was announced; in fact, it was a very vivid shade of red, because the wonderful Italian-born violinist Augustin Hadelich (above) would be joining the Orchestra for the Mendelssohn violin concerto.
The folks from St. Luke's welcomed not one but two soloists this evening: counter-tenor Reginald Mobley opened the concert with the J. S. Bach's cantata “Ich habe genug,” BWV 82, before Mr. Hadelich appeared to play the Mendelssohn. Bernard Labadie was on the podium.
Mr. Mobley (above, with Maestro Labadie in a Steve Smith photo) is a singer new to me. He is an imposing figure, and one might expect from him a thunderous bass voice in the Morris Robinson mold; but that is not the case.
Ich habe genug (in English: "I have enough" or "I am content"), BWV 82, is a church cantata; Bach composed it for bass voice in Leipzig in 1727 for the Feast of the Purification of Mary, and later prepared a version for soprano, BWV 82a, first performed in 1731. The cantata consists of three 'arias' interspersed with passages of recitative.
Mr. Mobley's soprano timbre took beautifully to the Carnegie space; with his canny mixture of straight tone and smooth vibrato, the singer held our interest throughout, wondering what the next phrase might bring. He does not lean heavily on the lower notes, but sustains them clearly to fine effect. Passing moments of breathiness did not deter from the pleasure of hearing this voice, and Mr. Mobley made the limpid phrases of the recitatives as essential to the music as the arias themselves. Stephen Taylor, so familiar to me from his frequent appearances at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, played the oboe passages lovingly, and the orchestra, under Maestro Labadie, sounded marvelous.
Mr. Hadelich then joined the orchestra for the Mendelssohn concerto, in which the three movements are played without pause. The Allegro molto appassionato opens with a familiar theme, delivered by Mr. Hadelich with his customary silken grace. Passages of restless coloratura follow, impeccably played. The music slows to introduce a ravishing violin passage, so nuanced...and so intoxicating to experience this evening. Mendelssohn places the cadenza mid-movement rather than at the end, and it gave us an opportunity to savour Augustin's luminous execution: so detailed, with delicious rubato effects and finely-judged piano/pianissimo gradations. Sweet upper winds underscored the violinist's sublime playing of the interlude, and then Maestro Labadie signaled an acceleration to the movement's dazzling finish.
A solo bassoon, sustaining one note, connects the Allegro to the Andante con moto that follows. It was at this moment that the obligatory cellphone spoiler occurred: can any concert, opera, or dance event ever take place these days without such idiotic intrusions?
At any rate, Mr. Hadelich's Guarneri ‘del Gesú "sang" the Andante's tender cavatina with gorgeous tone, creating a feeling of deep tranquility in the venerable Hall. After a bustling center section, we are led back to the main theme, concluding with an enchanting phrase carrying the violin to ethereal heights before a benedictive finish.
After a few bars of connecting music, the brass open the brilliant finale. Throughout, Mr. Hadelich's virtuosity and subtlety continued to exert a spell over the crowd; his trills were captivating. He is an artist who can make us feel that all's right with the world.
With the concerto's final note still echoing on the air, the entire audience rose to fervently applaud Mr. Hadelich for his spellbinding performance. It was exciting to experience - and be part of - this uproar of delight, and the violinist obliged with Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson's jazzy Louisiana Blues Strut as an encore. Mr. Hadelich was called out two more times before the crowd would let him go.
Tonight marked my fifth concerto performance by Augustin Hadelich: previously, I've heard him play Mozart, Barber, Beethoven, and Sibelius, and each has been magnificent. I cannot wait to hear him again. To me, at times, he seems like a young Gandalf, holding the dark forces of the world at bay with his magical violin. Bravo, Augustin!
Above: Augustin Hadelich acknowledging the huge ovation that greeted him after the Mendelssohn concerto; photo by Steve Sherman
Tonight's concert concluded with Mendelssohn's resplendent Italian Symphony. I first heard this music (on a recording) in a ballet studio in Harwichport, Massachusetts in the summer of 1974 where I was spending the summer with my lover, TJ, and dancing (!) in a production of COPPELIA. The music of the Italian Symphony has stayed with me ever since, though I have seldom heard it performed live.
A ten-month visit to Italy, commencing in October 1830, inspired Mendelssohn to write this Italian Symphony. The music conveys the composer's impressions of Italy – Mediterranean sunshine, Catholic ritual, magnificent art and monumental architecture, and the rolling, open countryside.
Mendelssohn completed this symphony on March 13th, 1833 in partial fulfillment of a commission from the Philharmonic Society of London. He conducted the premiere exactly two months later, on May 13th, which was a great success. Mendelssohn, however, was never entirely satisfied with his symphony: he revised it twice, in 1837 and again before he died in 1847, but it was never published during his lifetime. This final version premiered in Leipzig on November 1st, 1849.
Above: Maestro Labadie and the Orchestra of St. Luke's; photo by Steve Sherman
The orchestra tonight gave a glorious reading of the Italian Symphony, Maestro Labadie's brisk tempo sending the opening Allegro vivace sailing jubilantly forward with top-notch playing from his dedicated musicians. The winds take a prominent role in this movement, and they sounded lovely indeed.
In the stately second movement, Andante con moto, a unison melody has an almost Russian feeling, whilst the basses provide a steady pulse. It ends subtly, and is followed by the lyrical interlude of the Con moto moderato. The dancing Saltarello of the finale is invigorating to hear; horn calls sound forth, and the magic of a Midsummer Night's Dream can be felt. A perfect end to an uplifting evening.
All photos by Steve Sherman, courtesy of Carnegie Hall
~ Oberon