Oberon's Grove

Stratas & Domingo ~ BOHEME scene

Teresa Stratas and Placido Domingo are Mimi and Rodolfo in a scene from Act I of Puccini's LA BOHEME from a 1970 televised Gala Performance given at Sadlers Wells in London. Sir Charles Mackerras conducts.

Watch and listen here.

Nelsons/BSO: Mozart/Adès/Sibelius @ Carnegie Hall

Above: Maestro Andris Nelsons; photo by Fadi Kheir

Author: Ben Weaver

Tuesday April 25th, 2023 - The Boston Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of their music director Andris Nelsons, returned to Carnegie Hall last week. The concert of April 25th, 2023 was a marvelous evening of music by Mozart, Adès, and Sibelius, featuring two outstanding soloist artists. 

The great Anne-Sophie Mutter (above, photo by Fadi Kheir) performed two works: Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in B-flat major, KV 207 and the New York premiere of Thomas Adès’ Air (Homage to Sibelius) for Violin and Orchestra.

Mozart’s violin concertos have been part of Mutter’s repertoire for her entire career; it’s music she has played and internalized, and performances she has perfected, through the years. The magical performance on Tuesday night of the 1st Concerto, composed in 1773, was essentially perfect. Mutter’s golden, rich, steady tone never wavered; the soulfulness of her playing made the audience lean in. Mozart’s virtuosic writing gave Mutter no difficulties; she dispatched every run, double stop, and trill with absolute ease.

The new composition by Adès, Air (Homage to Sibelius), is a very different work from Mozart. Composed for Ms. Mutter in 2022, it’s a single-movement, semi-minimalist work (running about 13 mins) that lets the soloist stay in the upper reaches of the instrument for almost its entire run time. While the soloist played a canon - Ms. Mutter’s perfect control and steadiness were wondrous to hear - the orchestra shifted the landscape through orchestration and rhythms. Maestro Nelsons shepherded the forces around Ms. Mutter beautifully, the BSO letting the music ebb and flow. While Mr. Adès explicitly says Air is an homage to Sibelius, I heard more Arvo Pärt and John Adams than Sibelius.

Above: soprano Golda Schultz sings Sibelius; photo by Fad Kheir

Two works by Sibelius book-ended the evening's program. The vocal tone poem Luonnotar, Op. 70, is one of Sibelius’ most mystical and magical works. With text taken from the first “song” of the Finnish epic national poem Kalevala (a work that inspired several other major works from Sibelius), it tells the story of the (non-religious) Creation. The huge leaps and range of the vocal writing makes Luonnotar one of the most demanding works for a soprano, and South African soprano Golda Schultz was mesmerizing. Her rich voice is even throughout the range, even in the uppermost reaches it remains creamy and ravishing. Her breath control ensured she never ran out of air for Sibelius’ long and achingly beautiful melodies. Maestro Nelsons was sensitive to never let the orchestra drown out the singer. This is a work I wish would be performed more often.

Above: Maestro Nelsons and the BSO; photo by Fadi Kheir

The concert ended with an expansive performance of Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82. Sibelius’ sound-world is really like no other. I don’t think there is another composer who composed music of such surging coldness and brilliant light. You can feel the winds sweeping across the snow and the icy water glistening in the Sun. The episodic nature of Sibelius’ writing, in the hands of lesser conductors, can be difficult to stitch together. Maestro Nelsons managed it beautifully, and the Boston Symphony - which has a long history of playing Sibelius - responded to every nuance. The orchestra’s marvelous brass section deserves special recognition here because the very exposed writing for the horns in the first and third movements was played perfectly by the ensemble. The final movement, one of Sibelius’ most famous compositions, with the majestic tolling of the horns and sweeping melody from the strings, is one of those rare truly breathtaking glories of music. It’s interesting that this overwhelming section - supposedly inspired by a flock of swans he watched passing overhead - is only played in all its Romantic glory once. When it is repeated in the second half of the movement, it changes to a darker, almost sinister tone. And the work ends with 4 chords and 2 unisons - broken by pauses. A stark and startling conclusion.

The Boston Symphony is second to none playing Sibelius; years ago Sir Colin Davis - one of the great exponents of the Finnish bard’s music - played and recorded his works with the BSO extensively. Andris Nelsons doesn’t miss a beat.

Performance photos by Fadi Kheir, courtesy of Carnegie Hall

~ Ben Weaver

A Matti Salminen Rarity

As with so many treasures, I came upon this by chance on YouTube: Matti Salminen, the great Hunding and Hagen, sings Wotan in the finale of DIE WALKURE opposite Birgit Nilsson's Brunnhilde.

Here in the link.

FLIEGENDE HOLLANDER ~ NYCO 1977

Above: Guillermo Sarabia as the Dutchman

Audio-only performance of Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer performed at The New York City Opera in 1977, conducted by Julius Rudel, with the following cast:

Holländer - Guillermo Sarabia
Senta - Johanna Meier
Daland - Ara Berberian
Erik - Richard Taylor
Mary - Diane Curry
Steuermann - Jerold Siena

Listen here.

Ms. Meier, Ms. Curry, and Mr. Berberian were all great favorites of mine, and I saw Mr. Sarabia's Dutchman twice: once in Houston and later in Springfield, Massachusetts. Mr. Siena sings the Steersman beautifully.

YCA Presents Violinist Lun Li ~ Debut Recital

Wednesday April 26th, 2023 - Young Concert Artists presenting the New York debut recital of violinist Lun Li (above) tonight at Merkin Hall. Pianist Janice Carissa shared the stage with the young violinist in a wide-ranging program which Lun Li described in a program note:

"My debut program explores the interplay between fantasy and reality through the works of Bartók, Messiaen, Schumann and others. I have chosen a set of repertoire that explores this blurred dimension, and more importantly, allows the listener to form sonic connections without needing extensive knowledge and context. I invite you to form your own personal narratives with this program."

In the program's brief opening work, "Don Quixote" from 18 Miniatures by Giya Kancheli, both players showed themselves to be passionate and highly accomplished musicians. The music has a boisterous start, which develops into a strutting dance. Thereafter, extroverted phrases alternate with delicate, witty ones.

Lun Li then spoke briefly, and asked that we withhold applause during the remainder of the program's first half. He and Ms. Carissa then commenced on a marvelous performance of Francis Poulenc's Violin Sonata.

Poulenc originally wrote this sonata in 1942/1943, for the young French violinist Ginette Neveu, who perished in a plane crash in 1949 at the age of thirty. Thereafter, the composer revised the sonata, making several changes in the last movement. The work recalls the composer’s memories of the great Spanish poet Federico García Lorca (1899-1936); suspected of homosexuality, García Lorca was executed by the Fascists soon after the outbreak the of the civil war.

The sonata's opening Allegro con fuoco makes a frantic start before easing into a tango-like mood, which speeds up before halting for a long pause. A tender melody develops with great passion; alternating moods carry us to a fantastic finish.

Poulenc headlined his second movement, an Intermezzo, with a quotation from García Lorca: “The guitar makes dreams weep,” alluding to the poet’s own guitar arrangements of Spanish songs. The music begins with a lulling piano motif accompanied by plucked violin notes. A subtle melody becomes rapturous, the piano lapses into a dreamlike state. Off-kilter harmonies sound before an upward violin glissando brings a quizzical end.

The third movement's title, Presto tragico, foreshadows the death of the poet: fast and urgent passages mesh with dancelike swirls of notes, climaxing with a violent chord. A searing violin theme jolts us, then the music subsides to a tragic, mournful conclusion.

Honoring Lun Li's request for "no applause" was difficult after such a thrilling performance, but the mood held and he commenced the high, soft agitato of Salvatore Sciarrino's Per Mattia, a brief work that flowed seamlessly into the ensuing Schoenberg. 

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Above: pianist Janice Carissa

Arnold Schoenberg's Phantasy, Op. 47, began life as a solo violin piece, to which the composer later added a separate piano accompaniment. Lun Li and Ms. Carissa here displayed the wonderful sense of teamwork that underlined their playing all evening. The pianist, whose gown was a work of art in and of itself, is wonderfully subtle, and she deftly handled the rhythmic shifts in which this music abounds. Together, the players veered from the ethereal to the drunken, dancing along thru stuttering, jagged passages which morphed, incredibly, into Fritz Kreisler's Miniature Viennese March. This was a brilliant ending to the concert's first half: jaunty, and impeccably played.

Music of Olivier Messiaen, his Fantaisie, opened the evening's second half; the composer is perhaps best remembered for his magnificent, poignant Quartet for the End of Time. The Fantaisie opens with Ms. Carissa delivering an emphatic statement from the piano. Dance-like passages are heard, and then Lun Li's violin soars over gorgeous rippling figurations from the pianist. The music sails along, alternating rapid passages with thoughtful ones: mood swings that are relished by the players. From a high-velocity, tumultuous buildup, the music becomes cinematic. Animated/agitated music gives way to another high-flying, silken violin theme. The climax is reached, with the composer offering a swift, dazzling finish. 

Robert Schumann's quirky Bird as Prophet, arranged by Leopold Auer, comes next. Ascending violin phrases have a touch of irony, and then a lyrical song springs up, with a shimmering trill. The music features some wistful hesitations.

Lun Li and Ms. Carissa polished off the evening with a compelling performance of Béla Bartók's Violin Sonata No.2, Sz. 76. Lun Li aptly described this music as being "from a different planet", and from its big, strange start it is indeed kozmic, weird, and wonderful. Passion and pensiveness send alternating currents thru the hall, sagging violin motifs develop into an epic expressiveness. As things simmered down, Lun Li remained unfazed by the ill-timed sound of a cellphone: he delivered a plucking 'cadenza' from which a dance emerged: cascades of notes from the violin over a pounding rhythm from the keyboard. Fabulous playing...they sounded like a whole orchestra! 

Bartók offers a fantastical sonic variety in this piece in terms of tempi and dynamics: a piano solo of epic power gives way to a spidery violin motif. Lun Li becomes a veritable speed demon, playing fast and furious, and taking things to new heights. The music calms, and slows; the violin sighs, then starts plucking, and the music dances onward.

The audience hailed the musicians with a fervent ovation at the sonata's end, and Lun Li graciously thanked us for having accompanied him on this musical journey. He then launched a performance of Schubert's  Erlkönig that was an astounding demonstration not only of his virtuosity but of his unbounded passion and his heartfelt dedication to music.

I look forward eagerly to hearing Lun Li again...and soon: on Friday May 5th, he will play the Prokofiev 2nd with the Riverside Symphony at Alice Tully Hall. Tickets and info here. 

Performance photos courtesy of Young Concert Artists.

~ Oberon.

Jérôme Ducros ~ Trio for violin, cello, and piano

William Hagen (violin), Bruno Philippe (cello), and Jérôme Ducros (piano) in a performance of M. Ducros' Trio pour violon, violoncelle et piano (2009). The recording was made at the Salle Cortot, Paris, on March 12th, 2020 - the exact date that the pandemic began to cause the curtailment of musical events here in Gotham.

Watch and listen here.

I love this piece, and it is exceptionally well-played. Many thanks to my late friend Raphaël Michaud, who first sent me the link in 2020.

Love Has A Bitter Core

Nicolai Gedda and Eleanor Steber in Samuel Barber's VANESSA.

"For every question, let my kiss be the answer."

Eleanor Steber & Nicolai Gedda - duet from VANESSA

Graham Classics + New Works ~ 2023

Above: from Annie Rigney's new work for the Martha Graham Dance Company, GET UP, MY DAUGHTER

Sunday April 23rd, 2023 matinee - Two Graham masterpieces and two recently-premiered works new to the Graham Company repertoire held the stage at the Joyce Theater this afternoon.

DARK MEADOW SUITE, one of Graham's most beautiful works (with an equally beautiful Carlos Chávez score) opened the performance. At curtain-rise, the women are posed like icons, with Anne Souder slightly removed from the others. They begin stamping their feet. A plaintive violin theme is heard, joined by the cello. The women move with classic Graham steps and gestures; Ms. Souder is simply sublime.

Now Lloyd Knight (above) appears, striking poses in a spellbinding opening solo which develops into a stage-filling dance. Ms. Souder joins him for a duet in which an electric current seems to pass between them; their intimate partnering is at once sensual and ritualistic.

The kneeling men hold the women in a uniquely lovely leaning, questing pose, symbolic of seeking or longing; Ms. Souder and Mr. Knight continue to reign in duet and solo phrases: unbearably tender and heartfelt.

Aside from the principal couple, the cast for MEADOW today featured Leslie Andrea Williams, Laurel Dalley Smith, Marzia Memoli, Devin Loh, Kate Reyes, Jacob Larsen, Richard Villaverde, and new-to-Graham James Anthony.

Above: Marzia Memoli and So Young An in Annie Rigney's GET UP, MY DAUGHTER; photo by Steven Pisano

Ms. Rigney's debut piece for Graham opened earlier in the week. It is a harrowing work, set to a thrilling score by Marco Rosano which incorporates Bulgarian folk music with original themes by the composer, and with stunning lighting by Yi Chung-Chen. It tells a story similar to one that I heard long ago from my high-school girlfriend.

A quartet of young women in satiny frocks - So Young An, Anne O'Donnell, Anne Souder, and Marzia Memoli - dance together to chanted harmonies. They seem wary, full of angst and longing.

Above, in a Melissa Sherwood photo: Richard Villaverde makes a disturbingly powerful impression as the man of the house, who singles out So Young An as his partner of the moment in a dramatic duet of control, resistance, and resignation. The music is solemn, with the haunting voice of the great counter-tenor Andreas Scholl bringing a timeless feel. 

Ying Xin joins the sisterhood, who have apparently been drugged into near stupor; while heavenly harmonies are heard, they seem to plan an escape but lack the strength to attempt it. The organ joins the musical soundscape, lending a curiously religious air. Mr. Villaverde returns; the women tremble in fear. Drums thunder forth, and the piece ends suddenly.

Above: Ying Xin, Marzia Memoli, and So Young An in GET UP, MY DAUGHTER; photo by Steve Pisano

Why this work affected me so deeply lies in recalling my girlfriend's experience, of which I was unaware at the time. For three years, her father routinely raped her, her two older sisters, and her younger brother. I was aware of the extreme tension she endured living in a home with a drunken father, but I never knew about the sexual side of it until a few years later, after she had escaped and moved to Washington DC. I only knew how she clung to me in our tender, juvenile - but curiously "knowing" - love-making. Her father eventually blew his brains out.

Above: from CORTEGE 2023, with Ruchard Villaverde kneeling; photo by Steve Pisano

Equally thought-provoking this afternoon was the second darkly powerful new work, CORTEGE 2023, set to a score by Aidan Elias and choreographed by Baye & Asa. This piece spoke of the dangerous world in which we now live: scenes of violence, torture, and isolation alternate with depictions of mourning and consolation.

Chimes sound at curtain-rise as a diagonal of dancers are seen covered by a shroud, which is slowly pulled away as the dancing starts. The lighting (again by Yi-Chung Chen) flashingly isolates various tableaux of people under duress: prisoners, the interrogated, the isolated, the bereaved.

Lloyd Knight's solo (above photo by Melissa Sherwood), set to sinister music, is riveting. Rhythmic variety, and ritualistic acts, carry the piece eerily forward. Anne O'Donnell's solo is so expressive, and James Anthony has an opportunity to shine.

Above: Lorenzo Pagano and the ensemble; photo by Steve Pisano

Violence has become a fact of life, as indicated by a cataclysmic buildup of brass in the score. An animated quartet become a hypnotic sextet: the movement is non-stop. Deep chords invoke feelings of doom; and then, as silence falls, the vast shroud is used as a cover-up. 

The afternoon ended with a spectacular performance of Martha Graham's take on the Medea story: CAVE OF THE HEART. The Metropolitan Opera's 2022-2023 season opened with the Met's first-ever performance of Cherubini's MEDEA starring the inimitable Sondra Radvanovsky, so the story is fresh in the memory.

Leslie Andrea Williams (above, in a Melissa Sherwood photo) radiated her distinctive star-power in a performance that brought the character's double personality - abandoned lover and conniving sorceress - vividly to life. When she is not doing, she is always thinking; Leslie's expressive face, and her eyes - ever scanning the scene for what damage she can do - are as vital to her playing of the role as her dancing. 

Laurel Dalley Smith (photo above by Melissa Sherwood) gave a dazzling performance as the naive bride, basking in Jason's attentive courting, unaware of the doom that awaits her.

Lorenzo Pagano as the proud Jason, looking to be King of Corinth whilst scorning the woman who made it all possible, pays the cost of his betrayal. His earlier show of pride, taunting Medea with his worshipful wooing of the young princess, plunges him headlong into disaster. (Photo above by Melissa Sherwood).

Presiding overall, and striving in vain to prevent the ultimate catastrophe, the marvelous Natasha S. Diamond-Walker - a Graham goddess if ever there was one - conveyed both the dignity and the anxiety of the all-knowing Chorus in perfect measure. (Photo above by Melissa Sherwood). 

It surprises me that Martha Graham did not bring the children of Medea and Jason into her telling of the story. The two young boys are a key element in the Cherubini opera, wherein Medea surpasses the cruelty of murdering Jason's betrothed by knifing the youths. She flings their bloody corpses at Jason's feet; aghast, he asks her: "What was their crime??" to which she calmly replies: "They were your children..."

Following the performance, I went downstairs to greet and thank the dancers, and was thrilled to see again - after waaaay too long - two of my Graham idols, Blakeley McGuire and Carrie Ellmore-Tallitsch.

~ Oberon

Premieres @ Graham

Sunday April 23rd, 2023 - The Martha Graham Dance Company have presented two premieres during their current season at The Joyce. I saw them both on this afternoon's program, and I found them to be engrossing (for different reasons), with fascinating musical scores, terrific lighting, and - needless to say - spectacular dancing.

Some images have come my way, and I am posting one picture from each of the new works now, with my write-up to follow tomorrow. At the top, dancing Annie Rigney's GET UP, MY DAUGHTER, are Richard Villaverde and So Young An. The score, which sometimes draws on Bulgarian folk music, is by Marco Rosano.

Below, from CORTEGE 2023, choreographed by Baye and Asa to a score by Aidan Elias, are dancers James Anthony, Anne Souder, and Richard Villaverde.

Both photos are by Melissa Sherwood, courtesy of the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Ralph Vaughan Williams ~ A SEA SYMPHONY

Above: Ralph Vaughan Williams

Author: Oberon

Friday April 21st, 2023 - The Choral Society and Orchestra of Grace Church presenting a performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams's A SEA SYMPHONY, conducted by John Maclay, with soloists Tami Petty (soprano) and Hadleigh Adams (baritone).

Vaughan Williams selected for the first three movements of A SEA SYMPHONY three poems from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. The symphony's first two movements are entitled "A Song for All Seas, All Men" and "On the Beach at Night Alone." The third movement, called in the symphony "The Waves", is Whitman's poem in the same series entitled "After the Sea Ship." For the fourth and longest movement, entitled "The Explorers", the composer chose lines from widely scattered excerpts of another lengthy sub-section of Leaves of Grass entitled "Passage to India."

In all four movements, the composer tightened up the poetry to best serve his musical vision of the boundless sea. From the first brass fanfare proclaiming the words "Behold the Sea!" to the mystical choral invocation of a  "...vast rondure, swimming in space", words and music align to depict both the epic grandeur and the meditative power of the planet's oceans.

This evening was very frustrating for me, as I have waited years to hear this work performed live. The audience included many people who brought small children, and of course, two such youngsters were seated directly in front of us. After being reasonably well behaved during the first movement, they became fidgety and restless. The parents basically ignored their antics, especially during the long final movement. My companion and I were exasperated by the situation: yet another case of the  triumph of people who don't care over people who do. 

Musically, the evening got off to an uneven start. The balance between the orchestra, the huge chorus, and the soloists was off; the blend became mushy and most of the words were incomprehensible. The symphony's great opening movement therefore went for nought. Things improved greatly during the second and most haunting movement, "On the Beach at Night Alone" and the ensuing scherzo, "The Waves", was well done. In the over-long final movement, the composer seems to have been unable to decide how to end the piece: he would periodically venture into a cul de sac, delaying the inevitable.

The evening's soloists are both possessed of fine voices. Baritone Hadleigh Adams was sometimes overwhelmed by the orchestra in the opening movement, but that is the conductor's fault. Mr. Adams came into his own with a wonderful rendering of "On the Beach at Night Alone" where his expressive singing and fine timbre could be deeply enjoyed. An eloquent passage for solo cello enhanced the singing, making this the highlight of the evening.

Soprano Tami Petty has a clear, sweet voice that blooms as it ascends; in this regard, she reminded me of Helena Dix, the Australian soprano who sang Norma at The Met earlier this year. Ms. Petty sounded truly lovely in the big Hall, making me hope she'll have a go at the Verdi REQUIEM here someday soon.

Above, bowing during the massive standing ovation at the concert's end, are Ms. Petty, Maestro Maclay, and Mr. Adams; photo by Brian Hatton.

I don't anticipate another opportunity to hear A SEA SYMPHONY here in New York City again in my lifetime, but I have the marvelous Grammy Award-winning Telarc CD of it with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Robert Spano, and wonderful soloists Christine Goerke and Brett Polegato that I can turn to.

~ Oberon