Love Liszt

I was first introduced to Franz Liszt last semester in a Romantic Period class. What I first learned about Liszt was that for the period in which he was alive he was known for his bravado, his grandness on the piano, and what today would be called his swagger. His music was technically advanced beyond his fellow musicians. Some regarded him as the best piano player ever.  Not only did he invent the piano recital and master class, but he was also the first performer to play entirely from memory. Liszt invented the symphonic poem, was the first to fully orchestrate on the piano, and innovated keyboard technique. The pure difficulty of the things Liszt was able to accomplish was remarkable. Liszt lived a classical rock star life, and his music followed suit.

Garrick Ohlsson, a pianist, attempted to celebrate, and capture Liszt’s brilliance by playing Piano Sonata in B minor at the 92nd Street Y. According to Vivien Schweitzer, journalist for the New York Times, Ohlsson was more then capable of handling this huge piece. Ohlsson’s has gifts as a storyteller and is able to capture his audience, and hold on to their ears. Silence, pure silence was evoked from the audience by Ohlsson’s performance, which is apparently rare.

To review Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor I listened to a Kristian Cvetković performs. Originally, this sonata was published in 1854, and first performed on January 27, 1857 in Berlin by Liszt’s pupil and son-in-law, Hans von Bülow. You can clearly hear the great skill, and technique it takes to play such a piece. This piece showed skill but not in a boastful manor. The dramatic use of volume, silence and tempo is what I gravitated toward. It made me realize how important, and creative silence can be. Silence is as much apart of music as any other aspect. It can be used to calm, invoke stillness of the ear, set up a grand gesture musically, cause panic, gain attention, or cox an eerie feeling. Schweitzer stated in regards to performing Piano Sonata in B minor, “In less capable hands, huge sonatas like the Liszt B minor can easily meander off track…” which I completely agree with. A Franz Liszt’s piece is by definition a difficult one. Such arrangement, and composition has a large margin of error, which makes it even better when played correctly. I think classical music is meant to have a large margin of error. Meaning it must be difficult, because great music should always make you say to your self, “How did they come up with that”, or “Why didn’t I think of that”. Great music causes a sense of amazement, and Liszt being a virtuoso, a sense of amazement is exactly what you get.

There is only one personal critic I have with Piano Sonata in B minor. Like always I think this 30 minutes and 20 second piece is way to long. Mind you, I am from a different generation that is used to hearing a song for 3 plus minutes. Why I really don’t like the length of this piece because I can’t see myself seating in a concert hall for that long being comfortable, especially when this is only one piece on the program.

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/arts/music/garrick-ohlsson-celebrates-a-bicentennial-at-92nd-street-y.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

 

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Ruben Naeff, Music Theory and Composition

It was Roberta Michel’s speech, earlier during the semester, that inspired me to attend this concert, and I must say my curiosity was awarded with rather unusual evening at NYU’s Black Box Theater. Somewhat living up to my expectations with respect to atonal music in general (I find it very interesting, but always a challenge to make it pleasing to my ears), the performances were almost hypnotizing and dissonance composed quite “tastefully.” The following is a quick overview of the program:

Elevator Pitch by Kelli Kathman

Headspring by Cadillac Moon Ensemble

Wander & Wonder by Vigil

Bash by The NYU Contemporary Music Ensemble

The YouOpera: a sneak preview by The YouOrchestra

It must be noted that all of the abovementioned pieces are worth further discussion. However, given Roberta Michel’s enlightening presentation on flute, and consequently exposure to this concert, it is only a matter of common courtesy, to say the least, I focus on Headspring.

Headspring was commissioned from Ruben Naeff, the composer, by Cadillac Moon Ensemble and publically performed this year. According to the program notes, it is part of a trilogy along with Wander & Wonder and Bash, in part due to, “…having been written simultaneously and utilizing similar instruments… As they employ the same musical theme in different ways, the trilogy covers the life of a creative idea: the musical theme originates in Headspring, wanders around in Wander & Wonder, and clashes with itself in Bash.”

While listening to Headspring, one should be able to identify the theme within, even though this isn’t very easy to do for untrained ears. What captivates most, however, is not the melodic pattern per se, for it is much more entertaining to play this piece as opposed to listening to it (something that many will rightfully argue with respect to atonal music). The chemistry among the players, on the other hand, was absolutely praiseworthy, and this is what lies in the core of brining atonal music under the spotlight. It is not a secret that throughout its history, this genre was alienated within professional musical world, and even more so within broader audiences. Nonetheless, despite the small audience of roughly 40 people, Cadillac Moon Ensemble was able to captivate its listeners by its performance and apparent show of love toward the genre. After all, it is because of performers such as Roberta and other members of her band that we are able to keep this genre alive and utilize its theories in an attempt to expand our understanding toward tonality and evolution of music in general.

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What Past Artist Had that Present Artist Should Have

Philip Glass is featured on the cover of The Fader magazine which is one of the most influential music centered publications in news media. This magazine aims to shine a spotlight on some of the new, current, and thriving artist in urban music. This includes artist like Aaliyah, the Notorious B.I.G and many other artist within the hip-hop and R&B genre. When taking this into account, we are posed with the question: Why is Philip Glass, a classical composer from the past, featured in such a magazine? Rather than looking at it from this perspective, we should inquire about what he possesses that he would be chosen over the many successful urban artist of our generation. Jacob Ganz of NPR music answers this question for us in an interview with The Fader’s editor-in-chief Matthew Schnipper. In this, we discover two characteristics that Philip Glass has over some of the current artist: a hunger for developing music on a broad scale and humility. These are two characteristics that are usually not found together in musicians of our time. Philip Glass serves to be a great example of these characteristics.

Philip Glass has a desire to develop music on a broad scale. This takes into account many different genres and venues that aren’t the norm to the audience of his time. Matthew Schnipper admired Glass when he made note of “the way in which he looked at music, saying, ‘I want to play in art galleries. I want to play everywhere. I want to make everything, of all genres”. Schnipper added that “this is actually a really cool path for a bigger artist. He’s a good example of what any of these young people that we’re covering could become” (NPR.org). In contrast, some of the prevalent musicians of our time would simply like to play at large venues or arena that are primarily music focused, aiming to simply develop their following and fan base. Additionally, many urban artists would not delve into a genre of music that is left field from their main field of music. For Example, it is unlikely for Kanye West to take a career interest in country music because it is very different from his main genre of music. Glass desires to succeed in every genre of music and play it in any venue that would be appreciative of the music. This is once characteristic that Schnipper of NPR admires of Glass and says that current artist should adopt.

The second characteristic is humility. When someone has the fore mentioned goals and is successful in achieving them, it is very easy for one to view people as inferior to them and their musical genius. There are multiple stories of famous musicians who treat fans and others as substandard to them. Glass has proven himself not to have this character: “Where underground and avant-garde culture is rooted, that’s where I want to be.’ Even if he’s the most famous composer in the world, he still identifies himself with people who are not on that level” (Schnipper, NPR.org). It is said that Glass takes into account the spiritual aspect of music by treating those that work with him with great respect. This is another characteristic of Glass that is admired from Matthew Schnipper.

Overall, The Fader magazine shine light on the current and upcoming artist of our time; but with this feature he actually showed what we wrong with the artist of our generation. He shows how the music industry in combination with a prideful character has created a barrier between the musician and the fan. He compares this generation to one of more purity and a stronger desire to make great music.

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Concert Review – New York Philharmonic: The Modern Beethoven

I had a pleasure of attending a concert by the New York Philharmonic in the morning of last Friday. This was the first time I went to a classical music concert in the morning, but it was same impressive and high standard. The concert was conducted by David Zinman. The New York Philharmonic was celebrating a month of Modern Beethoven festival, in which Beethoven’s symphonies were played. It was a privilege to be able to take a half day off, with the benefit of student ticket, while enjoying the Beethoven’s music. Today, the concert program opened with Beethoven’s Symphony no. 1, followed by Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s “Concerto funebre for Solo Violin and String Orchestra,” a 20th century concerto,  and finished by Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3.

New York Philharmonic, found in 1842, is one of the oldest symphony orchestra in the world. Their previous music directors included Leonard Bertstein, Kurt Masur and Lorin Maazel. Their current music director, Alan Gilbert, is a native New Yorker. He injects the orchestra with some freshness, youthfulness and vital feeling to his programs. He brings his own music to life.

Both Hartmann’s concerto and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 are related to the tyrants at the time when the piece was composed. Hartmann composed his concerto in 1939, when Hilter was a dictator of Nazi Germany. The rise of the Nazi party made a lot of people suffering. Hartmann mentioned that he had no hope of future. He included all his thought, sad feeling in his piece. Beethoven originally named his Symphony no. 3  after the name Napoleon, whom he believed would be an enlightened ruler and would bring social enlightenment to France. However, when Napoleon had accepted himself as a emperor, Beethoven was so disappointed as there was no difference between Napoleon and the other dictators. He therefore changed the name of his symphony to “Eroica,” which means a hero. For Hartmann’s piece, I like the first movement only but not the remaining because I still do not know how to appreciate modern period music.

Beethoven was the composer who fell between Classical period and romantic period. From his Symphony no. 1, we could see the root of the classical period, following the style of Haydn or Mozart. From his Symphony no. 3, we could see that he was a creative composer. He was the first composer to make symphonic use of the march in the 2nd movement.

I listened to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 before the concert in video of the performance by Wiener Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein. In my opinion, this video is very wonderful, almost perfect. It is hard for the real performance to go beyond the video that I watched. However, David Zinman’s real performance is such a high mastery. He is a master of Beethoven’s works. His interpretation is clearness, never overly done. I like mostly the second movement, “Marcia funebre.” It gave me a feeling of Napoleon’s army marching.

I have not finished listening all Beethoven’s Symphonies. After attended this concert, I would like to listen all this romantic composer’s symphonies works.

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Glass

I was first turned on to Phillip Glass when I was taking an Eastern philosophy class and I was studying how some of those concepts have transitioned into western culture. My professor played us ‘Pieces in the Shape of a Square’ to show us an example of minimalism. I can’t tell you what was going through my head at that time, but I do know that eventually that song crept up on my playlist until it became a regular on my frequent road trips.

Phillip Glass’s music, although always minimalist, spans multiple forms of Classical composition and styling. Those styles include string quartets, symphonies, operas as well as experimental form compositions. It’s hard to pigeon hole much of his work, especially his work, ‘Music in Twelve Parts.’ Featured as one of several performances over the course of the weekend at the Park Avenue Armory’s, ‘Tune-In Music Festival,’ it was the only one to feature Mr. Glass himself perform, it was the one I attended and reviewed.

Staged in the massive Drill Hall of the Park Avenue Armory, the performance was made much more intimate by the actual on-floor seating and bleacher seats with comfortable chairs. (Those lucky enough to be on the floor had back cushions and carpet. Most of them kicked of their shoes and stretched out). The whole performance aspect of the show took up half of the massive drill hall while the other half was devoted to the optional dinning package (which I did not partake in). 

The music itself was note-for-note accurate to the recorded version but much larger. There is no sound system in the world that can reproduce this feeling, its not like having a Hi-Fi and blasting your favorite rock show, it was much more. The cavernous room was perfect. It allowed the woodwinds and brass to extend but not reverb as the stadium seating and rafters prevented such a phenomena from happening. This performance is distinct from many others of this nature as electronic organs were instrumental (pun intended) to the sound. The three keyboards, one of which played by Mr. Glass himself, along with the vocals were piped through 12 speakers evenly spaces around a 180 degree semi circle several feet above floor. This arrangement insured that  intricate patterns were delivered to the listeners ears on time with the live instruments.

For  the most part, the, music is indescribable but the theory behind it is not. Similar to a lot of minimalism, there are many overlaying layers of counterpoint comprised of developing patterns. These patterns develop can manifest so slowly that listening casually, the impact is mostly lost. The most interesting thing about seeing the music live is the amount of instruments there were. Listening to the recording I could only discern two saxophones and two organs where as there are actually four and two respectively.

Even though this music is challenging, whether actively listening or not, one will find themselves in a meditative trance. In such a setting, one would find oneself with no other mental faculties available to him/her whilelistening to the music other than to focus on the music. Hence, either complete absorption in the music or complete detachment from reality. The minimal visuals add to this detachment by setting a mood for each part and softly changing as a theme develops. Consisting of a large white screen awash in LED lights with cloud like accents, the screen provided both a backdrop and separation in the large Drill Hall. 

The entirety of the event was approximately five hours but there were several brief intermissions and a single one-hour dinner break. It was a breathtaking experience, one I would recommend for anyone to partake in as it would have a different affect, whether one is familiar with Mr. Glass’s work or not. But, I would not do it again, it was challenging, to sit through, and admittedly my mental focus swayed from complete detachment to complete absorption quite frequently.

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Aaron Silberman Concert Series Review

On March 14th, 2012 I attended the Aaron Silberman Concert Series in the Engelman Recital Hall at Baruch Performing Arts Center. During this hour-long concert clarinet player Charles Neidich, and piano player Joshua Grunmann performed, Sonata For Clarinet and Piano, op. 28 by Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Threnos (for solo clarinet) by Charles Neidich, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, op. 120, no 2 composed by Johannes Brahma, and Zigeunerweisen, op. 20 by Pablo de Sarasate. I sat in the forth row of the small hall, and was surprised to see that most of the seats were taken. Half of the audience were students and the other half were people 50 years old and up. When the performers came out I noticed that a young woman accompanied Neidich and Grunmann. I later discovered she was on stage to help Grunmann turn the pages of the works they were performing. One of the big things I noticed was that Neidich’s clarinet was a light brown color and had golden valves. I have never seen a clarinet of that color before. Visually, it was the most interesting part of the performance other then the speed of Neidich’s hands.

Before attending this concert I listened to David Irwin (clarinet), and Cory Hall (piano) perform Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, op. 120, no 2 by Johannes Brahms. This piece live performance piece was broken up into Allegro amabile, Allegro appassionato, and Andante con moto. I found the listening to be clearer then the performance. Though many parts of the performance were exciting, I found that it sounded as if the piano and clarinet often clashed instead of mixing with one another. I found the piano and clarinet should have accompanied each other to a better degree. The clarinet often sounded squeaky and raspy. Neidich often had to readjust the reed of his clarinet during his brief pauses during the work or during the brief intermissions. I enjoyed the recording better then the live performance, but I believe that is due to the atmosphere of the concert hall. The hall was dark, and the seats were comfortable which caused me to doze off a little during the performance. With the recording you’re able to digest the music in a setting you are comfortable in. One of the big reason people of my age aren’t fans of classical music is because they aren’t comfortable in the venue in which it is performed. If more classical concerts were healed in more modern, well light venues more young people would be comfortable, and able to enjoy the music. I would go as far as even taking out the sets and making the audience stand. The recording is also not live so the mistakes are few. What I was able to enjoy from the live performance was the technique of Neidich; his breath control, and quickness in his finger motion. I also appreciated the length of each performance, not too long and not too short.

Overall, I was able to appreciate the lushness of the music and the pure skill it took not only to compose but also to perform. Through this performance I was able to better understand classical music and the classical music culture.

 

 

Hunter Weaver-Daniel

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My Thoughts on Rich Atkinson’s Criticism of Liszt’s “B minor Sonata”

In music critic Rich Atkinson’s blog post “Liszt: Virtuoso Pianist, Amateurish Composer,” Atkinson states that he does not really see the appeal of Liszt’s “B minor Sonata.” He mentions that other people argue that this piece shows “Liszt’s greatness” (Atkinson) and that it is a “…continuation of Beethoven’s tradition in the genre” (Atkinson). He explains that he doesn’t understand this opinion and he feels that the piece is nothing special. In addition, Atkinson compares it to Chopin and Schumann, and states that it does not have the “romantic originality” like their pieces do.

The “B minor Sonata” is about 32 minutes long; it almost sounds like several pieces put together into a compilation, with some parts being repeated. When I first started listening to it, I was honestly a bit bored and distracted. It starts out very slowly and sparse with tones. It did not draw me in at first. Around 3:40 I found that the piece was becoming more interesting; the first few seconds sounded familiar, but then the piece continued onto something else, and after a short while it was back to quiet and sparse notes. The dynamics are very varied in this piece, and I had to adjust the volume control at several occasions. Around 5:00 and 5:24 there are some very beautiful sections. There are some recurring themes that are heard throughout the piece.

The parts that are piano and pianissimo, like those around 7:23, are very pretty and romantic-sounding. Atkinson stated that this piece did not have “romantic originality,” but I think that they do. There are some really pretty and romantic parts, and they are recurring, so that is nice. However, the more intense fortissimo parts, such as those around 10:27, are a bit too intense for me, especially when he jumps so much between the different dynamics. In addition, when listening to this piece on headphones, I had to re-adjust the volume multiple times so that it would not be too loud at certain points, and then it was barely audible at other points.

Atkinson also argues that the “B minor Sonata” would be equal to Beethoven’s Op. 14 Sonatas, which he thinks are Beethoven’s “worst ones” (Atkinson). I listened to some of Beethoven’s Op. 14 Sonatas (as there seems to be several within in), and I do not see any major similarities; I think that Liszt’s “B minor Sonata” is a bit more advanced, and I do not think that it is a “bad” piece, although I have heard better pieces from that time period. I think it is the big dynamics/volume changes and the very sparse beginning that bother me the most. In addition, the piece is so lengthy, so when the parts with barely existent tones occur, it sort of stops the momentum of the song. My favorite parts of the song are the romantic and pretty piano sections that I previously mentioned.

Although Atkinson acknowledges that Liszt’s piece is very difficult to play, he does not consider it virtuosic. Certain sections do seem harder than others, but I agree that there seem to be many other pieces from this time period that are more virtuosic. Liszt himself, on the other hand, was a virtuoso even though he may not have been displaying his most advanced skills in this piece. However, not every piece has to be virtuosic and highly technical to be good. Some pieces are simple and can be good anyway. For example, Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” is a very calm piece, and it is not fast with virtuosically difficult techniques. Nonetheless, it is composed very well, and it is one of the most well-known classical pieces. Beethoven himself was a virtuoso as well, and one of the most influential and well-known composers from the classical period. Both composers wrote interesting and fascinating pieces for many generations to enjoy.

 

Rich Atkinson’s blog page: http://richatkinson.blogspot.com/

Youtube clip of “B minor Sonata” by Liszt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCHE-UPwBJA

 

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Clarinetist Charles Neidich and Piano Accompanist Concert at BPAC

When I first heard about the upcoming concert from Clarinetist Charles Neidich being held at the Baruch College Performing Arts Center, I simply brushed it off as just another musical event. It was not until one of my classmates spoke to me about attending this event that I started to gain interest in it. I will admit that I had a very poor knowledge of Charles Neidich before the event. However, as the day for the concert came closer, I decided to do some research on Charles Neidich and discovered that he is a very well known Clarinetist that has performed and been a member of countless symphonies, philharmonic orchestras, quartets, and much more. Charles Neidich has performed in an international scale as well, amazing audiences all over the world with his expertise in playing the Clarinet.

I took the time out to check out youtube videos of Charles Neidich and watching him play made me develop a better appreciation of the Clarinet. There was one video in which he was teaching a younger clarinetist how to play the 2nd Sonata by Brahms and all the comments for the video just spoke about how “amazing” and “remarkable” Neidich is at teaching as well as playing the Clarinet. It was after watching this video that I was convinced that I had to go see him live.

Although I got to the Baruch Performing Arts Center a bit late, I managed to catch most of the concert. I sat down in an aisle seat and joined a full house of music aficionados and eager college students. Just a few minutes after me sitting down, Neidich performed what was arguably the most peculiar piece of the concert.

I do not remember the name of the musical work nor do I know who it was composed by, However, the piece was indulged in dissonance, awkward pauses, and strange cords. I absolutely LOVED it. I think its amazing how composers can write music that is so different from what people expect and still manage for them to enjoy it. One interesting thing that Neidich does as he performs is move all over the place while playing the clarinet. His moves are coordinated with the high and low points of the musical piece.

I am all for pushing the barriers musically and daring to experiment with new sounds but when Neidich performed brought out a piano player to perform Johannes Brahm’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano op. 120 Movement no.2, it was a great performance with no dissonance. The musical piece sounded like an elaborate conversation between the Clarinet and the Piano. Neidich does an exceptional job in hooking the audience with his expertise of the Clarinet. I took a peek at the rest of the audience while Neidich was performing and everyone that I looked at had an expression of awe and respect for him. The sonata almost sounds like the Clarinet and Piano are chasing one another around until they reach the end together and both slow down.

I am glad I took the time out to do some research on Charles Neidich. Thanks to this experience I can see myself randomly visiting the Baruch Performing Arts Center to see what other talents they have performing in the future.

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This Time, it was Funny…

This past Friday I went to see an Opera Buffa performance at the Metropolitan Opera entitled “L’elisir d’amore” by the Italian composer Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti. The opera was composed in 1832 and is one of the most frequently performed of all of his operas. Although it was recommended to me to listen to the music before I went to see the actual performance, I chose not to because I wanted true virgin ears entering the performance to aid in my enjoyment. Moreover, last year I had seen another opera entitled “La fille du Regiment” by Donizetti because the New York Times had given it a great review and I absolutely hated it, so I already had a preconceived notion that I would be equally disappointed with “L’elisir d’amore”. As soon as I heard the overture, I knew that this opera was going to be something different. To my surprise I was absolutely thrilled with this opera and the performers! The set of “La fille du Regiment” was tres honteux, but this set was absolutely beautiful, a set dazzling with bright colors and sexy stars wearing fantastic costumes! Juan Diego Flórez plays Nemorino, a peasant in love with Adina, played by Diana Damrau. Mariusz Kwiecien plays the boisterous sergeant, and Alessandro Corbelli plays the money hungry doctor who sells the elixir.

Juan Diego Florez, a world famous Peruvian opera tenor, was absolutely fabulous in his role as Nemorino. In fact, he truly “stole the show” with his mastery of the music and passion of his character. Woman young and old, including myself swooned over him. He had quite the stage presence. At his first note in Act I he would put anyone’s heart and mind at ease. He has incredible control of his voice. He has also played Tonio in “La fille du Regiment” although that is not a performance I had seen. I think many would agree that Florez truly carried the other characters on the wind of his voice and progressed the opera solely. Yes.

Diana Damrau, a German Soprano, possesses the sassy fire required by her character Adina. Last season Diana Damrau played Marie in “La fille…” but somehow I felt that particular role held her back. In contrast, her passion shined through completely in her role as Adina!

Mariusz Kwiecien, a polish operatic baritone, who plays the sergeant Belcore, was superb in his character as well. He has an amazing stage presence and a powerful voice that balances this robust orchestration equally. He also comically balances Nemorino as “his annoyance” and competition.

Dr Dulcamara played by Alessandro Corbeli, an Italian opera singer, has a magnificent voice but perhaps his facial expressions and ridiculous costume are even better! Skipping to and fro with such life provided the comical honesty needed to portray his character and he did it flawlessly.

To summarize the plot, Nemorino, a peasant, watches Adina, a beautiful and wealthy land owner reading a book daily. He comes to find out that the story she is reading is Tristan and Isolde, a story where Tristan wishes to gain Isolde’s love by drinking a love potion. Adina is then asked by Belcore, to marry him. She is unsure of her answer. Then, Nemorino finally professes his love to her and she rejects him. When a phony doctor, Dr. Dulcamara comes to town and offers an elixir that can cure anything, Nemorino jumps at the chance to buy his love potion with all of his money. The doctor equally jumps at the chance to make a buck and promises Nemorino lots of love from all of the ladies by the next day although he wishes only one love: Adina. However, the love potion is not truly a potion but a bottle of bordeux wine making Nemorino sick with love and drunkedness! The story’s fate is quite certain but Donizetti finds a way to keep one entertained from beginning to end.

I will not spoil the end for you. I recommend this Opera to everyone because it is actually entertaining and FUNNY.. unlike “La fille du regiment”. The singers, staging, music, and set are all fabulous and you will not be disappointed.

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A Composer’s Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (no, not Kanye’s)

Reading about The New York Philharmonic’s Modern Beethoven festival happening at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall did not have as positive a spin as I thought it would.  The author, Allan Kozinn from the New York Times, tells us that the festival, conducted by David Zinman, was comprised of two symphonies from Beethoven plus a 20th-century concerto.  Those putting together the program for this performance chose Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony along with his Symphony No. 1 and as for the 20th-century concerto, Karl Amadeus Hartman’s “Concerto Funebre.”

While both were German composers, they lived through different times and this is displayed in their compositions.  What is similar in their pieces, however, is that they chose to make a political and social statement through their music.  In the case of Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony, he originally dedicates the piece to Napoleon because of his belief and actions in fighting for the people.  When this changes, Beethoven does not sit back and leave the title as-is, but rather publicly displays his opposition to Napoleon’s self-crowned role of Emperor by renaming the Symphony in honor of the heroes or “Eroica.”

Many years later, Hartmann, who was living during the time of World War II in Germany, “had no illusions about Hitler.”  Hartmann continued composing but never performed his pieces publicly which I assume was an act of protecting himself, not wanting to bring on any unwanted attention.  Kozinn writes that the ‘“Concerto Funebre’ laments the Nazis’ rise and identifies with their victims by subtly quoting from Czech hymns, Russian workers’ songs and Jewish prayer melodies.”  While I certainly know nothing about Czech hymns or Russian workers’ songs (and only a little about Jewish prayer melodies as I am not the most practicing of Jews), I can hear that Hartmann’s concerto is far from cheery.

I listened to its third movement which is played allegro di molto and consists of string instruments only and it begins with a march-like rhythm that is suspenseful.  There is also a motive that I soon heard reappearing in the piece.  In the middle of the concerto, there are violins that are so high they sound like shrieks while lower string instruments balance the higher pitches as if the two pitches are acting as characters – the victim and the culprit.  Leading up to the middle, I visualized it being the theme music for a fight in a film, maybe fencing even, a back-and-forth motion.  After quite a long pause after the fight and suspense subsides, the melody starts back up again but very slowly at first, as if someone who the audience thought was down for good rises to their feet again.

This uncertainty in the music continues throughout the piece and I can’t say that I really felt resolution when it finally concludes.  The lower strings conclude and only a couple of them are playing at the end and in one way it sounds soothing but on the other hand, it is more so that the listener is left wondering what the next event will be.  Overall I found this piece dark and twisty but I still found the piece beautiful which made me want to hear it again and again.

For your reference, here is Kozinn’s article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/arts/music/the-modern-beethoven-ends-at-avery-fisher-hall.html?_r=1&ref=allankozinn

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