Concert Review: A Tale of Two Brothers

Paavo Järvi leads the New York Philharmonic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Cellist Gualtier Capuçon joined the Philharmonic last week.
Photo from the artist's website. 

The conductor Paavo Järvi comes from a proud family with a long musical tradition. Together with his father Neeme and his brother Kristjian, the Järvi family forms a triumvirate of conductors regularly heard around the world. On Friday morning, he was the replacement for Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, who had to postpone her planned Philharmonic debut for medical reasons.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Samson et Dalila

The Met opens its 2018 season with Saint-Saëns' Old Testament thumper.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Mr. DeMille, they're ready for their closeup: Roberto Alagna (left) and
Elina Garança wig out in the Met's new Samson et Dalila.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2018 The Metropolitan Opera.

The new season opens with Roberto Alagna and Elina Garança in the title roles of Samson et Dalila, the story of an implacable hero, an unstoppable anti-heroine and the most famous gravity-check in the Old Testament. Also, lots of really, really big hair!

Concert Review: The Man With Three Countries

Stéphane Denève brings Prokofiev back to the Philharmonic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

"If you want them to take you seriously you've got to have serious hair." Stéphane Denève.
Photo from the Royal Scottish Opera by Chris Christodoulou.

Sergei Prokofiev gets a bad rap.

Oh sure, he's a major composer of the 20th century, a fearless innovator whose music pushed boundaries in the areas of piano, orchestral work, opera and ballet. And yet there is something of the sidelong glance, something of the raised eyebrow among music elitists that keeps his huge catalogue from being programmed regularly outside of Russia. Sure, the works are technically difficult, but this writer would postulate that said programmers are never quite sure if the composer was being serious or was secretly laughing at his audience.

Concert Review: Dynamite from Fairyland

Yannick Nézet-Séguin returns to Carnegie Hall.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Yannick Nézet-Séguin brought the Philadelphia Orchestra back to Carnegie Hall.
Photo by Jan Regan for the Philadelphia Orchestra.

The Philadelphia Orchestra are regular visitors to the great stage of Carnegie Hall. Tuesday night saw the band's first New York appearance this season with music director Yannick Nézet-Seguin at the helm. The dynamic young Quebeçois conductor is one of the genuine podium stars of this new century, drawing the focus of New Yorkers since he accepted the job of successor to James Levine (starting in 2020) at the Metropolitan Opera. His loyal troops were given a solid program that played to their strengths: a Prokofiev concerto bookended by two major works from Maurice Ravel.

Concert Review: The Beautiful South

Spanish Nights at the New York Philharmonic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

El Sombrero de Tres Picos by Salvador Dalí.  Image © 1945 Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí

In writing classical music reviews, the general practice is to see the first performance of a particular concert program in order to hear the works on offer and thus inform readership of the quality (or lack therein) of the performance. However, due to health issues this weekend, I wound up attending Tuesday night's performance of the New York Philharmonic's Spanish Nights program, an engaging evening of music inspired by the Iberian peninsula under the baton of Bramwell Tovey.

Concert Review: A Ride on the Orient Express

The Philharmonic premieres John Adams' Scheherazade.2.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

A woman against the masses: violinist Leila Josefowicz at the New York Philharmonic.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2015 The New York Philharmonic.

As music director of the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert has been instrumental in engineering the premieres of new works by still-living composers. One of those premieres took place last week with the first performances anywhere of Scheherazade.2, John Adams' new "dramatic symphony for violin and orchestra." It is in fact a hybrid creation: a four movement symphony with  aspects of a violin concerto, minus any structural resemblance to the latter form. The solo part was played by Leila Josefowicz.

Concert Review: The Everlasting Showstoppers

David Robertson conducts the New York Philharmonic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Pianist Emanuel Ax returned to the New York Philharmonic this week.
Photo by  Lisamarie Mazzucco © 2013 Sony Classical.

The winter tempest that hit New York last Monday night forced the New York Phulharmonic to shrink its planned rehearsal schedule for this week's round of concerts under the baton of David Robertson. That resulted in a change of program and a concert that featured not one, not two, but three show-stopping works.

Concert Review: By the Time He Gets to Phoenix

Esa-Pekka Salonen returns to the New York Philharmonic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Esa-Pekka Salonen in action.
Photo courtesy toe Los Angeles Philharmonic.

On Thursday night, Esa-Pekka Salonen returned to the podium of Avery Fisher Hall to lead the New York Philharmonic in the first of three concerts this week. The acclaimed Finnish composer, who rose to fame in this country as the former leader of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, was the first major guest conductor at the Philharmonic this young season. The program: early works by two composers who were also famous conductors: Ludwig van Beethoven and Igor Stravinsky.

Concert Review: Dreaming in Color

Bernard Haitink and the BSO play Carnegie Hall.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Susan Graham (left) and Bernard Haitink perform Ravel's Shéhérezade last week at Symphony Hall.
Photo by Stu Rosner © 2014 Boston Symphony Orchestra.

For the second of their two concerts this week at Carnegie Hall, Bernard Haitink and the Boston Symphony Orchestra chose to devote an evening to the music of Maurice Ravel. This Swiss-born composer is known for precise musical construction and delicate orchestration--with a small but memorable output of works that can have the character of a complicated time-piece. However, this superb pairing of orchestra and conductor found emotional depth in these pieces, achieved through a high standard of performance.

Concert Review: Dance 'til You Drop

Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra return to Carnegie Hall.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Valery Gergiev. Photo by Aleexander Shapunov
© 2013 Columbia Artists Management International, courtesy CAMI.

You can say one thing for Valery Gergiev: he's determined to focus on music.

Last night, the conductor had his second encounter this season with protesters from Queer Nation. They lined up under Carnegie Hall's glass portico to express their displeasure with Mr. Gergiev's close association with Russian leader Vladimir Putin--and his lack of comment on the Putin government's laws banning so-called "gay propaganda" within Russia.

Concert Review: As the Puppets Dance

The New York Philharmonic presents A Dancer's Dream.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The puppets dance in Petrushka as Alan Gilbert conducts A Dancer's Dream.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2013 New York Philharmonic.

All the viral videos, cross-marketing and pre-event hype in the last two weeks from the marketing department of the New York Philharmonic failed to capture the brilliance and breadth of imagination present in A Dancer's Dream, seen on Thursday night at Avery Fisher Hall. This is the third and most recent collaboration between the orchestra and Doug Fitch, the director and puppeteer behind the Brooklyn-based theater company Giants Are Small.

Riot Act: The Rite of Spring Turns 100

Reflections on Igor Stravinsky's ballet masterpiece.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Do the circumstances of a work's premiere out-weigh the importance of the work itself?

Costumes for the premiere of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps, better known in this country under its original title The Rite of Spring is one work where that is entirely possible. The Rite premiered in Paris 100 years ago, and the audience's reaction to this new music had shadowed it ever since: a near-riot of well-dressed Parisians booing, catcalling, and in more than a few cases, getting caught up in the violence of the music and assaulting their neighbors.

The cops showed up at intermission.

Concert Review: Not Into That Whole Brevity Thing

Gustavo Dudamel conducts Debussy and Stravinsky.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The Dude abides: Gustavo Dudamel conducts.
Photo by Chris Lee.

A concert appearance by Gustavo Dudamel is always cause for excitement--and for those who venerate the 32-year old Venezuelan conductor, a level of fan support not usually seen with men who beat time. On Thursday night, New Yorkers had the opportunity to hear the fiery Venezuelan lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 20th century orchestral repertory. This was the second of two appearances at Avery Fisher Hall by the L.A. players, as part of the annual Great Performers at Lincoln Center subscription series.

Concert Review: The Rite Stuff

Reposted from The Classical Review. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

 Alan Gilbert conducts the New York Philharmonic in The Rite of Spring. Photo by Chris Lee.

The New York Philharmonic’s opening night marks the beginning of the classical music season at Lincoln Center. This year, Alan Gilbert opened the season not with a splashy gala or free concert, but with a regular subscription performance, featuring works by György Kurtag and Igor Stravinsky flanking Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto.

Click here for the full article, available on The Classical Review.

Winger Ballet Takes Flight

Glam band bassist turns composer.

Ballet composer Kip Winger.
Photo from KipWinger.com.

I don't usually write about ballet on this blog (with the exception of the odd production of Tannhäuser) but this story struck me as interesting. Hard rocker Kip Winger has written a ballet score--his second.

His work, Conversations with Nijinsky will be recorded at Oberlin College with musicians from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. The work is written for a 62-piece orchestra. Conducting an online campaign through Kickstarter.com, Mr. Winger was successful in raising the money, exceeding the goal of $35,000.

Mr. Winger is best known for fronting the hard rock quartet that bears his last name. (The group, formed after Mr. Winger had left Alice Cooper's band, was originally called "Sahara," but Alice Cooper suggested they change the name to Winger. A subsequent promotional campaign was built around Mr. Winger's looks.

The redubbed group had chart success in the 1980s with hits like "Madeleine" and "Can't Get Enuff" (sic). They are best remembered for the 1988 hit single "Seventeen" which rose to No. 26 in the Billboard Hot 100.

With flashy videos and an image crafted for MTV, the band was poised for major success. It didn't hurt that they were skilled musicians, with a drummer who had done time in the Dixie Dregs and hotshot guitarist Reb Beach. Also essential: Mr. Winger's twenty years of ballet training, which allowed him to whirl athletically with his bass (to the delight of the band's female fans.) In his teens, Mr. Winger had pursued ballet training, dancing with the Colorado State Ballet Company.

Underage, then under siege: Winger perform "Seventeen."
© 1988 Atlantic/Atco Records, Warner Music Group.

Vaslav Nijinsky. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

As the 1990s began, Winger suffered a backlash. The record industry decided that it couldn't make any more money on hair metal. (It didn't help that the "uncool" kid on Beavis and Butt-head wore a Winger t-shirt.) A second album Winger II: In the Heart of the Young mixed progressive rock in with pop metal. A third, Pull, went largely unnoticed.

In more recent years, Mr. Winger toured as a solo artist, reunited Winger, and studied composition.  He also wrote his first ballet score, the well-received Ghosts.

"Think of me as a theater-renaissance dude with a major focus in composing" was how he put it in an article on the Oberlin website.

Now, the bass-playing balladeer has created Conversations With Nijinsky, a ballet based on the work of  Vaslav Nijinsky the lead dancer in Serge Diaghalev's legendary Parisian company, the Ballet Russe. In a statement on Kickstarter.com, Mr. Winger said that he wanted to make his work the accompaniment to "the unseen dances of Nijinsky."

A Russian dancer of Polish extraction, Nijinsky was the most famous ballet dancer of the early 20th century, and danced lead parts in works like Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezhade. But he is best remembered as the principal dancer in Igor Stravinsky's first three ballets: The Firebird, Petrouchka and The Rite of Spring. But his career ended in 1929 when the dancer suffered a nervous breakdown and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He died in 1950 and is buried in Montmartre Cemetery in Paris.

Mr. Winger's work will be recorded and released in the spring of this year. And he shouldn't worry about his critics. When you've been used as a dart-board in a Metallica video, you can handle anything.

Concert Review: The Hero and the Prince

Bartók and Dvořák at Symphony Hall.

Hero with a cello: the astonishing Yo-Yo Ma.
Photo not taken in Symphony Hall. © 2011 Sony Classics.

The orchestra roster printed in this year's Boston Symphony Orchestra concert programs still has a blank space by the words "Music Director." But Tuesday night's concert (the fourth of this program with guest cellist Yo-Yo Ma) proved that the BSO is moving on from the departure of James Levine.

Mr. Ma was at Symphony Hall to play Antonín Dvořák's Cello Concerto in b minor, an inspired product of the Czech composer's three years spent teaching music in America. Mr. Ma once described this concerto as "a hero's journey." He lived up to his description, playing the vivid solo part with fire, emotion, and total involvement with the music.

Dvořák wrote passages of great lyric beauty for both orchestra and soloist, with treacherous cadenzas for the latter. The formidable double-stops and trills up on the neck of the instrument can push any cellist's capabilities. Mr. Ma's responded with playing that seemed to get better with each movement. Playing with head thrown back and fingers flying, his cello wept in the slow section of the finale, before bringing the work to a triumphant close.

Juanjo Mena, who first conducted the BSO at Tanglewood in 2010, made his Symphony Hall debut with these concerts. Mr. Mena proved a skilled accompanist, helped by strong playing from the BSO. The horns deserve praise for the noble reading of the second subject of the Allegro, and the mystic, almost Wagnerian chorale heard in the finale. The subscription audience were enthusiastic, and adoring of Mr. Ma.

They were less happy about the second half of the program. The Wooden Prince is an early work by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, and a work that was new to the orchestra. Mr. Mena displayed an unerring grasp of Bartók's tricky time changes. The Spanish conductor navigated the oversized orchestra (extra percussionists, celesta and saxophones) through the score's hairpin curves. 

Instead of sonic overkill, Bartók produces a wide palette of tonal colors, from the lurching percussive rhythm of the Prince himself to a long lyric pas de deux for the lead dancers. The work includesme lodies inspired by Hungarian folk-tunes, as well as the wry humor evident in his later, more popular ballet score The Miraculous Mandarin.

Mr. Mena's own podium performance was fascinating to watch, combining traditional time-beating with the herky-jerky movements of the ballet's title character. But at 50 minutes, and in 12 sections with no pauses, The Wooden Prince is a heavy meal for the first-time listener to digest. It was greeted with polite applause. Work, composer, and orchestra deserved better.