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composers, musicians, Philadelphia Orchestra

Gil Shaham and The Philadelphians

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Verizon Hall, Philadelphia

April 28-30, 2022

Gil Shaham, leader & violin

Gil Shaham (photo Chris Lee)

Violinist Gil Shaham fronted the Philadelphia Orchestra, as ‘Leader and soloist’ in a string orchestra program of works by Fritz Kreisler, Joseph Bologne and Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.‘ A herculean task, and yet Shaham didn’t run out of steam, in the zone-sans podium-with the full strings in a semi-circle around him. Because his body was busy with his violin, in lieu of the typical maestro choreography, Shaham ‘leading’ everything with a fascinatingly, minimalist physicality. (More on that in a moment).

On Fritz Kreisler’s Praeludium & Allego, Shaham sounding rushed on the first bars, deliberately perhaps, for when he reached the first notes of Kreisler’s central theme, his rich soulful tone engulfed the concert hall, and was a sumptuous warm up to the orchestra’s legendary strings.

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s musical director Yannick Nezet-Seguin has been correcting previous sins of omission and performing more repertory by composers of color. In this concert, Shaham soloing on a long-overlooked masterpieces of 18^th century, by Joseph Boulogne Chevalier St. Georges’ Violin Concerto no. 9 for this concert.

Born around 1745, the son of Nanon, an enslaved woman in colonialized Caribbean islands and a French aristocrat plantation owner. Mother and son escaped to France and Boulonge was raised among France nobility. Joseph excelled at fencing and a gifted violinist and composter. He was subjected to racism, along the way, other musicians refused to collaborate with him. when he was orchestrating his own works, because he was biracial, meanwhile, he was a favorite at the court of Marie Antoinette.

 The Chevalier’s Violin Concerto is in its mastery of forms and in that pocket of baroque-classical forward transitional era. St. George, and his soon to be contemporary Mozart, compositionally prescient, exploring ideas of his own. The glittering courtly structure on the first movement is prelude to the somber symphonic expressionism of the 2nd movement. The Chevalier

The finale of the Vivaldi’s ‘The Four Seasons’ performed with such rigor by the Philadelphians, still evokes a mystique that has remained undimmed in the canon of essential world music. It is earthy and ethereal, narrative and abstract, and for string musicians, foundational and challenging repertory. Each Season a ripe sonata form followed by musical depictions of weather furies, flora, fauna and the musical contemplations of the seasons of life.

Gil Shaham commanded throughout, but never eclipsed the rest of the players. This was orchestrated for a large chamber orchestra and the balance, precision and ensemble energy with Shaham was exquisite. Aside from the warm smile and Shaham was a study in maestro-maneuvers, his back to the musicians. At various times, inching toward the individual musicians at key moments of interplay with the principals up front, otherwise signaling tempos or phrasing with tilts of his head, or craning his body as he fiddled, with very expressive eyebrows signaling sonic contours.

Among the outstanding soloists- principal violinist David Kim, Christine Lin and William Polk (2nd & 3rd violin) and principal cellist Ni-Ye Ni, harpsichordist Avi Stein brilliant in the keyboard counterpoint and those eerily dissonant sustained notes.

This ensemble crystalized every musical idea of this perpetual masterpiece, from Vivaldi’s earthy rhythmic drive to the perpetual motion of baroque form, nothing was diluted.

PhillyClassical

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composers, Philadelphia Orchestra

Philadelphia Orchestra

Verizon Hall,

Kencho Watanabe, conductor

Sergio Tempo, pianist.

Mar. 26, 2022

www.philorch.org

 Philadelphia Orchestra’s scheduled program March 26 was initially to be conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, but he had to cancel so the baton was taken up by the orchestra’s Music Director Yannick Nezet-Seguin, who fell ill late in the week and also had to bow out for performances and his duties on the podium the same day conducting Don Carlo at the Metropolitan Opera.  

Stepping in at the last minute for these performances was Conductor Kencho Watanabe, a Curtis Institute Fellow & Assistant Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra (2016 -2019) and now in-demand on symphony orchestra stages all over the world, stepped in to conduct the challenging line-up of Chopin’s Piano Concerto no. 1 and Shostakovich’s mighty 5^th Symphony.

Meanwhile the day before the concert, the orchestra announced that there would be a pre-concert fundraising event in support of the people of Ukraine in the Kimmel Center’s Commonwealth Plaza (adjacent to Verizon Hall) hosted by Urnya Mazure, representing the Ukrainian Consul in Philadelphia. Members of the orchestra accompanied Mezzo-soprano Yulia Stupen stirring performance of the Ukrainian national anthem. Poems and traditional Ukrainian songs sung, with dignitaries expressing gratitude for local humanitarian support for Ukrainians. Ms. Mazure expressing gratitude to the orchestra for the Philadelphia Orchestra reaching out to her, in the initial days of the war, to ask what they could do to help.

The evening’s main concert got under way half an hour later with a performance by Concert Master David Kim performing a composition by Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk and a recitation by Charlotte Blake Auston who spoke of world peace and recited a poem by Paul Dunbar, then called for a moment of silence for those lost in war and solidarity for the people of Ukraine

 Maestro Watanabe then brought Venezuelan pianist Sergio Tempio onstage, the long orchestral opening of Frederic Chopin’s first piano concerto, with war related history of its own. First performed  by the composer in Vienna in 1830, while back in Poland, his homeland, Warsaw was under siege by Russian forces.

This concerto can be tricky in the balance between the huge technical demands on the pianist and the delicate balance that has to be blanced with rest of the orchestra. Tempio was in his own zone in moments vis-à-vis the orchestra musicians, but, this was, overwhelmingly, a brilliant performance by the soloist, the maestro, and this orchestra.

. Tempio’s delivered a captivating performance of this towering work. Which requires both delicacy and complete technical command over three movements. Tempio’s interpretive artistry particularly radiant in the intimacy in the 2^nd mov. ‘Romanze, Largetto.’ After the density of the long Allegro maestroso of the first.

Equally impressive is the fact that Watanabe also delivered  such a fulsome performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 5. A program that was scheduled at the beginning of the season, full of so many haunting connections to what is happening in our world today.

 first performed in Moscow and embraced by the public and even Stalin’s musical censorship committee, until it wasn’t. It was deemed too expressive and outside the dictates of ‘Soviet Realism’ as ordained by Stalin and his music police. Shostakovich’s evocation of blaring nationalistic fanfares and military sonics that would satisfy Stalin, didn’t completely hide the composer’s subversive subtext. Watanabe conducted not only with command and passion, but strong interpretive skill, eliciting every dimension- the tempos, narrative arc, sonic balance- thrillingly detailed.

Among the outstanding principal soloists in this performance, Jeffrey Khaner (flute), Jennifer Montone (French Horn), Ricardo Morales (clarinet), Phillipe Tondre (oboe), Daniel Matsukawa (bassoon), Elizabeth Hainen (Harp), Kiyoto Takeuti ,piano, and commandeering Shostakovich’s brutally ironic war drums in the 1^st movement, the unstoppable Don Luizzi.

ClassicalPhilly

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Philadelphia Orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Juliette Kang, violin

Eun Sun Kim, conductor

Feb. 12-13

Verizon Hall, Philadelphia

www.philorch.org

Conductor Eu Sun Kim (photo: Nikolaj Lund)

Verizon Hall in Philadelphia was all but full for the February 12 debut performance of Korean conductor Eun Sun Kim leading a program of Dvorak, Barber and the premiere by Philly born composer Mason Bates. Ms. Kim is in her inaugural year as San Francisco Opera’s musical director and has been hailed for her performances at  Los Angeles Opera, Houston Opera, and the Cincinnati Symphony, with upcoming dates at the Vienna State Opera and the Met.

Bates opened the concert with remarks about his ‘Rhapsody for Steve Jobs’  culled from full opera ‘The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. That the piece was a “Suite” but in the symphonic style of a ‘Rhapsody’     

Just last month the Philadelphians premiered Bates’ dynamic Piano Concerto with Russian virtuoso soloist Daniil Trifonov. Aside from structural symphonic elements, his ‘Rhapsody’ took off with  cinematic rhythmic drive, and a matrix of orchestral layers. Ms. Kim was greeted with warm applause for her command and palpable rapport with this orchestra.

The ‘Rhapsody’ a co-commission by the Philadelphia Orchestra, proved a fine entre into the intricate aspects of Barber’s concerto. Juliette Kang has soloed in previous concerts with 1^st violinist concertmaster David Kim and their doubling on virtuosic music is one of precision and artistic excellence.

Barber’s concerto is not only by design virtuosic in its technical demands but gives the soloist room for expressive artistry. Kang’s command and  interpretive artistry apparent from the deep expressionism in the opening passages. From there building to on one of the most demanding violin concertos in the modern canon. The middle of the second movement, there seemed to be one or two moments of imbalance between Kang and the orchestra. In the final movement, with Barber’s tornadic strings in fiery flight, Kang’s attack and interpretive artistry spellbinding. ’.

Kang was back after intermission in the principal violin for the Dvorak’s Symphony and was met with another lusty round of applause as she cued the orchestra. Maestro Kim leaned into its luster as a warhorse bombast and the central symphonic theme, that by it 12^th variation over four movements, can be heavy going indeed. But Kim kept the tempos crisp, and orchestral balance.

 Dvorak’s most famous English horn passage rendered in this performance at its most serenely radiant by principal oboist Philippe Tondre. , even though it by now is freighted with symbolic lore, about ‘New World’ pluralism, or appropriation  of Native American musicality or a Czech folk tune variation. Whatever Dvorak had in mind; in this performance it was performed with radiant clarity by principal Philippe Tondre. In the final movement was the triple violin adagio passage played by Kang’s assistant concertmaster Marc Rovetti, and 2^nd chair principal violinist Kimberly Fisher simply entrancing.

The Fabulous Philadelphians Return

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composers, opening nights, Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Yo-Yo Ma

Photo: Jeff Fusco

The Philadelphians soulful season opener

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor

Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Charlotte Blake Alston, Speaker

Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra were back in Verizon Hall on October 5^th for their season opener that ended18 months away from performing for a live audience. On this night playing to almost packed house for a moving concert program with cello superstar Yo-Yo Ma.

The orchestra was not already onstage as the audience filed in, but instead made their entrance together, and the audience bounded out of their seats to greet them back. In a sartorial switch, the musicians had more modern dress code, sans tails on the men for starters and even maestro Yannick had ruby studs on his shoes. Meanwhile, the crowd had on their required masks, but otherwise were decked out in celebratory outfits- sleek gowns, stylish suits, cocktail hour wraps, studded pumps- giving the evening an added sense of musical occasion.

But the most glittering thing about the night was the program that Nezet-Seguin designed to meet this unique moment. Without ceremony, Yo-Yo Ma entered with the maestro and guest speaker Charlotte Blake Alston. Mr. Ma started to play a somber solo that just engulfed the room and led to Ms. Alston’s invocation for the audience to “stand in the name of human dignity” and spoke to the need for unity in a perilous time and finishing her remarks with a poem by Langston Hughes. Then Ma launched into the Aria from Villa- Lobos’ ‘Cantilena Bachianas Brasileiras’ leading the Philadelphia strings in music that was so appropriate, so reflexive of this moment in time.

 From there, without pause, Ma glided into the musical labyrinth of Camille Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto, with its unique structure. Ma performance is completely in the service of the music, from the sustained bowing , dark sonorities, staccato riffs,  its joyous lyrical passages to its most profound musical chambers. Ma has been playing the concerto for decades, and still does so with such rapturous immediacy.

Throughout, Ma’s interplay with the orchestra musicians showcases a joyous shared artistry.

 The concert was performed without intermission, and Nezet-Seguin spoke about the role that music can play to help heal a traumatized world. And to be together again for the shared expressions of “Joy, reflection, introspection, hopes and dreams.”

He then introduced Valerie Coleman’s ‘Seven O’Clock Shout’ composed in tribute to the front – line workers that saw us through the pandemic. Coleman was inspired by the New Yorkers who banged on pots and shouted their support every evening in solidarity for health care workers, police officers, food service employees, transit workers and who kept serving their communities. The somber atmosphere of the first half of the piece shifts into an orchestral  statement of communal solidarity with the musicians shouting out and the percussion banging out a joyful noise of hope.   

The closer was Ravel’s ‘Bolero’ which never loses its luster with audiences. Even though the lead solos were sharp, this ‘Bolero’ seemed a tad disjointed in the first half of its slow build symphonics.  It all came together midway through, with outstanding solos by Peter Smith (oboe), Daniel Matsukawa (bassoon), Ricardo Morales (clarinet) and the blazing trumpet of Jeffrey Curnow.. When the full strings thundered in, their lustrous depth engulfing Verizon Hall, led by principal violinists David Kim and Kimberly Fisher.

The Fabulous Philadelphians packed their season launch with events, the following night  were in New York City for their return to Carnegie Hall performing a completely different program with soloist Yuja Wang, then were back to Philly for a three-concert weekend with a program called American Masters, with pianist Aaron Diehl performing Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue.’

ClassicalPhilly

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composers, NYE Classical concerts, Philadelphia Orchestra, SanctuaryofMusic

Maestro Tovey rings in 2020 with humor & musical class

British composer-conductor Bramwell Tovey
(photo: courtesy Philadelphia Orchestra)

 

British conductor Bramwell Tovey was back on the Philadelphia Orchestra podium for a spirited ‘musical tour around to globe’ on New Year’s Eve.  Tovey has a unique relationship with the Fabulous Philadelphians; he has composed new music in both classical & jazz genre, he has guested as piano soloist and his sharp wit continues to delight Philly audiences when he leads the orchestra’s year end holiday programs, always bringing surprises on top of the traditional seasonal classical fare.

True to form, maestro Tovey rang out the ragged decade with a rousing NYE concert in Verizon Hall, peppered of course with his wry asides. The first half of the program plum with showpieces from Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Brahms, and the second half the inevitable Strauss waltz carousel, with a piece of Mahler as the entre-acte.

To open, Tovey bounded to the podium and launched the band into the rousing orchestral fireworks of George Gershwin’s ‘Strike Up the Band.’ After-which he picked up the microphone and had the audience laughing right out of the gate with some ribbing about the antics of the coming Mummers parade and even working in a loaded line about New Jersey drivers coming to town for the cine-bomb movie ‘Cats.’

He told the wayward maritime tale of how Rimsky-Korsakov composed ‘’Capriccio espanole’ when the Russian composer was then a merchant marine’ who never actually set foot in Spain, but heard the music from his ship off harbored off shore, “Isn’t that what they all say?” he quipped. But adding Tovey how brilliant a Spanish-Russian symphonic fusion Rimsky-Korsakov made. Tovey’s interpretive detailing bringing it to its full musical dimensions in the fast shifting tempos and stellar orchestral passagio. Among the outstanding soloists Peter Smith (oboe), Patrick Williams (flute) and Associate concert master Juliet Kang, essaying those haunting gypsy lead violin lines.

Tovey set up the fantasy story of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake about a Prince falling in love with a Swan, joking all the way, but also noted that he was playing the composer’s original version which had been tampered with on the ballet stage many times after Tchaikovsky’s death   ‘He’s a de-composer now.’  but adding that his ballet music is “So transparent…in expressing the tenderest feelings of love.”

In Tchaikovsky’s original Act II ‘White Swan’ pas de duex- The harp -violin dialogue representing the Prince/Swan duet onstage.  Juliet Kang’s violin and Elizabeth Hainen’s harp were dancing on air and into our souls.  The orchestral elements though proved a bit wayward in this arrangement. An unscheduled infant’s soft crying was heard from the balcony (like Baby new year trying to bust in early, no?), it was, indeed, a magical moment in Verizon Hall.   

As urbane as the maestro is he is also not afraid to bring a POPs Orchestra sentimentality via in waltz miniatures by American composer Leroy Anderson in works including ‘Belle of the Ball’, ‘Forgotten Dreams. ‘ Then the fireworks of ‘Bugler’s Holiday.’ The last a virtuoso walk in the park for trumpet trio Robert Curnow, Tony Prist and principal David Bilger, returning to the orchestra after recovering from shoulder reconstruction and leading those staccato triplet lines in fine form. Later, Bilger also stellar in the trumpet solos in Gustav Mahler’s tone poem ‘Blumine’ that opened the concert’s second half.

The highlight of the entire concert was Brahms’ Hungarian Dance’ no. 5. In the 1938 arrangement byMartin Schmeling. As in the Rimsky-Korsakov, Tovey showcasing the dynamics of the orchestra in top form, as well as the brilliance of the music.

“A chance to have a fresh start and begin again.’ and ‘Let’s have a good time tonight.” Sincere sentiments from the maestro in light of the fact that Tovey told arts journalist Susan Lewis for the live NYE broadcast on WRTI that he had missed a half year of conducting because he had just recovered from cancer treatments. And in light of that it is particularly inspiring to observe how dancerly maestro Tovey continues to be in performance. 

For Johan Strauss’ ‘Emperor’s Waltz’ Tovey set the scene for us to imagine being a lady in a 19th Vienna ballroom waiting for the Viennese gentleman-officer to ask you to dance and raising your hand reach his in “long white gloves covering up most of your tattoos.”

Strauss’ The Kunster Quadril’  a waltz mash of 19^h century greatest hits tropes of Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, & Schubert, which Tovey dubbed “classical elevator music.” but made it more than a pastiche piece.  

On Johan & Josef Strauss’s ‘Pizzicato Polka’ which Tovey announced he was recreating his first time conducting with many “bad habits then.” He hilariously (& lithely) emoted through the music as he wielded two batons and characterized the music ala- la- Looney Tunes maestro. The comedy continued with the Strauss Champagne Polka, punctuated by a cork popping instrument, but Tovey also brandishing a bottle of fine bubbly popping the last cork note almost on cue and pouring the wine into flutes then handing out glasses to cellist Yumi Kendall who just got married ‘to a wonderful man’ Tovey enthused. Then slugging back a glass himself, complete with a soft-shoe spin on the podium.

The concert closer, inescapably ‘Blue Danube‘  that waltz to dance us into a new decade.  The encore which the British Tovey introduced in a Scottish B(urr)ogue of “Rrrobbie Burns”  Auld Lang Syne. Tovey raising his voice in song, his eyes sparking with hope and resignation for us all to face the music and dance.

ClassicalPhilly

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guitarists, musicians, Philadelphia Orchestra, Spanish music

Macelaru’s passionate Viva Espana!

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Verizon Hall, Philadelphia

Christan Macelaru, conductor

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

Feb. 9, 2019

Before performing an encore, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet musician Bill Kanengiser, spoke of conductor Christan Macelaru’s artistic precision and passion he brings to Spanish repertoire. And those qualities were clearly present throughout as Maelaru led The Philadeldelphia Orchestra’s Viva Espana!  concert of works by Chabriel, Rodrigo, de Falla, and Ravel.  

Macelaru often introduces pieces to his audiences, but on this night, he skipped that and let the music speak for itself. Opening with
Emmanual Chabrier’s  España, which proved a rousing prologue, with traditional eternal Spanish folkloric themes.

Next, the captivating and profoundo musical dimensions of Joaquin Rodrigo’s  Concierto andaluz, for four guitars and orchestra. Its tempo de bolero opening movement, with its dancey central theme, played with esprit and inner drive. Rodrigo’s second movement Adagio, is so soulful and in this performance the LAGQ a dazzling showcase for their sublime technical artistry. The opening descending note passages by John Dearman then in dialogue with Bill Kanengiser, is transcendence in its earthy and ethereal musicality- suspending time, Rodrigo musically reflects on his life and the environs at gardens of an historic Renassaince palace in Granada,

The journey gives way to a more communal environ by Matt Greif and Scott Tennant in a lively town musicale scene expressed in orchestral riffs and a rousing roundelay of solo passages among the musicians. The quartet’s technical mastery is virtuosic and completely inside the music.  The concerto itself has the ambiance of a journey and the Adagio the musical soul of the piece, the final movement a fiery flamenco guitar finale.        

The foursome was applauded back to the stage for an encore, the Italian Tarantella by Chilean composer Horacio Salinas, which brought the house down again.  A rowdy crystalline rhythmic dazzler, interspersed with the musicians drumming the body of their instruments.

After intermission Macelaru delivered a most muscled performance of Manuel de Falla – El amor brujo, a sultry tone poem about a gypsy card reader who sees her future of love and evil spirits, musically expressed in folkloric ritual dances.  The pacing of this unpaused labyrinth of musical narrative about a gypsy card reader and the swirling furies of her life.

Ravel – Rapsodie espagnole Macelaru’s concert closer which the orchestra brought to its full atmospheric power.  Ravel was born 10 miles from the France-Spain border and his mother was Basque-Spanish. The musical sensual impact of Spanish nights, the symphonic bloom of Andalucian Fandango and Festiva. Macelaru’s detailing of the depth of sound dimension and inner rhythmic drive, that brings the full vision of Ravelean mystique. Among the many outstanding principals building that earthy musicality included associate concertmaster violinist Mark Rovetti, oboist Peter King, clarinet Ricardo Morales, cellist Hi Yi Ni, violist Choong-Jin Chang, 2nd chair principal violin Kimberly Fisher.