Classical Music

[Hasty Ent]

sorry about the bad link, here's the text (by the way, the two Webern pieces were heartbreakingly beautiful, absolutely transcendent):

Harris Theater up to conductor's challenge

By John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune music critic, Published December 16, 2003

It seemed fitting that the first concert of ensemble music to be given in the new Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance downtown on Sunday evening should be a program of cutting-edge modernism by the Chicago Chamber Musicians under Pierre Boulez.

What better music to explore the auditorium's sonic properties from a variety of perspectives? And who better to lead the exploration than one of modernism's most influential avatars, who has long been involved in the creation of performing spaces in which new music can thrive.

If the $52.7 million Harris Theater blithely thumbs its nose at tradition, so did the composers Edgard Varese, Elliott Carter, Anton Webern and Harrison Birtwistle, each of whom was represented by a landmark work. Their contrasting scores made up as rigorously difficult a program as could be imagined. Few groups would even have attempted it.

Thanks to the X-ray-like clarity and precision of Boulez's direction and the virtuoso skills of the CCM players and guests, however, the music spoke persuasively for itself.

The various ensembles were positioned deep within a wooden stage shell, and the aural evidence suggested the enclosure did its job just fine. I sampled the sound from seats in two locations, the first fairly close to the stage, the second roughly in the middle of the auditorium. The acoustics seemed uniformly good in both places.

The acid test of the hall's ability to convey the softest possible dynamics of a string quartet was Webern's Five Movements (1909) and Six Bagatelles (1913). The music's delicate wisps and sudden flurries of atonal sound, as played by members of the Chicago String Quartet and cellist Stephen Balderston, emerged with a clean, even startling immediacy.

At the other end of the sonic spectrum were the two large ensemble pieces, Varese's "Integrales" (1925) and Birtwistle's "Secret Theater" (1984). Both are scored for roughly the same number of players--15 winds, brass and percussion in the Varese, 14 strings, winds, brass, piano and percussion in the Birtwistle.

Under Boulez's steady, decisive hand, the eruptive blocks of sounds in "Integrales" took on a highly charged intensity that was echoed by the wordless drama of "Secret Theater."

The Birtwistle divides its cast into a seated Continuum group and a standing Cantus group, and various players move from one ensemble to the other. The music percolates with dense, florid instrumental activity that is always tightly controlled even when it sounds hectic. Piling many layers of rhythmic and metrical complexity on top of one another doesn't make it easy for the ear or mind to follow, but Boulez made doing so a challenging and bracing adventure.

The ever-productive Carter, who turned 95 last week, was represented by his song cycle, "A Mirror on Which to Dwell" (1975). These settings of six rather oblique poems by Elizabeth Bishop are framed by a busy web of splintery, often delicate instrumental gestures through which Valdine Anderson wove her bright, vibrant soprano. Fortunately, she had the accuracy and the high extension needed to nail the jaggedly leaping intervals. It was gratifying to see such a large, enthusiastic turnout for a tough contemporary program that refused to make concessions to audience members who might have sought more comforting sounds at holiday time. No "Jingle Bells" here, not even in an Elliott Carter arrangement.

[Elfhelm]

Wow, that had to be awesome.

I saw the premier of the Carter piece. It was given by a soprano who teaches voice at Eastman School of Music. But I bet Boulez found details that the music school orchestra didn't even know existed. The sung part is dang near impossible. I'm glad they found someone who can do it, and that you got to hear it.

I wonder if there will be a recording. I love Boulez's conducting, provided the piece is from the 20th century. I can go back as far as Debussy with him but no further. I don't think he understand the Romantics, but neither do I!

Similarly, I would love to hear what he finds in the Varese. It seems all the performances of that I've heard were mostly banging and clanging, but Boulez no doubt sees the math in Varese's approach, as well as the pathos.

I'm not familiar with Birtwhistle.

And I have the Boulez Complete Webern, so I can guess that the quartet was well coached. I haven't heard the Chicago String Quartet yet. It sounds like they impressed the reviewer. Are they principals from the orchestra? I think Chicago's string section is one of the top five in the country (and your brass section is the best in the hemisphere!)

[Hasty Ent]

Yeah... it blew my mind all right.

The CSO is not what it was under Solti (I was privileged to see him conduct a few times) but it's still pretty good. I rarely attend the regular CSO performances, but instead I subscribe to a series called Music Now: http://www.cso.org/sat_musicnow.taf

One of the cellists, Katinka Kleijn, turned me on to it. It's proven to be far more successful than anyone anticipated. The first few years they used a rehearsal space called Buntrock Hall, but due to the enthusiastic response, they're now in Symphony Center itself. Nice to know there's a growing audience in Chicago for new music!

I miss going to the opera. I had a subscription to the Lyric for almost 10 years, but finally gave it up this year. Under Ardis Krainik they were truly progressive, but since her death they have abandoned that direction. Now it's just Verdi/Rossini etc ad infinitum (and old productions, too, to boot) with some pitiful musical trotted out as their "contemporary" production. I have fond memories of Wozzeck, LuLu, Satyagraha, and a particularly interesting Tannhaueser produced by Peter Sellars. Ah well....

[Elfhelm]

Perhaps you were a little hasty in your assessment of the direction the LO is going, hehehehe.

I was distressed to hear it because the LO broadcasts make such a great counterpoint to the Met broadcasts and a season of Met imitation would have been a bore. So I went to their site and they are not doing anything by either Verdi or Rossini this season. Admittedly, sticking a G&S in there is a bit, ermmm, odd, but it IS the "Lyric" after all.

And next season they are doing the entire Ring Cycle! Wouldn't that be great? If I lived there I would be saving my pennies!

As to what you lose with Solti's death (and we all lost him) versus what you gain from bringing in Boulez... I don't know. There is a part of me that wants the best of both worlds, but when someone does that, it comes off like Bernstein, so... I guess one or the other gets you the best quality for some things. Maybe another great Mahler conductor will come along for ya. At least you get awesome guest conductors. And you don't have to put up with Szell anymore.

[Hasty Ent]

And we have Barenboim!

Ahhhh....the Ring cycle... I saw it last time around. It was f**king amazing! Aerialists and acrobats... I may scrounge for tix again, but if I'm going to see a live performance, I want to see and hear something I haven't seen or heard before. *shrug*

As for Pirates of Penzance.... that was the proverbial straw. I thought Sweeney Todd was as low as they could go, but apparently I was wrong. What do you suppose will be their contemporary production next year? Cats? LOL

[Elfhelm]

Aaaaaahhhh! I see! Yeah, that would stick in my craw, too. Maybe it's a money thing, you know, like theatrical companies doing A Christmas Carol when the funds start to run out. Hopefully it will be a unique occurence of taste loss. hehe

[hectorberlioz]

hey!
i got two new cd's!
1. Borodin's sym. no.2+peices from 'prince igor'
2. Dvorak's requiem+6 biblical songs
ahhh!!!!!!!!!!! and i just ordered the Britten war requiem with him conducting!
and i oredered 'evenings with the orchestra' by Hector Berlioz!

[Alqualaure]

Hector, I just found this on NPR's World of Opera website & thought you might be interested (being Berlioz and sacred music - sounded right up your alley!)

Cheers!
Alqua

December 20
Hector Berlioz: L'enfance du Christ
Stuttgart Radio Symphony
Conductor: Roger Norrington
CAST: Christiane Oelze (Mary); Christopher Maltmann (Joseph); Ralk Lukas (Herod).

To celebrate the Berlioz Bicentennial and observe the holiday season, World of Opera leaves the opera house for a week for "The Childhood of Christ," Berlioz's highly dramatic, "sacred trilogy" -- in a brilliant performance led by one of the composer's true champions, Sir Roger Norrington.

(From http://www.npr.org/programs/worldofo...gramlistings/)

[hectorberlioz]

oh that sounds great! i'll have to catch that! how wonderful. La Enfance du Christ is one of the cd's i'm getting myself for christmas(with colin davis conducting!) .
welcome back Alq!

[Nurvingiel]

I hope you enjoy your new CD's Hector.

I asked my dad which Mahler symphony's he likes, and he named the 1st among others. He said the reason the local symphony doesn't play it is because it calls for a very large orchestra. It's not feasable for our modest sized (but not puny) and talented orchestra.

[hectorberlioz]

thanks nirv! we need to talk on msn if you dont mind(well we dont need to, but it'd be nice, eh?)
out of all Mahler's symphonies that i've, i think his sixth is the best. he supposedly wrote it for his wife.
hey, i really started liking his first quite a bit now! the second movement is so nice....

[Ornelírë Mistë]

what a coincidence, that's the one i got.

[The Ben]

Classical music.

in my opinion, it's the best genre. a good place to go to find out about classical music is;

http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/classmus.html

[hectorberlioz]

tell me all my classical music whacks....
have you had the pleaure of listening to Beethoven's tenth?

[Elfhelm]

I've heard people refer to the Missa Solemnis as Beethoven's 10th. Is that what you mean?

[hectorberlioz]

nah, i was just pulling strings....

[Nurvingiel]

I just went to a great jazz concert called "Jazzy Nutcracker", by the Toronto Septet. It was awesome. The feature, a jazzed up Nutcracker, was so good, you would have thought Tcaicovsky wrote it for 4 saxaphones, jazz piano, drums, and upright bass. They also did Ravell. I think the two composers would have enjoyed the concert!

[hectorberlioz]

i like swing jazz occasionally.

[Nurvingiel]

Have you ever heard jazz oboe? Or jazz alto flute?

My brother and dad are into jazz, and my mom and I are really getting into it. I'm also starting to like modern saxaphone music, because one of my friends from university is majoring in it.

Jazz is so versatile and natural. I really enjoy its relaxed, spontaneous nature.

[hectorberlioz]

well, hector berlioz was good friends with adolphe saxe, who invented the saxaphone.
berlioz was also the first one to use saxaphone in his compositions.