Tag: Great Performers

Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra @ Lincoln Center

Above: pianist Till Fellner, photo by Jean-Baptiste Millot

~ Author: Ben Weaver

Sunday May 19th, 2019 matinee – Great Performers at Lincoln Center presenting Maestro Manfred Honeck and his Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra in a super-sized concert at Lincoln Center this afternoon: Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 was preceded by Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 – two substantial works that rarely share the stage.

Austrian pianist Till Fellner was the soloist for Beethoven’s 1809 magnum opus, the imposing “Emperor” Piano Concerto. By 1809 Beethoven’s hearing was already deteriorated enough that he stopped playing the piano in public. It is the only one of is concertos that he did not premiere himself. After a single chord from the orchestra, the piano enters majestically with an extended solo. This is followed by another single chord from the orchestra and a cadenza-like solo from the piano; and then again – for the third time – before the orchestra finally launches a traditional introduction.

The lovely Adagio is scored sparingly for the piano, muted strings and winds and it leads without a pause into the raucous final Rondo. Mr. Fellner is a magician behind the keyboard. There is an extraordinary sense of simplicity and ease in his playing; even in the most arduous passages, he makes the music sound like it is being played by the gods themselves. But there is nothing simple about his interpretations, which are filled with shadows and light. He makes the music come alive in a way no other living pianist does. Fellner seems to breathe the music into existence. Each live performance I have attended by this extraordinary musician leaves me in awe. Maestro Honeck and the Pittsburg Symphony musicians seemed to be breathing the same music as Mr. Fellner. They were the perfect partners for this exceptional performance.

Above: Maestro Honeck, photographed by Reinhold Möller

Gustav Mahler’s mighty Symphony No. 5 received a somewhat mixed performance after the intermission. The star-turn trumpet introduction to the symphony was beautifully done, and Honeck’s tightly-controlled and dark funeral march signaled a great start. And for the Pittsburg Symphony, even at maximum volume, the sound remained wonderfully transparent. What was missing from the 3rd and 4th movements as the symphony shifts from darkness to light with its swirling waltzes, gallops and love songs (the Adagietto was nicely paced, but the climax never materialized) was a sense of fun; everyone still seemed to be stuck in the death-haunted first two movements of the symphony. Fortunately the final Rondo came whizzing in like a Mendelssohnian fairy. Honeck’s lightening of textures was a striking effect here and it brought the work to an appropriately affirming conclusion.

~ Ben Weaver

May 28, 2019
Monteverdi’s L’ORFEO @ Alice Tully Hall

~ Author: Oberon

Wednesday October 18th, 2017 – Tonight marked the first event in our Great Performers at Lincoln Center subscription series: Monteverdi’s L’ORFEO was performed by the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Tenor Krystian Adam appeared as Orfeo, enjoying great personal success in the role. The large cast was peopled by fine singing-actors who made their characters come alive in a semi-staged setting. There was some off-pitch singing in the course of the evening, but by the final moresca all was forgiven.

The opera, which was fiirst performed in 1607 as the ducal court of Mantua, charts the story of the singer Orfeo’s love for Euridice, her death from a snake bite, and Orfeo’s journey to hell to bring his beloved back. Moved by Orfeo’s despair and devotion, Plutone allows Euridice to leave the underworld – with the stipulation that Orfeo not look at her during their journey. Orfeo cannot resist, and by gazing at his beloved, he causes her second death. The intervention of Orfeo’s father, Apollo, sends Orfeo heavenward, where he can spend eternity observing Euridice in the afterlife.

Soprano Hana Blažíková opened the prologue as La Musica (she later also appeared as Euridice). At first Ms. Blažíková’s voice seemed too large – almost Tosca-like – but she settled in quickly and did some really impressive, controlled singing in her solo with the excellent harpist Gwyneth Wentink. The story then unfolds.

I hated the semi-staging, at least in the opening scenes where the costumed nymphs and shepherds cavorted in fake camaraderie that had the air of a high-school play. They seemed self-conscious as they embraced one another endlessly, whilst singing repeatedly about how very happy they were for Orfeo. When the story turns darker, things improved considerably. Thenceforth, everyone was clad in black and moved in stylized formations, with the musicians sometimes part of the action.

Mr. Adam as Orfeo made a vivid impression from his first lines. As the character moves from joy to despair, the tenor’s palette of vocal colour provided phrase after phrase of deeply satisfying singing. His long scena upon losing his Euridice for a second time was a vocal marvel, with the words and his poignant phrasing of the music all of a piece.

Basso Gianluca Buratto, a masterful singing-actor, doubled as Caronte and Plutone. As Caronte, having denied Orfeo entrance to the underworld, moved eerily around the stage, intrigued by the sounds of the musical instruments and the people playing them. Mr. Buratto’s large, inky bass sound was superbly inflected, making his scenes highlights of the evening.

A third fascinating voice was that of Korean counter-tenor Kangmin Justin Kim who – as Speranza – sang from the mezzanine. The voice is clear, steady, mystical. There was also fine singing from Lea Desandre (Messagera) and Francesca Boncompagni (Prosperina) – each with a lovely face and form – and notable beauty of tone in Gareth Treseder’s Eco, sung from above with a voice that hung on the air.

Under Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s expert leadership, the evening musically provided endless pleasures. The instrumental ensemble played superbly and there was so much fine vocalism to savour. L’ORFEO was played straight thru in a 2-hour+ stretch, but it flew by.

~ Oberon

October 18, 2017
Great Performers: Matthias Goerne
Above: Matthias Goerne

Wednesday April 20th, 2016 – Baritone Matthias Goerne offered a program of songs by Eisler, Schumann, and Wolf, with Alexander Schmalcz at the Steinway. The recital was part our Great Performers at Lincoln Center subscription series.

In the congenial setting of Alice Tully Hall, we experienced a lieder recital like no other I have ever attended. Rather than singing neat sets of songs by each composer and walking offstage after each group, only to return in a couple of minutes for another segment, Mssrs. Goerne and Schmalcz remained onstage throughout each half of the program. At the end of each group of songs by one of the evening’s composers, applause was forestalled by silent signals from the singer and by the pianist keeping his hands poised over the keyboard. Thus each half of the program flowed seamlessly, coughing and quiet chatter between sets was avoided, and the focus on the music itself, without the distractions of the recitalist’s comings and goings, made for an intense and amply rewarding listening experience. The individual songs became part of a vast sonic canvas of myriad colours.

This innovative presentation created an opportunity to experience the Goerne voice and artistry in two long arcs of song. And what a voice it is: in over five decades of listening to singing in the realms of opera and classic song, only two or three voices have been so captivating just as sound. Mr. Goerne is blessed with an enormous vocal range, from the depths of basso-darkness to a secure, blooming, and captivating upper register. His mastery of dynamics is nothing less than awesome: thunderous, hall-shaking phrases can be succeeded by the most delicate of sustained piano effects, whilst at mid-volume, the sound with it’s magically manipulated vibrato is almost unbearably beautiful.

Mr. Goerne is a singer who gets physically involved in his songs: gestures and indeed full-body moves seem to flow with utter naturalness from his deep emotional commitment to what’s being sung. Thoroughly lacking in pretense, he allows us into his private world where we can commune with the composers thru the singer’s personal involvement. Goerne’s generosity both of voice and of spirit makes him an artist you want to experience time and again.

With the Goerne voice ideally partnered by Mr. Schmalcz’s lyrical attentiveness at the piano, the music-making was so totally pleasing that it hardly mattered what was being sung, or that the numerous (and short) Eisler songs are less involving musically than those of Schumann or Wolf. It was just such an immersive pleasure to bask in the heart-healing tone and exquisite expressiveness that filled the blessèd space.

When it was announced that songs by Wolf would be on the program, I hoped to see that composer’s timelessly touching Anakreons Grab listed – alas, it wasn’t included in the printed program. But it made for a gorgeous encore, sung and played so poetically:
```
"Here, where the roses bloom, and the ivy embraces the laurel,
Where the turtledove murmurs, and the cricket sings -
What grave is this, that the gods 
Have so kindly graced with vines and flowers?
It is Anacreon's resting-place.
Spring, Summer, and Autumn did that poet enjoy;
And now from Winter, at last, this mound protects him."  
```
April 20, 2016
Freiburg Baroque @ Alice Tully Hall

Thursday February 25th, 2016 – This all-Mozart concert, performed by Freiburg Baroque at Alice Tully Hall tonight, was part of our Great Performers at Lincoln Center subscription series. Arias from the da Ponte/Mozart operas, the clarinet concerto, and the “Linz” symphony were scheduled. We were of course expecting the usual program order: the arias first, then the clarinet concerto, an intermission, and the symphony coming last.

Instead, in an attempt to re-create a type of concert popular in Mozart’s time, the movements of the symphony were played on the first half of the program, interspersed with arias. This may have seemed intriguing on paper, but in the event it lessened the effect of the symphony – which now seemed more like incidental music (great incidental music!) – while the arias seemed rather randomly chosen, two of them in fact being simply passages from ensembles.

Given all this, and despite some very fine playing, the first half of the evening seemed a bit of a jumble. Gottfried von der Goltz, the ensemble’s principal violinist and director, had an ideally light touch, and he set propulsive tempi for the symphonic movements. He and the singer, Christian Gerhaher, formed a very simpatico bond: Mr. Gerhaher’s very confident stage-presence, wide-ranging voice, and winningly characterful interpretations were finely supported by conductor and ensemble.

Prior to playing the concerto, soloist Lorenzo Coppola introduced us to the clarinet d’amour – an unusual instrument that is longer than a standard clarinet and with a flared bell at the end. Once the concerto was underway, Mr. Coppola played with sure technique, exploring the instrument’s wide range with plenty of body language and almost comic accentuation of the lowest notes. His performance took on a more serious tone for the haunting Adagio, one of Mozart’s most sublime creations. For all Mr. Coppola’s skill and artistry, there were times when the instrument itself seemed in control.

Mr. Gerharer then re-appeared for three of Mozart’s greatest arias for male voice: Leporello’s Catalogo, and one showpiece each from the opposing protagonists of NOZZE DI FIGARO: the valet’s “Non piu andrai” and Count Almaviva’s blazing “Hai gia vinto la causa!” In these three solos, Mr. Gerharer further displayed his impressive grasp of vocal characterization: in the Almaviva aria especially, he seemed to bring the drama most vividly to life.

Between the two NOZZE arias, the orchestra chimed in with a brief Contredanse (K. 610) subtitled “Les filles malicieuses“, a brief charmer of a piece. Who were these “malicious girls” and what did Mozart want with them? We’ll never know, any more than we’ll know whose cellphone went off at just the wrong moment tonight.

The Participating Artists:

Freiburg Baroque/Gottfried von der Goltz, violin and director

Christian Gerhaher, baritone

Lorenzo Coppola, clarinet d’amour

The Repertory:

Arias from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, and Le Nozze di Figaro

Mozart: Clarinet Concerto

Mozart: Symphony # 36 (“Linz”)

February 25, 2016