Classical Music: Concerto electrifies audience

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Concerto electrifies audience

Here's the review:

During its 113-year lifespan, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has developed relationships with many famed composers. On Friday, modern icon Krzysztof Penderecki, 74, led the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in the premiere of his Piano Concerto, a spectacular tour-de-force for piano and orchestra that is destined to become one of the important concertos of our time.

The program included the Polish composer's most well-known work, "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima" (1960) and Beethoven's Symphony No. 4.

Both of Penderecki's pieces were inspired by cataclysmic world events. In the first half of the concert, "Threnody," scored for 52 strings, began like a cry and evolved through an unearthly soundscape. Some moments were frenzied, with tones that wailed like sirens; others were serene, but the effect of this piece never fails to move. The work is not conducted in measures, but in events, and the creator led his 10-minute "Threnody" with gripping authority.

For his Piano Concerto, subtitled "Resurrection," Penderecki was inspired by the events of 9/11. Irish pianist Barry Douglas was the CSO’s soloist for the world premiere of the composer's 2007 revision of this work.

The 40-minute concerto unfolded in one unbroken span through a universe of moods, stunning orchestral colors and diverse events. Basically tonal, its sometimes chaotic events are tied together by a chorale that appears in the trombones, and returns atmospherically in treble piano, harp and celesta.

Scored in bold colors, the concerto included a solo for English horn, temple bells, gongs, chimes and trumpets blazing from the balcony.

It often seemed more symphony than concerto, with the piano a partner in the orchestral texture. Douglas put his superb technique to work, punctuating the drama with electrifying cascades, trills and fistfuls of percussive chords, and did it decisively and without a score.

The orchestra performed superbly and with conviction. The final apotheosis unfolded in a dynamic burst of energy, and the crowd was instantly on its feet.

Penderecki, who is also an excellent conductor, opened the evening with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4. He wonderfully contrasted darkness and light, leading with clarity, depth and brisk tempos. He drew an earthy sound from the strings and warmth from the wind solos. If the scherzo was a bit too breathless, the finale was played with sheer virtuosity and drive.

The concert repeats at 8 p.m. today in Music Hall. 513-381-3300, www.cincinnatisymphony.org. What did you think? Review and rate this concert at cincinnati.com/entertainment.

Footnote:
Some people at the symphony were surprised or upset that "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima" was programmed on Pearl Harbor Day. Do you think that was inappropriate?

21 Comments:

at 12/08/2007 11:26:00 AM

Anonymous said...

But if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it make a sound...

at 12/08/2007 02:25:00 PM

Anonymous said...

Is the first blogger implying that there was a small crowd in attendence for the concert? Any estimates on the number?

at 12/08/2007 02:28:00 PM

Anonymous said...

I have to wonder if those who were upset or disturbed that Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshma was programmed on December 7th, Pearl Harbor day, came to Music Hall to listen to great music or to nurse a long, deep, dark prejudicial political grudge. To object to the timing of the piece seems just silly to me. On the other hand, perhaps there was no better day to recall that the US government placed Japanese-American citizens in camps after 12/7 and bombed Hiroshma not just to shorten the war but to show the world we had atomic muscle. We need to recall that with the ongoing war in Iraq, entered on faulty intelligence and sustained by smoke, mirrors and paranoia, where we killing innocent civilians once more and also flexing our nuclear muscles over Iran even after new reports indicate that Iran is not an immediate nuclear threat, perhaps there is reason to recall that we too have a dark and dangerous side and are as capable of victimizing others as being victims. Having said that I conclude by saying one should leave one's old politics wounds and prejudices at the door and let the music move one beyond a specific moment in time to some truth about the nature of the human condition.

at 12/08/2007 03:05:00 PM

Anonymous said...

Very well said, Don. I think it is entirely appropriate to schedule this kind of work on Pearl Harbor Day. All humans suffer, and any nation is capable of both suffering and inflicting atrocities. One might as well complain that it was inappropriate for Clint Eastwood to film "Letters from Iwo Jima" in addition to "Flags of Our Fathers"--two great movies that, I think, emphasize what we are saying about the universality of the human condition.

at 12/08/2007 03:12:00 PM

Anonymous said...

Threnody was not written with Hiroshima in mind at all. Penderecki wrote the piece at age 27 in three days, and his publisher suggested the name so it would sell better. You can forget the politics, because there aren't any in the score.

at 12/09/2007 02:29:00 AM

Anonymous said...

Saturday night at MHall, the CSO presented us a thriller. This was music at its finest, maestro/
composer truly sincere in presenting to the musicians the chance to play this composition.
Never have we heard this
heartfelt playing from every member and many in the audience were in tears.
More nights like this, with many college age students we saw, and we may get some to return to hear
real bone chilling sounds
from all on stage. PLEASE bring
Penderecki back--soon.eM=M

at 12/09/2007 09:08:00 AM

Janelle Gelfand said...

These are all excellent and thoughtful remarks. I had not known that about Penderecki's publisher. Did that come out at a preconcert lecture, or in his master classes at CCM? It's funny because even music textbooks claim he "evoked the psychological nightmare of the first nuclear holocaust..." (Soundings) As for attendance, it was clearly around 900 Friday night. I ran into some folks yesterday at Borders Books who were shocked. What can be done?? Part of the problem was the unfamiliar program. But in the past, people flocked to hear a major composer conduct his own piece, played by a major pianist. I think the orchestra needs to get out in the city and present lectures like "Opera Raps," give tickets to band members and their parents from Lakota to NKY, market market market .... whatever it takes, but it needs to be a massive blitz.

at 12/09/2007 11:42:00 AM

Anonymous said...

Attendance of about 950 and people are shocked? They must not go to the Symphony much. They shouldn't have been. Massive blitz? Not sure how effective that would be. This ongoing problem of declining or at best stagnet attendence didn't develop overnight and is not going to be solved with any rapidity. It is going to take hard work at the retail level of selling by everyone at the Symphony and-I do mean everyone- from that massive marketing/advertising/development staff to the musicians to fill each and eveyone of the seats one at at a time and build for a base of repeat customers.
What reason does this organization give for someone to come to see what they have to sell that is different and a viable alternative to what other entertainment venues they have to spend their entertainment dollars on? The "world class" tag line has almost, no it has, become a cliche and works to bring the 900 or so faithful (at the most)on a regular basis. What needs to be done to fill the other 2000+ seats with people who not as emersed and exposed to the symphonic experience as the faithful? The hall is too large argument doesn't fit here either as far as I'm concerned. The hall is what it is and is not going to change anytime soon That's the defense of people who have no ideas. Time to roll up your sleeves and start thinking outside the box. The salvation of this organization is going to have to come from inside or it is going to collapse from its own weight.

at 12/09/2007 02:08:00 PM

Anonymous said...

Following up on Janelle Gelfand's idea, not new, but not used here at all, is to give FREE tickets to many schools, piano teachers, WGUC, and plaster the city with CSO reminders.

Do not need fancy dress-ups or Balls to get many to a perfect auditorium, just get the idea out that we want YOU there.
No one has to be afraid of being 'immersed'
(emersed?) in good music,
the result is that you go home with music in your head and heart, you are saturated with beauty and remember you are in the presence of the finest musicians in the city, on the stage in front of you. The piano soloist,Barry Douglas is so great it is hard to imagine his brain could encompass all that music with no score in front of him.
AND Sat. night he played an encore, where did he get the strength for it?, but HE loves to play and knew all who were there would go away with that extra elated 5 minutes of beauty.
THIS is not ENTERTAINMENT
as so many call it,so lose that phrase, it is inner soul searching beauty to live with.
eM=M

at 12/09/2007 11:00:00 PM

Anonymous said...

You can market your product till the fat lady sings but if people are not interested in your performances you are not going to sell tickets...and I am so sick of people suggesting to give away tickets....that is not the point and will never help the future of the CSO.....

at 12/10/2007 01:13:00 AM

Anonymous said...

I didn't go.

Do not like modern classical music.

The price of ticket has nothing to do with it.

The size of the hall has nothing to do with it.

I have no answer. Seems that as the generations move along, the interest in classical music is fading.

Music is not taught in school.

I used to go to about 12 symphonies a year. down to about 5 a year now. The shows are too much a mix of new and old. When I see the new, unless the old piece is an absolute classic, then I will not go, so as to avoid listening to the new material.

As you can imagine ,, I will be far away for the weekend of John Adams!! Pathetic music.

at 12/10/2007 08:48:00 AM

Anonymous said...

I went to the concert Saturday night and was thrilled! I also learned for the first time the truth about the composition of the Threnody--but when I heard it, I felt, in an indescribable way, a measure of the horror of a nuclear holocaust. The Resurrection piano concerto was astounding, a fitting tribute to the people of 9/11.

And in reply to Anon of 1:13 AM, your taste is only one of many. I think there are many people out there who do appreciate modern classical music and see something in it. I, for one, love the mix of old and new on the programs, because I get the opportunity to hear familiar classics played live in the auditorium, and I get to hear things I've never heard before--an exciting experience, whether or not the music is any good. This time, it *was* good; in fact, it brought my attention back after I nearly drifted off during the Beethoven symphony.

To put it more concisely: if the CSO programs were absolutely nothing but the old classics played over and over and over, I would probably not go very often, maybe only occasionally to hear some favorites. However, with the interesting mix they have right now, I've been attending every concert so far this season.

But you can't please everyone.

at 12/10/2007 09:18:00 AM

Anonymous said...

In response to the last couple of bloggers I think that while programming is the backbone of the Symphony you are never going to hit an absolute perfect answer. It is just the nature of the beast. What one person likes, another will dislike. I accept that whenever I go to the Symphony. Some of the programs I like/some I don't. I walk out of the hall at teh end of the concert a little smarter and hopefully that my tastes in music are a little more refined and well honed. A learning experience. This should be an accepted fact whenever discussing what needs to be done to improve attendance. Not every movie you go to see you make a decision on until you are walking out after viewing it.
The marketing emphasis should be geared on how to get traditional non-concert goers to give the Symphony consideration as an entertainment option with the emphasis on the entertainment decesion makers. While some patrons of the symphony may view a concert as some spiritual experience lifting them to some new astral plane, at the end to the day it is an evening at a concert hall is a diversion. A chance to do something different. It is entertainment no matter how much it may grate on some supporters of the CSO when it is described that way.
You know Walt Disney took symphonic music to a whole new level in a cartoon decades ago and that reinterpretation of the music and the vehicle in which it was presented has withstood the test of time. Maybe a little out of the box thinking like that would let some fresh air (and new concert goers) in.

Steve Deiters/Oakley

at 12/10/2007 12:45:00 PM

Anonymous said...

"You can't please everyone" sums it up pretty well. I attended Saturday night, and I think the crowd was fair, given the season and the programming. I liked it much more than I expected to (my expectation was to find it interesting but not compelling or endearing - the Penderecki, that is). I was pleasantly surprised.

In my opinion Paavo and the CSO do a superb job in constructing the programs - the combination of repertoire, conductors and soloists - especially given the multiple constraints at work. Some of this is simply Paavo's ability to make absolutely anything compelling. In other words, if you place your trust in the integrity of the programming you will be rewarded. Sure, it requires some active participation form the listener - but so does anything worthwhile. For those allergic to anything previously unheard, here's an apt quote from a recent article in the Wall Street Journal on Charles Rosen:
"The problem is that with painting, if you don't like it, you go on to the next painting. With music, you have to sit there for 20 or 30 minutes listening to something you don't understand, and you resent it." However, this situation has precedents, he explains. "There is a letter of 1811 by Zelter, who became Mendelssohn's teacher, to Goethe, about a strange composer named Beethoven. People who heard his music for the first time, wrote Zelter, were horrified. Then they heard it again and they became passionate advocates, 'like advocates of Greek love.' He compared liking Beethoven to a sexual perversion! But the point is that they changed their minds. And they kept hearing it because the musicians kept playing it. The same was true of Mozart's music in Paris."

This would seem to offer a ray of hope for the lasting impact of modernist works. "But I don't know what will happen in the future," he concludes. "I never predict. I take things as they come."

at 12/12/2007 11:16:00 AM

Anonymous said...

I went both nights, so that I may soak in as much as I could from Penderecki's discussions.

I find it only coincidence that the Threnody piece was played on December 7th. When listening to the discussion, Penderecki made it clear that the piece was absolute in origin, that he only put the programmatic name on the piece so people would at least choose to try to understand it. On Saturday night, he said that at its first performances, the orchestras did not want to play the piece, one even considered going on strike. This is something I'd like to read more into.

Let's look at the music for music's sake and not turn this forum into a political discussion. After all, Penderecki said himself that he is not a political composer.

Both nights were great! If I had to pick which performance was better, I think both the Beethoven and Threnody were performed better Friday, though the piano concerto was fabulous both times. I sat in the middle of the gallery both nights, so I missed the off-stage trumpets and some of the sound from the piano in the orchestra's louder moments. Is there a better place considered to sit for piano concertos?

at 12/12/2007 11:59:00 AM

Janelle Gelfand said...

Andrew, Thanks for your reply. This is an important fact about Threnody that is not reported in the program notes or history books. I think orchestras do a disservice to the public by not putting it in their notes... As for where to sit for a piano concerto, balcony center-left side is optimal, both for sound and sightlines. The gallery was my favorite place to sit until that new orchestra shell and acoustical clouds were added. Now much of the sound is deflected downward and away from the gallery. You'll notice that you're just about at "cloud" level up there...

at 12/13/2007 11:47:00 PM

Anonymous said...

Bad sound in the gallery???

Where does this come from?? Some of the best sound is in the gallery!!

I have been to the opera in the last row of the gallery - the singing is great!!

The "Clouds" - they are there to keep the sound from going to the ceiling of music hall -- If the sound goes to the ceiling - then there would be significant echo- you would hear the singer from the stage first- the a fraction of a second from the ceiling.

how could the clouds negatively affect the sound in the gallery?

As I sit in the gallery - I have full view of the stage -- sound travels in straight lines- the cloud does not obstruct the view in the gallery - so the clouds do not affect the sound in the gallery. EZ as that...

The clouds improve the sound in the entire hall - by eliminating echo from the ceiling.

The orchestra "shell" was added to assist the musicians in hearing what the others are playing -- the shells have no effect on the sound for the audience..

please... some of the best sound is in the gallery. I know of an older person - season tix to opera for many years-- sits in 10th row of gallery - would not consider changing.

now, the gallery has wood backs on the chairs, so yes, as a comfort issue, the balcony is better.

but, only about the first 4 rows, after that the balcony ceiling comes into play, and at about row 7 there is echo off the back wall of the balcony. Since these first 4 rows are so expensive (good reason) people on a budget cannot afford to sit there.

at 12/14/2007 11:25:00 AM

Anonymous said...

Per the crowd size/publicity, etc: I didn't know about this show - and would have gone in a heartbeat. I don't live under a rock - for example, I listen to WGUC and (like many people) speedread parts of City Beat and the Enquirer online - but I also don't peruse every last arts/concert listing (can be exhausting). I also know that I looked at the CSO schedule for the year and that one got past me. Educating the masses may be part of the issue, but simply getting the word out is also. People forget this, but for many people classical, jazz and rock music that's not meat and potatoes is more of a draw than the standard fare. Sorry I missed this one.

at 12/15/2007 01:24:00 AM

Anonymous said...

Patrons upset at the political nature of the music??

GASP!

SOMEONE had a reaction to the music and a negative one does not always mean a bad one. It can and should provoke further discussion.

The act of creating any art is a political act even if one says he is not political in the creative process. And, there was probably some level of planning that went into placing it on the program. I say - good. Good to agitate and get some dialog.

Attendance? Yup - Janelle is right. The tickets are a good start.

Dump some of the snobby door guards and the aura of 'holier-than-thou' classical snoots and you might even get a group of people there...but you also must cultivate this in the schools.

It's all about education and cultivation and offering opportunities.

Our orchestra also is paid handsomely and I have heard members complain and whine about such activities to enhance attendance and interest. Give me a break. Buck up buttercups and do a lot more education trips. To hell with union rules.

at 12/15/2007 09:11:00 AM

Anonymous said...

The contract is not the hold up. It doesn't disallow anything that'd take us into schools. Actually many of us already go in small groups.

at 12/17/2007 10:45:00 PM

Anonymous said...

Here we go again. Every discussion about the CSO becomes another rant about marketing the orchestra and hand-wringing about attendance. Anyone with a basic working knowledge of marketing knows that the first rule is to give consumers what they want. They have spoken, and have been for years. Not just here, but in every city with an orchestra. What they want, I'm afraid, is certainly not found at Music Hall. The CSO's PR, marketing, quality of product, charisma of music director, outreach, lectures and price have nothing to do with lack of interest. Among the cities in which I've lived, I've never seen such obsession with marketing among the classical music crowd. Please let's move on.

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Saturday, December 08, 2007

Concerto electrifies audience

21 Comments: