What concerts are you looking forward to? (Part II)

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Adding to Brian's comments, Hadelich has become one of my favorite violinists. (Not to mention, I have been fortunate to interview him several times.) And even without his early tragedy—which would have likely ended the career of some musicians—he has triumphed. Here is one of my faves, Four Iberian Miniatures by Francisco Coll, for violin and chamber orchestra, a charming, off-the-radar work that deserves wider exposure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB2PpViCpOo

--Bruce

Thanks for that link.  I listened to some of it just now and (and I'm sure that you didn't intend this) the opening minute of it reminded me of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaSQa-yCNjg (the meows). 

PD

[bhodges]

Thanks for that link.  I listened to some of it just now and (and I'm sure that you didn't intend this) the opening minute of it reminded me of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaSQa-yCNjg (the meows). 

PD

Hahahaha, well, who knows—perhaps the composer is a cat lover, and/or a fan of Leroy Anderson. A teacher once defined originality as "disguising your sources." (Since then, I've seen that quote attributed to both Benjamin Franklin and Einstein.)



-Bruce

[TheGSMoeller]

This Sunday...

Nashville Symphony | Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor |
Augustin Hadelich, violin | Nashville Symphony Women's Chorus 

Program
Kaija Saariaho: Asteroid 4179: Toutatis

Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto

Holst: The Planets

Something else I wanted to mention about this concert his the Nashville audience: They gave Hadelich a standing ovation after the opening movement of the TCH:VC, which is understandable for several reasons. Like other three-movement concertos this first movement is the meatiest and its final bars are epically loud. The other is that our audience is a little naïve and thought that was the ending of the work. Many chuckled when the conductor smilingly turned to them and held up three fingers signifying we still had two more to go. Hadelich didn't seem to mind. The audience also clapped after every movement of The Planets, with the exception of between Uranus and Neptune as Giancarlo held his baton high in the air as a sign. The audience reacted to it by remaining silent.
I've been going to Nashville Symphony concerts for over five years now and have seen this from the audience before. I'm not a big critic for clapping in between movements, although it does sometimes break the atmospheric flow of the piece. But at the same time I'm all for it, especially with this market. It's been years since I've seen the hall consistently over 50% full, this night looked more about 65-70% full which was great. But if you start to make those concert-goers feel shame about clapping then I feel the orchestra might lose them and their support. I started off about 30 years ago going to concerts when I lived in Jersey seeing the NY Phil and Philly Orchestra and rarely saw this clapping happen there so I was used to it, but I've been warming up to it. I did have a conversation with a fellow NSO subscriber at the concert that had a contrasting thought and said the clapping bothered him.

I'm curious if this happening in other markets? Every so often I subscribe to the Berlin Phil Digital Concert Hall and I don't see clapping between movements.
Anyway just thought I would start a dialogue about this here, and would be interested to read other experiences or thoughts.
Cheers!

[bhodges]

Something else I wanted to mention about this concert his the Nashville audience: They gave Hadelich a standing ovation after the opening movement of the TCH:VC, which is understandable for several reasons. Like other three-movement concertos this first movement is the meatiest and its final bars are epically loud. The other is that our audience is a little naïve and thought that was the ending of the work. Many chuckled when the conductor smilingly turned to them and held up three fingers signifying we still had two more to go. Hadelich didn't seem to mind. The audience also clapped after every movement of The Planets, with the exception of between Uranus and Neptune as Giancarlo held his baton high in the air as a sign. The audience reacted to it by remaining silent.
I've been going to Nashville Symphony concerts for over five years now and have seen this from the audience before. I'm not a big critic for clapping in between movements, although it does sometimes break the atmospheric flow of the piece. But at the same time I'm all for it, especially with this market. It's been years since I've seen the hall consistently over 50% full, this night looked more about 65-70% full which was great. But if you start to make those concert-goers feel shame about clapping then I feel the orchestra might lose them and their support. I started off about 30 years ago going to concerts when I lived in Jersey seeing the NY Phil and Philly Orchestra and rarely saw this clapping happen there so I was used to it, but I've been warming up to it. I did have a conversation with a fellow NSO subscriber at the concert that had a contrasting thought and said the clapping bothered him.

I'm curious if this happening in other markets? Every so often I subscribe to the Berlin Phil Digital Concert Hall and I don't see clapping between movements.
Anyway just thought I would start a dialogue about this here, and would be interested to read other experiences or thoughts.
Cheers!

I think if audiences are moved to applaud between movements, that's just fine. (Exhibit A: the Tchaikovsky 6th Symphony, after the third movement, before the finale, which often generates a spontaneous reaction.) True: New York and Philly audiences don't often do that, but frowning on applause only furthers the idea that you must have "special knowledge" to be at a classical concert in the first place. And given declining audience attendance, any modest steps to be "friendlier" should be encouraged.

Conductors can help, in many cases, with body language (e.g., Guerrero's holding up the baton) or other gestures that signal "Wait, please!" But again, I don't think applause is such a grave sin. Yes, in many circumstances (e.g., a movement with a quiet ending) a burst of applause is jarring. Again, conductors can help by, say, asking audience members to hold applause until the end, which these days is a common request if the concert is being recorded live.

All that said, it bothers me more when people think they should applaud, or the musicians will feel unappreciated. (Exhibit B: the seemingly mandatory standing ovations after Broadway shows these days—no matter what has happened onstage.) Appreciation of any kind should be something you want to do, not something you feel you have to do.

My two cents, anyway.

-Bruce

[bhodges]

Just got tix for this upcoming concert with the Minnesota Orchestra later this month, with Thomas Søndergård's first appearance since he was selected to succeed Osmo Vänskä as music director. The program is unusual, which bodes well for the group's future. (I don't recall ever seeing a Boulanger orchestral piece on a program in New York, though I could be mistaken.)

Lili Boulanger - Of a Spring Morning
Ravel - Mother Goose [complete ballet]
Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring

-Bruce

[TheGSMoeller]

I think if audiences are moved to applaud between movements, that's just fine. (Exhibit A: the Tchaikovsky 6th Symphony, after the third movement, before the finale, which often generates a spontaneous reaction.) True: New York and Philly audiences don't often do that, but frowning on applause only furthers the idea that you must have "special knowledge" to be at a classical concert in the first place. And given declining audience attendance, any modest steps to be "friendlier" should be encouraged.

Conductors can help, in many cases, with body language (e.g., Guerrero's holding up the baton) or other gestures that signal "Wait, please!" But again, I don't think applause is such a grave sin. Yes, in many circumstances (e.g., a movement with a quiet ending) a burst of applause is jarring. Again, conductors can help by, say, asking audience members to hold applause until the end, which these days is a common request if the concert is being recorded live.

All that said, it bothers me more when people think they should applaud, or the musicians will feel unappreciated. (Exhibit B: the seemingly mandatory standing ovations after Broadway shows these days—no matter what has happened onstage.) Appreciation of any kind should be something you want to do, not something you feel you have to do.

My two cents, anyway.

-Bruce

Thank you for your comments, Bruce. And some great points were made!

Ironically I saw the Chicago Philharmonic play TCH:6th a few years ago and the conductor spoke briefly about a few things, and then did mention that is more than alright to applaud after the third movement if you feel the urge.  The audience did let out a huge roar when the movement ended, it seemed like it needed to happen. Like holding a huge sneeze, your body builds up so much excitement that it's a challenge to keep it all inside.

[TheGSMoeller]

I think Hadelich came on the scene around 2010 - he has toured Texas a few times (I saw him do the Tchaikovsky in San Antonio). His recordings include the Haydn violin concertos, Thomas Ades, and a number of discs on EMI/Warner. Gorgeous tone. As a teenager, he suffered severe burns in a farm accident and was unable to play or practice violin for a full year, an experience that he says makes him cherish the opportunity to keep playing now even more dearly.

I was checking out his website, dude travels a bunch! I saw several Dallas, Ft Worth and San Antonio performances from the past 3 to 4 years.

On a side note, perhaps it was mentioned on the site already, but the SA Symphony dissolved in June but fortunately was reborn in August as the SA Philharmonic. My brother played with them for a year some 15+ years ago, so it was sad to see them end, but here's hoping for a brighter future!

[Brian]

On a side note, perhaps it was mentioned on the site already, but the SA Symphony dissolved in June but fortunately was reborn in August as the SA Philharmonic. My brother played with them for a year some 15+ years ago, so it was sad to see them end, but here's hoping for a brighter future!

Yeah! My parents live there and they kept me updated. The ownership closed the orchestra because they were displeased with the negotiation with the musicians' union and declared the orchestra no longer viable. The new group is a musician-led cooperative - power to the workers, they are calling ownership's bluff - but they lost use of the fabulous new concert hall so they are making use of various local churches.

By the way, loved reading your report about the NSO concert and audience applause. Agree with you. It's a sign of new people and new generations coming into the concert hall atmosphere, which we badly need. And sometimes you just need to clap!

And of course the "no applause" rule is a relatively recent invention of the late romantic era. In Beethoven's time the orchestra would even encore movements before moving on to the next one...so in a case like the first movement of a super virtuosic concerto, or "Mars," telling people not to clap is like a schoolteacher telling kids not to end sentences with prepositions. 

There are definitely regional differences too. The year I lived in London I went to like 100 concerts and never saw one single standing ovation for anyone!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Yeah! My parents live there and they kept me updated. The ownership closed the orchestra because they were displeased with the negotiation with the musicians' union and declared the orchestra no longer viable. The new group is a musician-led cooperative - power to the workers, they are calling ownership's bluff - but they lost use of the fabulous new concert hall so they are making use of various local churches.

By the way, loved reading your report about the NSO concert and audience applause. Agree with you. It's a sign of new people and new generations coming into the concert hall atmosphere, which we badly need. And sometimes you just need to clap!

And of course the "no applause" rule is a relatively recent invention of the late romantic era. In Beethoven's time the orchestra would even encore movements before moving on to the next one...so in a case like the first movement of a super virtuosic concerto, or "Mars," telling people not to clap is like a schoolteacher telling kids not to end sentences with prepositions. 

There are definitely regional differences too. The year I lived in London I went to like 100 concerts and never saw one single standing ovation for anyone!

They also used to repeat opera arias too.

PD

[bhodges]

By the way, loved reading your report about the NSO concert and audience applause. Agree with you. It's a sign of new people and new generations coming into the concert hall atmosphere, which we badly need. And sometimes you just need to clap!

And of course the "no applause" rule is a relatively recent invention of the late romantic era. In Beethoven's time the orchestra would even encore movements before moving on to the next one...so in a case like the first movement of a super virtuosic concerto, or "Mars," telling people not to clap is like a schoolteacher telling kids not to end sentences with prepositions. 

There are definitely regional differences too. The year I lived in London I went to like 100 concerts and never saw one single standing ovation for anyone!

"Sometimes you just need to clap," for sure. And I suspect many of those onstage actually like the spontaneous love. And the schoolteacher analogy is hilarious and true.

-Bruce

[vandermolen]

I'm hoping to get to Lyatoshinsky's 3rd Symphony (Karabits) in London next January. My daughter and son-in-law want to come as well.

[bhodges]

Maybe there should be a thread Concerts you were looking forward to.

First I couldn't get to the Giltburg/Oramo/BBCSO Rachmaninov/Prokofiev-fest this Wednesday due to a rail strike.

I can't go to the Strauss/Weinberg concert in Hamburg this weekend after the Mrs caught Covid.

And tonight I get an email from the Southbank Centre informing me that the Penderecki Retrospective on 3rd November, which would have included the London Sinfonietta playing Polymorphia and the Symphony No.3, has had to be cancelled.  In its place they're putting on a chamber concert featuring Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time - and as a sop to Penderecki fans, a couple of his shorter pieces.

Now I do quite like the Messiaen, but it's not that long since I heard it in concert, as a filler for something else - plus it seems to have become kind of the go-to substitute piece they put on whenever the thing you actually wanted to hear gets cancelled, which I find a bit insulting - as if it shouldn't really matter, this is just as good, who can tell the difference.  So this time I am demanding a cash refund.

A week of Monday I am supposed to be going to the Wigmore Hall to hear this:

Grażyna Bacewicz  String Quartet No. 4
Mieczysław Weinberg  String Quartet No. 3 Op. 14
Juliusz Zarębski  Piano Quintet in G minor Op. 34

Silesian String Quartet
Wojciech Świtała piano

I am thinking of running a sweepstake on what factor will manage to torpedo this one.

So sorry to hear of all these cancellations. If it is some solace, this is happening all over. A friend was supposed to write about Janine Jansen's upcoming recital at Carnegie—canceled. But hope the Wigmore event happens, since that looks especially tasty.

-Bruce

[bhodges]

Tonight at the Curtis Institute, their new music group, Ensemble 20/21:

COLEMAN   
Portraits of Josephine

MANEVAL   
How We Prevail

ANDRIESSEN
Workers Union

ALBERGA
Sun Warrior

-Bruce

[Brian]

Edward Gardner was going to conduct Janacek's Glagolitic Mass with the London Philharmonic on May 6. I was thinking about timing a vacation to catch the concert. But...King Charles III is being crowned on May 6. Kind of assuming that such an event will cause orchestras to change/cancel their plans.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Edward Gardner was going to conduct Janacek's Glagolitic Mass with the London Philharmonic on May 6. I was thinking about timing a vacation to catch the concert. But...King Charles III is being crowned on May 6. Kind of assuming that such an event will cause orchestras to change/cancel their plans.

That would be cool to see/hear that mass live!  And I see that you get a Bartok vc with it too!

You could send an email to them?  If nothing else, I imagine that traffic and security around there would be nuts!  The concert is in the evening though, so?  From what I could find out, the coronation will be on a Saturday (which is apparently unusual) and it sounds like they won't be making a bank holiday around then either.

You might be paying a premium too for accommodations around that time.  If they don't reschedule and you want to go, I'd book a room and a flight asap!

PD

[Roasted Swan]

Tomorrrow night (Thursday Oct. 13th) the Brno PO are at the Anvil Basingstoke (Southern England about an hour by train south west of London) playing a fun programme for a touring orchestra;

Janáček Taras Bulba
Martinů Cello Concerto no. 1
Janáček Jealousy
Dvořák Symphony no. 8

OK I get that the Dvořák is the "pops" to get bums on seats but the first half is a cracker.  Especially as Brno is Janacek's home town band and those types of orchestras are just about the last ones left whose players grew up/trained in those countries too so they have a idiomatic sound and style I love.

The Anvil is a tremendous modern hall for orchestras as well - as good as any modern London venue I reckon.

[Florestan]

I say, by all means, bring back the applause not only between movements, but during movements as well, it was not only customary behaviour, but even sought after by composers (cf. Mozart's Paris Symphony, consciously calculated to ellicit exactly this kind of response). Also, bring back repeat of movements at the audience's request. Better still, bring back the old-style concerts, mixing vocal solos, chamber music, instrumental solos and orchestral works (not necessarily complete). Bring back piano recitals during which the pianist extemporizes on themes suggested by the audience or plays works at the audience's request. Allow drinks and refreshments to be served during intervals. Allow commenting the music while it unfolds. In short, bring back the thrill, excitement and fun which were traditionally associated with concerts and which were destroyed by the (Late) Romantic music-as-religion, performance-as-divine-office, concert-hall-as-temple attitude. 

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Tomorrrow night (Thursday Oct. 13th) the Brno PO are at the Anvil Basingstoke (Southern England about an hour by train south west of London) playing a fun programme for a touring orchestra;

Janáček Taras Bulba
Martinů Cello Concerto no. 1
Janáček Jealousy
Dvořák Symphony no. 8

OK I get that the Dvořák is the "pops" to get bums on seats but the first half is a cracker.  Especially as Brno is Janacek's home town band and those types of orchestras are just about the last ones left whose players grew up/trained in those countries too so they have a idiomatic sound and style I love.

The Anvil is a tremendous modern hall for orchestras as well - as good as any modern London venue I reckon.

Sounds like it should be a great concert!  Do you happen to know whether or not it will be broadcasted?

And enjoy!

PD

[Roasted Swan]

Sounds like it should be a great concert!  Do you happen to know whether or not it will be broadcasted?

And enjoy!

PD

They tend not to broadcast from the Anvil and in any case the BBC is unlikely to cover this kind of concert unless at London's Festival Hall or part of the Proms.  The Anvil do a good "International Concerts Series" because they are a useful venue for touring orchestras to the UK - near London but not too near!

[ritter]

I say, by all means, bring back the applause not only between movements, but during movements as well, it was not only customary behaviour, but even sought after by composers (cf. Mozart's Paris Symphony, consciously calculated to ellicit exactly this kind of response). Also, bring back repeat of movements at the audience's request. Better still, bring back the old-style concerts, mixing vocal solos, chamber music, instrumental solos and orchestral works (not necessarily complete). Bring back piano recitals during which the pianist extemporizes on themes suggested by the audience or plays works at the audience's request. Allow drinks and refreshments to be served during intervals. Allow commenting the music while it unfolds. In short, bring back the thrill, excitement and fun which were traditionally associated with concerts and which were destroyed by the (Late) Romantic music-as-religion, performance-as-divine-office, concert-hall-as-temple attitude.

The horror, the horror! 

Good day to you, Andrei.