This was a long and varied program by cellist Mischa Maisky and pianist Lily Maisky (Mischa's daughter). The first piece was an Adagio by Marcello as arranged by Bach for keyboard as arranged by Maisky for cello and piano, followed without a break by Bach's Largo from the Harpsichord Concerto No. 5 as arranged by S. Franco, followed without a break by Pamina's Aria from Mozart's The Magic Flute as arranged by Maisky. Many in the audience were confused. Maisky later explained that he thinks that some pieces should be "attached" this way.
Then they played the Brahms Sonata No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99. This has a very elaborate and beefy piano part, and there were many places where the balance was off, with the cello inaudible. Some of that, perhaps most of that, is Brahms' fault. If the piano is playing in the same register as the cello and it's marked forte, you're just not going to hear the cello. But in other sections, particularly when the cellist is plucking strings, pizzicato, the pianist should simply back off. Brahms is a great master, of course, but this was not my favorite piece of the evening.
(Speaking of balance, I am reminded of the time when the principal flute player of a major orchestra was once asked, "When do you have time to practice?" He replied, "During the loud parts.")
In the second half of the program, we heard another attached pair of pieces by Tchaikovsky, followed by what I consider the major work of the evening, the Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40, by Shostakovich. The texture in this piece was quite clear; there was never any smothering of the cello by the piano, even though the piano part was just as elaborate and beefy (and downright difficult) as the Brahms. This was the highlight of the evening for me, and it was vintage Shostakovich: a mixture of forthright statements, unbearable sadness, and raucous humor. I want to listen to this piece again.
The Maiskys played three encores. The first was Rachmaninoff's Vocalise, tender as always. The next was another pair of attached pieces, by Saint-Säens (Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix from Samson et Dalila, one of the beautiful arrangements of this piece I've ever heard), and a short, snappy piece by Debussy. The final encore was Fritz Kreisler's familiar Liebesleid. The crowd was quite pleased.
Saturday, May 4, 2019
Castanets in Tannhäuser? "Wagner Love-Music" at the SF Symphony
One of the pieces on last night's program at the SF Symphony was the Overture and Venusberg Music from Tannhäuser. Once the Venusberg party gets going (the Bacchanal), various percussion instruments join in: tambourine, triangle, cymbals, drums, and ... castanets. I've heard this piece a zillion times and never noticed it, but I watched as Jacob Nissly, the Principal Percussion player, stood up, put one foot on a stool, and played the castanets on his thigh. It starts with one beat per measure (clack, clack, ...), then two (clackclack, clackclack, ...), then a triplet + 1 (clackety clack, clackety clack, ...), then all triplets (clackety, clackety, clackety ...), then four (clackclackclackclack, clackclackclackclack, ...), then non-stop, fast-as-you-can (clackclackclackclackclackclackclackclackclackclackclackclack ...) for a full minute or more. The guy has muscles and stamina, and probably a sore thigh. It was pretty funny to watch.
They also played the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde; it was "Wagner Love-Music" night. That was the second half. In the first half, we had Mendelssohn's Ruy Blas Overture (rarely played these days but you'd recognize it) and Bruch's G Minor Violin Concerto (likewise) with James Estes, who was spectacular. He came out after the Bruch and played an encore by Eugène Ysaÿe (thanks to Stephen Smoliar for identifying this composer, who was unknown to me). It started slowly but got faster, and then it switched into double stops (two notes at a time, so the bow has to cross two strings, very difficult), and then it got really fast and wild. The audience went crazy. He did a second encore, a short piece by Bach, which restored Order To The Universe.
Although I bought the ticket to hear the Wagner and the guest conductor, Marek Janowski, I enjoyed the non-Wagner pieces more. The Wagner pieces were just too familiar. We all know every note of those pieces. Well, except for the castanets.
They also played the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde; it was "Wagner Love-Music" night. That was the second half. In the first half, we had Mendelssohn's Ruy Blas Overture (rarely played these days but you'd recognize it) and Bruch's G Minor Violin Concerto (likewise) with James Estes, who was spectacular. He came out after the Bruch and played an encore by Eugène Ysaÿe (thanks to Stephen Smoliar for identifying this composer, who was unknown to me). It started slowly but got faster, and then it switched into double stops (two notes at a time, so the bow has to cross two strings, very difficult), and then it got really fast and wild. The audience went crazy. He did a second encore, a short piece by Bach, which restored Order To The Universe.
Although I bought the ticket to hear the Wagner and the guest conductor, Marek Janowski, I enjoyed the non-Wagner pieces more. The Wagner pieces were just too familiar. We all know every note of those pieces. Well, except for the castanets.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)