GRAB A CHILD! ANY CHILD!

Isaac Mizrahi and the cast of Peter and the Wolf at the Guggenheim Museum

Sergei Prokofiev's 1936 Peter and the Wolf was our very own introduction to classical music and led to a lifelong appreciation. To this day we cannot hear a bassoon without thinking of Peter's grandfather. The iterations of the piece are multiple and we once spent an inordinate amount of time searching for a copy of a jazz/rock version on the Deutsche Grammophon label. We failed.

But we always come to hear Isaac Mizrahi's version at the Guggenheim museum, part of their Works and Process series. The multi-talented Mr. Mizrahi conceived and directed the show, performed the engaging and droll narration, and designed the apposite costumes for the performers.

String players are placed stage right, percussion is stage left, and the wind instruments representing the various characters share the stage with some very fine dancers performing choreography by John Heginbotham. Maestro Brad Lubman conducted the ensemble. The music is tuneful and accessible, not to mention enchanting.

The role of Peter was performed by Macy Sullivan wearing a propeller beanie. Elizabeth Coker made a finely feathered bird, dancing on point with true avian disregard for gravity. Marjorie Folkman lurched around on large flipper feet as the Duck, whilst Kristen Foote exhibited feline friskiness as the Cat. 

There was plenty of humor in Grandfather's untimely appearance which was gently remonstrated by Mr. Mizrachi. The role was performed by Guillermo Resto.

But oh, that wolf! Daniel Pettrow was sitting on a park bench, hiding in plain sight behind an open newspaper, waiting for his cue. Never has the French Horn (Tim McCarthy) sounded so menacing! This lupine creature was kind of adorable, even as he terrorized the bird and the cat. He managed to swallow the duck whole but never fear for the tender feelings of your rugrats. She somehow survives and the wolf is taken to the local zoo.

Making an appearance toward the end is the Hunter, in this case, since we are in Central Park, a chubby and somewhat foolish park ranger, played by Derrick Arthur.

We will post a carousel of photos on our Facebook page (Voce di Meche) which will show just how clever Mr. Mizrahi's costumes are. 

Musical values were marvelous and our love for the piece has been renewed.  There will be several more performances in the upcoming week so grab a kid and take advantage of this enchanting experience. Let it be noted that the many children in the audience were attentive and still in their seats.  That alone is quite an accomplishment. We hope the work will have the same effect on them that it did on us when we were that age!

(c) meche kroop

FIRST LIEDERABEND OF THE SEASON

Cameron Richardson-Eames and Xiaomeng Zhang

In the several years we have been attending the liederabende at Juilliard we have watched the sparse audience grow to a packed house.  And why not!  Music lovers have an opportunity to hear some splendid singers accompanied by polished pianists in some compelling programs. And attendance is free!

Last night's program was curated and coached by Gina Levinson and comprised entirely Russian songs. This was an ambitious undertaking for the new semester and the young singers acquitted themselves with poise and some fine performances.

We liked the fact that the singers introduced themselves and said a few words about their program but very much wished that they had spoken more slowly and clearly.  Obviously, projecting the spoken voice is a different skill than projecting the sung voice.

Furthermore, we wished that the detestable music stand had been left offstage where it belongs. We do understand that it is early in the semester but a performance is a performance and the main goal is to connect with the audience. The music stand is always an obstacle, even when the singer barely glances at it.

Take for example the difference in communication when soprano Shakèd Bar abandoned the stand for a Tchaikovsky song "To forget so soon" after not reaching us at all with a set of four songs by  Prokofiev.  All we remember of the Prokofiev is that she was undaunted by a somewhat low tessitura. 

When the singer does not reach us we tend to focus on the piano and Richard Fu was marvelous, creating sunlight when called for and pleasing our ears with some thrumming chords in the final Prokofiev and producing a delicate arpeggiated ending in the aforementioned Tchaikovsky song of lost love. At this point Ms. Bar connected by being off-book and we enjoyed the variety in her tone color.

Soprano Lydia Graham achieved a rewarding rapport with five Tchaikovsky songs.  We loved the lively Italianate "Pimpinella", with which the singer and her collaborative pianist Brandon Linhard appeared to be having as much fun as we did. We liked the variety with which the pair imbued the delicate "Lullaby in a Storm", the intensity of "I Wish I Could in a Single Word" and the mournfulness of "Not a Word, O My Friend". In the pessimistic "Does the Day Reign?" we heard some admirable ripples in the piano.

Mezzo-soprano Olivia Cosio, partnered by pianist Mariel Werner, performed a quintet of songs by Rimsky-Korsakov, a composer responsible for our childhood love of classical music.  We wished she had not read the introduction but she was off-book for the songs and impressed us with some lovely melismatic singing in "A Nightingale Sings to a Rose" which just happened to be our favorite song of the set. It makes use of a mode that just might be Phrygian and we hope a reader will clarify that for us.  It is a distinctively Eastern sound, like a minor scale on steroids. It tugs at the heart.

We heard it again when the long admired baritone Xiaomeng Zhang performed with pianist Cameron Richardson-Eames the gorgeous and well known Rachmaninoff song "Do Not Sing to Me, My Beauty". Mr. Zhang's melismatic singing and Mr. Richardson-Eames grumbling chords in the lower register conspired to tear at our heart, in spite of the music stand.  It seemed to be a crutch that Mr. Zhang really does not need.  I hope he will become more secure in this song and abandon the book because it suits his voice well.

We also enjoyed the dynamic variation of "The Dream".  He stowed the stand for "In the Silence of the Mysterious Night" and thrilled us with a passionate climax.

He did not need any crutches for a performance of a pair of songs by Sviridov, whose writing managed to avoid the tedium of most 20th c. composers.  In "Foreboding" the forceful piano was met by some lovely singing in which Mr. Zhang connected with the text, employing variations in color and dynamics to express the emotions of the text.  

"Drawing Near to Izhory" was lively and fun--a perfect way to end the Liederabend.

(c) meche kroop

THE HALF-FULL GLASS

A cheerful disposition requires being grateful for what one experiences and not mourning for what is missed.  Let it be said also that, at times, a taste of something is so wonderful that one is completely satisfied.  Such was the case Friday when I was fortunate enough to hear half of the final  Lindemann recital of the season.

Looking every inch the diva but sounding like the artist she is, glamorous soprano Lei Xu inhabited each chanson of Berlioz' Les Nuits d'Ete with such dramatic intensity that it seemed to be an operatic aria.  In "Le spectre de la rose", one could virtually inhale the aroma.  Several of the songs relate to loss and one could feel the heart deeply touched.  Ms. Xu's voice has a beautiful bloom on top.  Her piano partner Bryan Wagorn seemed to breathe with her and supported totally without ever overwhelming.

Baritone Luthando Qave sang three Schubert lieder accompanied by Alexandra Naumenko.  The fast tempo taken in "Die Forelle" made the song seem less serious.  The audience favorite was "Erlkönig" in which Mr. Qave's dramatic skills were given free rein.  Never have we heard such an evil seductive Erlkonig!  The voice of The Father sounded appropriately reassuring with some underlying anxiety.  However, one might have wished for a lighter more frightened sounding child.  Ms. Naumenko has a firm hand on the piano and there were moments when a lighter touch would have added some variety.

Her firm hand stood her in good stead as tenor Mario Chang sang Verdi's "L'esule" with a gorgeous Italianate sound.  This is a sizable voice, one that is quite suited to the Verdi repertoire and we were sorry to miss his Tosti songs and the Spanish songs with which he ended the program.

But we were committed to hearing pianist Soheil Nasseri perform his traditional program at Bargemusic in Brooklyn.  What a pleasure to hear our favorite composers played with verve and style.  We were most taken by Schubert's Sonata in A minor, D.845, Op.42; given our love for lieder, this is quite understandable since Schubert's melodies are always so engaging.  And especially since Mr. Nasser's piano "sings" so beautifully with lyrical phrasing and variety of color. 

Mr. Nasseri continued with Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet: Ten Pieces for Piano, Op.75, a piano reduction written some time after the orchestral version.  It seemed amazing how many subtleties of instrumentation the piano was able to reproduce.  Scenes from the ballet kept drifting in front of our eyes.

The program ended with Beethoven's Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major.  We were particularly enchanted by the lyrical Menuetto and the playful Presto con fuoco.

It seemed bizarre to be thinking about Montsalvatge's "Cuba dentro de un piano" until I realized I was hearing an entire universe in Mr. Nasseri's piano.  This ambitious artist has promised to perform all of Beethoven's works involving piano by 2020, the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth.  Although Mr. Nasseri performs all over the world we hope to be present for more of them.

(c) meche kroop