Set design by Frank Gehry, costumes by Rodarte, direction by Christopher Alden.
Photo Credits: Craig T. Mathew/Mathew Imaging. You may click on for larger views.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, 1925-2012
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau — “the 20th century’s pre-eminent interpreter of art songs” — has died. I’ve never heard a more beautiful voice.
Pacific Symphony performs Schubert’s Ninth
In today’s Orange County Register online, I review last night’s performance of Schubert’s Symphony No. 9, “The Great,” given by Carl St.Clair and the Pacific Symphony. Also on the program: Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and “Sattha” by Narong Prangcharoen.
Click here to read my review, or pick up a copy of tomorrow’s newspaper.
New York Philharmonic launches California tour
In today’s Orange County Register online, I review last night’s concert given by the New York Philharmonic and conductor Alan Gilbert as they launched a California tour.
Click here to read my review, or pick up a copy of tomorrow’s newspaper.
Incidentally, in his comments just before the downbeat, the president of the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, Dean Corey, mentioned me by name … which is a weird experience. He brought up my recent post here on clapping between movements. In context, it seemed as if he was implying that I was against it, but he didn’t actually say so. At any rate, he suggested to the audience that it not applaud between movements, and it didn’t. So, in this case at least, an announcement appeared to work.
Programs: New York Philharmonic, Schubert’s 9th, etc.
It’s a big week for orchestras in O.C. and L.A.
The New York Philharmonic visits for the first time with music director Alan Gilbert. They perform Tuesday night in Segerstrom Concert Hall (closing out the Philharmonic Society’s season there) and Wednesday night in Walt Disney Concert Hall. Both programs have something to offer, though frustrate as well.
On Tuesday, Gilbert and the Phil perform three pieces that I consider among my favorites, all featuring sparkling orchestrations: Berlioz’s Le Corsaire Overture, Debussy’s La Mer and Ravel’s La Valse. Yefim Bronfman arrives for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3. And while I look forward to hearing him playing it, I would much rather have heard Magnus Lindberg’s new piano concerto (his second), which Bronfman and the Phil will play in L.A. the next day (a concert I most likely won’t get to.) The Lindberg in O.C. would have made good sense too, since during its season the Philharmonic Society featured American orchestras that played substantial contemporary pieces (by Bates, Higdon and Saariaho).
And while the Disney Hall performance will include the Lindberg, it surrounds it with a pair of over-familiar works — Dvorak’s “Carnival” Overture and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. (Here’s Martin Bernheimer’s review of the same program, played Thursday in New York.)
Recent purchases
Updated
Bought this for $1 in my local library’s used book store. It’s vinyl. I actually had the record on an old Stereo Treasury Series reissue, but this is the original vinyl from the late 1950s. It sounds terrific — not just the performance, but the recording itself. Decca’s crack engineers traveled to Victoria Hall in Geneva to capture it. There’s both space and clarity in the result, a real sense that you’re in the room with Ataulfo Argenta and the orchestra. What surprised me most is that the recording is monaural (it was also issued in a Stereophonic version, but this isn’t it). Iberia is one of Debussy’s most underrated works, by the way.
Same old song
From the inbox:
“We loved the concert but, as always, do not appreciate applause between movements. Can anyone do something about this to educate audiences regarding this issue?”
The writer is objecting to the clap-happy crowd that showed up to hear Joshua Bell and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields last week in Segerstrom Concert Hall.
OK, let’s educate audiences regarding this issue, shall we? It’s not a big deal if people clap between movements. It was common practice to do so in the 19th century, when most of the music whose movements people are clapping between was written. It can even be said that the composers who wrote this music, composed in such a way that people would clap after certain movements, with their wow finishes. It’s unnatural not to, in many cases.
At some point though, probably around the turn of the century, the symphonic concert took on a religious aura, and one just wasn’t supposed to clap during the ritual. It was thought that the movements of symphonic works were so closely intertwined that clapping between them somehow ruined the whole by interrupting their narrative and thought. Malarkey, as far as I’m concerned.
OK, let’s say we want to stop applause between movements (which doesn’t happen at most concerts, by the way). Someone comes out before the concert begins and makes an announcement, saying please do not applaud until the piece or pieces are completely over. I’ve seen it done many times. The audience applauds anyway. That’s been my experience. Because the people who applaud simply do not know when a particular piece is over. They think when it stops, it’s over. I’ve even heard audiences applaud during the grand pause in the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
We could install applause signs in our concert halls. You could tell everyone not to applaud until the sign is lit up. Do we want that?
Still, at most concerts, as said, the audience does not applaud between movements. It happens most often when a particularly popular performer is on the stage, such as Joshua Bell. And the reason it happens is because performers such as Bell, Perlman, Bartoli, Dudamel, etc., bring new people into the concert hall, audiences who aren’t versed in the painfully tight-ass rituals of a classical music concert.
Bell’s concert was packed by the way, and the audience was extremely enthusiastic. It was nice to see. Let them clap. And for those of us who know when not to clap, just be glad that there are some newbies in our midst.
Joshua Bell and the Academy take Beethoven by storm
In today’s Orange County Register online, I review last night’s performance of a Beethoven program by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, conducted by Joshua Bell.
Click here to read my review, or pick up a copy of tomorrow’s newspaper.
Rafael Frubeck de Burgos cancels L.A. Phil appearances
Christoph Konig will replace him. (Click for details.)
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