Oberon's Grove

NYO-USA at Carnegie Hall

Above: cellist Alisa Weilerstein

Author: Ben Weaver

Friday July 29th, 2022 - Elgar’s Cello Concerto and Mahler’ Fifth Symphony made up the very ambitious program by the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America at Carnegie Hall. The young American musicians - aged 16 to 19 - are embarking on a world tour with these works and will perform at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, as well as in Berlin, Ravello, and Lucerne in the upcoming weeks. Leading the orchestra in all these concerts is the British conductor Daniel Harding, with American cellist Alisa Weilerstein the soloist in the Elgar.

Elgar’s Cello Concerto, composed in 1919, was mildly popular before Jacqueline du Pré gave it immortality with Sir John Barbirolli in the 1960s. There are few mainstream works as identified with one performer as Elgar’s concerto is with du Pré. For any cellist to take on this work must be intimidating. Alisa Weilerstein is a cellist who needs not fear anything from comparison. A consummate artist of genuine depth, gravitas, and beauty, Ms. Weilerstein’s performance glowed with humanity and grace. From the first passionate notes of the work - no orchestral introduction here - Elgar’s  writing for the cello is intricate and deeply emotional. Even the Scherzo has little frivolity. Ms. Weilerstein’s warm and powerful playing, the rich sound of her cello effortlessly filling the hall, was a true joy. Elgar’s ability to compose for a large orchestra, yet keep the orchestration translucent so it never buries the solo instrument, is perhaps rather unique among cello concertos. And Maestro Harding also kept the young players of the orchestra at bay, letting loose when necessary, but allowing Ms. Weilerstein to always be heard. Everything in this performance was perfectly balanced. An all-around marvelous performance of a very special work.

With Mahler’s Fifth Symphony things got a bit more complicated. Maestro Harding (above) is an excellent Mahlerian, having began his career as an assistant first to Simon Rattle in Birmingham and then to Claudio Abbado in Berlin. And his decision to include such a difficult work for a young orchestra was certainly brave, but it did not pay off on this evening. There’s no need to mention any specific mistakes made by specific musicians - I’ve heard the same mistakes made by professional and very experienced musicians of the New York Philharmonic. And there were many wonderful moments too: the horns were warm and fruity, the concertmaster’s solo was lovely, the percussion section was on peak form (I especially enjoyed the grin on the face of one of the percussionists every time he played something loud - his enthusiasm and joy were wonderful, charming, and infectious.) But the totality of the work just did not come together. There were wonderful moments scattered throughout. Perhaps it was Maestro Harding who failed to bring it all together. Perhaps the orchestra’s future performances, as they face more audiences and play the work more, will come together. But, with its faults, I’m glad these young musicians played Mahler. They are the future members of our great American orchestras.

~ Ben Weaver

Bolero

Anna Moffo sings the Bolero from Verdi's I VESPRI SICILIANI.

Anna Moffo - VESPRI SICILIANI - aria

John Feeley: Bach Chaconne

Many thanks to my friend Richard Curtis for sending this perfect performance of Bach's D-minor Chaconne by John Feeley on to me.

Watch and listen here.  

Bastianini & Tucci ~ scene from ANDREA CHENIER

Ettore Bastianini is Carlo Gerard (above) and Gabriella Tucci is Maddalena di Coigny in a scene from Act III of Giordano's ANDREA CHENIER. Listed as being from Torino 1963, this seems to be a studio recording or radio broadcast: the sound quality is amazingly clear. Both singers are at their very finest.

Listen to them here.

Tebaldi/Bergonzi ~ TOSCA - Act I scene - Buenos Aires 1953

A scene from Act I of Puccini's TOSCA with Renata Tebaldi (above) and Carlo Bergonzi from Buenos Aires 1953. This was Bergonzi's role debut as Cavaradossi.

Listen here.

Rysanek's 25th Anniversary @ The Met

So many wonderful things have popped up on YouTube during the pandemic. An audio-only recording of the Leonie Rysanek 25th Anniversary Gala at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1984 provides a document of a truly exciting performance...which I attended. 

Listen here.

Before the performance began, I heard people seated near us asking: "Do you think she will scream?" The general consensus was that, being a concert performance, she would refrain from including her trademark screams as both Kundry and Sieglinde.

She screamed.

Steven Banks @ Mostly Mozart

Friday July 22nd, 2022 - Saxophonist Steven Banks (above) headlined this evening's concert by the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall. The wonderfully sprightly - and hugely talented - Xian Zhang was on the podium.

The concert was presented as a choose-what-you-pay event, part of Lincoln Center's Summer for the City festival. There were several small children in the audience, and for the most part they were well-behaved; I'm sure they found the very tall Mr. Banks - and the sound of his saxophone - intriguing, and most likely they were equally fascinated by Xian Zhang's lively personality. The concert lasted about 90 minutes, without intermission.

Composer Nokuthula Ngwenyama greeted us, speaking briefly about her work, Primal Message, which was having its New York premiere as the opening piece this evening. She talked about prime numbers and about possible ways of communicating with extra-terrestrial life, but thoughts of science, and of theories, evaporated as her appealing music filled the space. 

Melodious, and even romantic-sounding at times, the music commences with themes for cello and viola, leading to a haunting violin solo and sweet sounding phrases from the harp. Pinging tones from the xylophone, and isolated chime notes, signify a mystical language as the work wends towards its delicate finish. If beings on other worlds were to receive Ms. Ngwenyama's Primal Message, their response would doubtless be cordial. The audience seemed taken with the music, applauding both musicians and composer enthusiastically.

I first heard saxophonist Steven Banks earlier this year in a noontime recital at the Morgan Library, presented by Young Concert Artists. Everything about his playing impressed me then, and he impressed me even more this evening. Mr. Banks towered over the diminutive Xian Zhang, but as artists they are of equal stature.

Tonight, Mr. Banks took the Tully Hall stage for a rarity: Alexander Glazunov's Concerto in E flat major for alto saxophone and string orchestra, Op. 109, written in 1934. It is music deeply rooted in Romanticism, and it has become a standard in the saxophone repertoire; this was my first time hearing it, and it's a complete delight.

Although invented in the early 1840s, the saxophone was still fairly new and unfamiliar in Glazunov's day; it remained under-utilized for years as it was considered "low-brow". Glazunov, however. was intrigued by this new timbre in the musical world; still, the composer almost certainly never heard his Saxophone Concerto publicly performed, since the Paris premiere of the work did not take place until after his death.

The concerto commences with a big, unison string theme: this is lushly lyrical music. Mr. Banks's warm, gorgeous tone fills out the melodies so persuasively, and there are passages of coloratura that are deftly handled. The saxophone sings over a rather hesitant accompanying rhythm, from which a long cadenza for the soloist arises. 

The music turns animated and wryly amusing. A swirling solo melody becomes a fugue. Mr. Banks sails onward, thru various trills and furbelows, to a lovely finish, winning the audience's vociferous approval.

After a brief pause, Mr. Banks returned for another work: Jacques Ibert's Concertino da Camera, written in 1935. From its flashy, almost chaotic start, Mr. Banks explores the saxophone's jazzy side, later taking up a sad song over the orchestra's swaying accompaniment. The strings, motivated by eloquent basses, commence a theme over which the saxophone delivers smooth fiorature. Things dance along, turning vibrant, and starting to swing. 

In a mood-change, a soft and pensive saxophone solo sounds over the orchestra's deep sighing: this is the sound of a broken heart, expressively sung by Mr. Banks and echoed by the horn. But you can't keep a good man's spirits down, and soon the sax player is reeling off rapid figurations: Mr. Banks revels in the subtleties of the score, polishing off a cadenza covering a vast range and brimming with dynamic shifts. Cries of "bravo" resounded in the Hall as this saxophone paragon took his bows. 

Above: tonight's conductor Xian Zhang

The evening concluded with the Beethoven's Fourth Symphony, which was premiered at the Lobkowitz Palace in Vienna in March 1807; being a private concert, there are no first-hand reports of initial reaction to the work.

Here, we can savour Xian Zhang's mastery of both grandeur and finesse; the orchestra played superbly for her, and the wind soloists - flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and horn - had a heyday, reeling off their passages with élan, whilst the Mostly Mozart strings were suitably satiny. Ironically, both my companion and I found ourselves thinking of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream during the Beethoven.

The concert ended with a joyous ovation, the conductor being hailed with special enthusiasm.

But our complete enjoyment of the concert was dampened by the news that we may be facing the end of Mostly Mozart as we have known and loved it. Weaving a handful of Mostly Mozart concerts into a summer festival of general entertainment events at Lincoln Center won't suffice for hardcore classical music-lovers. Or are we really witnessing the long-dreaded 'death of classical'?

This article sheds some light on the situation. Could another venue be found where Mostly Mozart could make their home - and flourish - in the future?

~ Oberon

Ten Years Ago

The end of the affair...

The last time I saw him...

Not unexpected, really, but extremely painful.

The Norns @ Cologne ~ 1972

Helga Schmidt (above), Janet Coster, and Liane Synek were the Norns in a performance of GOTTERDAMMERUNG given at Cologne in 1972. Hans Wallat conducts.

Listen to their Norn scene in two parts:

Norns - Pt I - Helga Schmidt - Janet Coster - Liane Synek - Cologne 1972 - Wallat cond

Norns - Pt II - Helga Schmidt - Janet Coster - Liane Synek - Cologne 1972 - Wallat cond

Bach ~ Sato ~ Netherlands Bach Society

A 2015 performance of Bach's Violin Concerto in E-major BWV 1042 with soloist Shunske Sato (above) and the Netherlands Bach Society.

Watch and listen here.