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

[karlhenning]

Same program in Frankfurt Germany this weekend:

Samstag, 20. February 2010
Alte Oper Frankfurt, Großer Saal, 7:00 p.m.
Wiener Philharmoniker         
Lorin Maazel Leitung
Anton Bruckner Sinfonie Nr. 3
Igor Strawinsky Le sacre du printemps

Sarge

I like that they're closing with the Stravinsky.  (Of course, I have yet to get to know the Bruckner.)

[Sergeant Rock]

I like that they're closing with the Stravinsky.  (Of course, I have yet to get to know the Bruckner.)

My favorite Bruckner, actually. (I wrote a poem about hearing it once upon a time at Severance. The poem was published last November in The Bruckner Journal.) Not his best symphony but one I love unreservedly. When I saw the program, I smiled: typical Maazel. Refreshing actually. I recall many of his Cleveland programs seemed to be put together through sheer whimsy. I heard the Stravinsky a few years ago at the Alte Oper. I'm wondering if there will be another mass exodus after Part I. He can still scandalize the blue-haired 

Sarge

[Brian]

Well, I am engaged in a furious campus battle over contemporary music!

You can read along if you like ... originally I went to a symposium of Rice student composers and wrote a little piece talking about what I heard. One of the composition majors who wasn't performed then weighed in against me, and in particular against the fact that I had strongly disliked one of the works, with an opinion on the futility of critics listening to things they don't understand. My riposte is in the comments section of that article ... should be a nice, fun catfight about the value of contemporary music and music criticism. 

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Thanks to a very helpful poster, who will attend the concert with me, I have secured seats for the June 24 performance of Mahler 5 at the Concertgebouw. June 25 is sold out, and only a dozen seats were available for the June 24 concert.  That Mahler centenary festival seems to be very popular!

That poster (blush) is yours truly, who looks forward to the experience with bated breath!

[jlaurson]

The Band that Beethoven Knew
http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2010/02/band-that-beethoven-knew.html

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra & Chailly on US Tour.
(Interview & History)

[Brahmsian]

Tonight, very very excited about the program, have been waiting since last season for this!! 

Rimsky-Korsakov: Russian Easter Overture
*Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10

Andrey Boreyko, guest conductor
*Gwen Hoebig, violin (WSO Principal violinist)
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

[bhodges]

Tonight, very very excited about the program, have been waiting since last season for this!! 

Rimsky-Korsakov: Russian Easter Overture
*Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10

Andrey Boreyko, guest conductor
*Gwen Hoebig, violin (WSO Principal violinist)
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

Have a great time!  I hope I mentioned (forgive me if I did already) that I went to a great concert with Boreyko on my birthday a few years back, when he did the Shostakovich 4th with the NY Phil--one of the best of that piece I've ever heard.

--Bruce

[Brahmsian]

Have a great time!  I hope I mentioned (forgive me if I did already) that I went to a great concert with Boreyko on my birthday a few years back, when he did the Shostakovich 4th with the NY Phil--one of the best of that piece I've ever heard.

--Bruce

Oh yes Bruce, you had mentioned it!  He was a great and well loved conductor for the WSO.  This is his first return to Winnipeg since leaving.

[bhodges]

And that Prokofiev should be great, too--actually the whole program is wonderful.  The Rimsky-Korsakov is a blast in the right hands.

--Bruce

[Brahmsian]

And that Prokofiev should be great, too--actually the whole program is wonderful.  The Rimsky-Korsakov is a blast in the right hands.

--Bruce

And Bruce, believe it or not, both the Prokofiev and Rimsky-Korsakov works will be first listens for me!  And Shosty's 10th is one of my favorite symphonies (of any composer).

[bhodges]

And Bruce, believe it or not, both the Prokofiev and Rimsky-Korsakov works will be first listens for me!  And Shosty's 10th is one of my favorite symphonies (of any composer).

Oh wow, so you are really going to have a good time...

--Bruce

[Sergeant Rock]

Tonight we'll be seeing the Vienna Philharmonic in Frankfurt. Bruckner and Stravinsky. Maazel conducting.

Sarge

[Drasko]

Tonight we'll be seeing the Vienna Philharmonic in Frankfurt. Bruckner and Stravinsky. Maazel conducting.

Sarge

I'd love to hear that one! Let us know how it went. I should be hearing tomorrow Belgrade Philharmonic in all Brahms program, 1st and 4th Symphonies, Mehta conducting.

[Renfield]

I'd love to hear that one! Let us know how it went.

Ditto: sounds like the perfect programme for the VPO, tradition vs. Stravinsky!

[Elgarian]

Two operas (can I count operas in this thread?) coming up - Opera North at the Lowry Theatre. La Boheme on Tuesday (Anne Sophie Duprels as Mimi), and Cosi on Thursday (in a beautiful production I've seen before and loved, last autumn).

[Sergeant Rock]

I like that they're closing with the Stravinsky.  (Of course, I have yet to get to know the Bruckner.)

You would have been disappointed, Karl. Stravinsky went first. No explanation from the man who came out before the concert started to wax eloquent about the corporate sponsors (several banks). He just said, "The program has been changed but I probably don't need to tell you that since you'll notice right away when the music starts." I was rather irritated to hear a five minute speech about those "great" banks and their directors because as far as I could tell, it didn't reduce the cost of our tickets by even a farthing (our twelfth row balcony seats cost 158 Euro each!!!). As I said, the last time we heard Le Sacre in Frankfurt (in 2006, on a program with Varese's Arcana and the Ravel G Major PC) it was the last work and there was a mass exodus. Maybe they learned from that past mistake 

But the irritation vanished with the first notes of the Stravinsky. I don't know why but hearing it live makes it sound so much more iconoclastic and...new. At home when I play it, it's as comfortable as Mozart's Jupiter: a piece I know inside and out, that long ago lost its ability to shock and amaze. But that original bad boy spirit comes back in a live environment. It's always great to hear the Vienna (as M used to say, they have a unique musical culture): they do sound different: the strings, those treacherous horns (on good behavior the whole evening), the oboe tone that always reminds me of a duck being strangled    Maazel wasn't too mannered, nothing as outrageous as his Cleveland recording although Rondes printanières was played enormously slowly.

The Bruckner (version 1889) was a treat with Maazel at his most interventionist. The opening was surprisingly swift but at the first climax he slammed on the breaks so hard the music almost came to a complete stop This was the Maazel I know and love: the orchestra gripped tightly in his fist, the music struggling to break free and flow naturally. Nothing natural about this performance. though. I know, you may think that a defect but I enjoy watching a dictatorial conductor have his way with the music    I can't think of another Bruckner Third quite like it (Dennis Russell Davies's Third with the Bruckner Orchester Linz perhaps the closest in that first movement).

The Adagio was ravishing, those Viennese strings delivering. One lone spectator broke out in applause afterwards...not a rookie mistake, the guy knew what he was doing, showing genuine gratitude for a superb performance. The players deserved it.

The Scherzo was swift but Maazel shifted gears for the Trio...and it was a blast, played at a true beer garden Ländler pace. It sounded like Robert Simpson's description: "There is a distinct whiff of Austrian beer. The slight tipsiness of the music becomes downright alcoholism at the end of the first section." The entire string section seemed to be dancing, swaying giddily (drunkenly?) in their chairs. I've never heard it done better, or with more character, but then these are the guys who excel in Austrian dance music (the New Year's Concerts).

Maazel really prolonged the final notes in the final bar of the last movement. Again, I've never heard anyone else do it that way (it contradicts the score)...but it's Maazel's way. I'm not sure I would enjoy repeated hearings at home, on CD, but for a once in a lifetime experience, it was superb, and great fun, and worth every Cent.

Edit: Forgot to mention the encore. When a piccolo player followed Maazel out for his fourth bow, I knew we weren't finished. It was the Brahms Hungarian Dance #1 ...which, coincidently, was the encore played in Cleveland in 1973 the first time I heard the Bruckner Third live.

Sarge

[karlhenning]

Nice recap, Sarge, thanks!

[Sergeant Rock]

Good grief - that's over twice the price of the premium seats in the Musikverein.  Is that normal for Frankfurt?

My front-row stalls seats in London next week cost *cough* 35 quid each...

It's normal, unfortunately, for the top tier international orchestras. (The New York Phil played last month, with comparable ticket prices.) Frankfurt's a rich city and there's no orchestral competition (not like London) so they can fill the hall even at those prices. Of course there were lower prices (starting at 50 Euro) but Mrs. Rock and I like to sit in certain places...places that tend to be pricey. The HR Sinfonieorchester is the home band (they used to be called the RSO Frankfurt). The top price for their concerts is around 50 Euro, very reasonable.

Sarge

[bhodges]

Great report, Sarge--thanks so much.  Totally agree with your comment about The Rite and its familiarity, and how that can evaporate in live performance.  And I can well imagine Maazel intervening in the Bruckner. 

Glad you got an encore, too--love when that happens.

--Bruce

[Sergeant Rock]

Glad you got an encore, too--love when that happens.
--Bruce

Me too. Mrs. Rock was especially happy...because she loves the Brahms..and because she's a thrifty German Frau who demands as much for her money as possible. 

Sarge