ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S AT CARNEGIE HALL

Krista Bennion Feeney, Ying Fang, and Maestro Bernard Labadie

As a long time worshipful fan of soprano Ying Fang, there was no way we were going to miss her performance with the Orchestra of St. Luke's. To discuss her performance of Mozart's concert aria "Non temer, amato bene" without putting it in the context of such a wonderful program would be rather monomaniacal.

Unlike programs that try to put in something for everyone, last night's program at Carnegie Hall stayed firmly in the 18th c., giving us plenty to think about in terms of how the compositional line evolved from Haydn to Mozart to Beethoven. We realized that the line between Classical music and Romantic music was not all that strict and Haydn could actually be thought of as proto-Romantic.

The overture to his 1779 opera L'isola disabitata which opened the program was filled with dramatic shifts in dynamics, tempo and mood. The opera is rarely performed but the overture makes a fine curtain raiser.

His 1772 Symphony No. 45 in the unusual key of F# minor seemed a departure from what we think of as Classical; it is filled with tempestuous moments and a depth of feeling that is somewhat foreign to the period of The Enlightenment with its rationality and symmetry.

The reason it is called "the Farewell symphony" is related to its origins. Anyone who didn't know the story might have been shocked to observe the musicians packing up and walking out, one by one, during the final movement. Even Maestro Labadie abandoned his podium until only two violinists remained to end the symphony on a quiet note.

The origin of this amusing device had to do with Haydn sending a musical message to his employer Prince Nicholas I who expected the musicians to stay on the Esterházy estate and delay their winter vacation to suit his whims. The musicians asked Haydn for some help and his response was to come up with this crazy idea for a symphony. Apparently, Prince Nicholas got the point and let the musicians depart. We had a lot of fun contemplating some present day employment situations that could be handled with such tact and humor!

The young Mozart composed his opera Idomeneo not long after but added the Rondo aria "Non temer, amato bene", sung by Idamante to the captured Princess Ilia, in 1786. The music begins with a simple but affecting melody but grows in power with each iteration. There are long and lovely legato lines giving Ms. Fang an opportunity to sing melismas of astonishing beauty. And there is anger at fate, offering opportunities for vocal fireworks. This would seem to be analogous to a cabaletta. Concertmaster Krista Bennion Feeney provided the violin obbligato. It was a stunning duet.

Shortly thereafter, Beethoven composed his Piano Concerto #2 in B-flat Major;  one could hear the influences of Haydn and Mozart while acknowledging Beethoven's special flair for the dramatic. We could not imagine a better performance than the one we heard by Beethoven specialist Jonathan Biss. The work opens with some downward moving arpeggi and a graceful second theme which set the mood for the entrance of the piano. 

Mr. Biss' nimble fingers flew over the keys and his performance was especially riveting when the orchestra fell silent whilst he tore into Beethoven's music. There were other surprises and the Allegro movement ended abruptly. We are not even sure we heard a recapitulation of the opening themes. We also missed the musical "joke" of the piano making an entrance in an "off" key. We would need further study to truly appreciate those subtleties. However no one could miss the shifts into the minor key, a device we always enjoyed in Mozart's operas.

It was a splendid evening and we have nothing but admiration for Maestro Labadie's conducting. He eschews the baton and uses his hands most expressively, eliciting gorgeous performances from his musicians. Bravi tutti!

(c) meche kroop

THEY CAME FOR THE SONATA...

Jonathan Biss and Mark Padmore at Zankel Hall

"They came for the sonata and stayed for the lieder" was the thought we entertained last night at Zankel Hall . It is rare that we attend a vocal recital without knowing at least a dozen people in the audience; last night there was a different audience from the one we see at vocal recitals and we had wondered whether they would enjoy the Schubert lieder on the second half of the program.  We needn't have concerned ourselves. The audience was held spellbound by Mr. Padmore's artistry and if they were not fans of lieder before the recital they surely will now be converts.

Although Mr. Padmore is a mature artist, the timbre of his voice is very youthful whilst his interpretive skills have been earned by experience. Moreover, he addressed the audience in a most gracious manner and spoke about the program, something we always appreciate.

The generous program comprised songs written toward the end of Schubert's tragically interrupted life with his full awareness that his time on earth was limited. A case has been made for how this influenced his song output but we cannot add to that argument.  All we can say is that we found a wide range of emotion in the chosen songs and that Mr. Padmore colored them with subtlety and communicated a depth of feeling.  And, for us, that is what lieder singing is all about.

A case was also made that Schubert's late songs give less melody to the vocal line.  Frankly, if modern composers paid half as much attention to a melodic vocal line we might enjoy contemporary music considerably more. The melodies are swirling around in our head even now. Some credit must go to the poets he chose to set--Johann Gabriel Seidl, Karl Gottfried von Leitner, Ludwig Rellstab, and, of course, Heinrich Heine.

Taking a closer look at our personal favorites, Rellstab's "In der Ferne" employed a dactyl meter in short punchy phrases that rhymed throughout, lending an impressive unity to the song, emphasized by Schubert's rhythmic setting. Rellstab's "Aufenthalt" followed the dactyl unit with a final stressed syllable, giving the song an insistent and propulsive feeling that echoed the rushing stream, the falling tears, and the beating heart.  In his "Herbst", the rhythm of the piano reminded one of "Gretchen am Spinnrade".  We are not suggesting that these songs sounded alike. Mr. Padmore made each song his own.

Von Leitner's poetry is different altogether and Schubert responded to it differently. In "Der Winterabend", so appropriate for last night, von Leitner wrote about the moonlight slipping lightly into his solitary room, spinning and weaving a shimmering veil ("schimmerndes Schleiertuch"); Shubert's music, as interpreted by Mr. Padmore, similarly spun and wove a shimmering veil over the audience.  We were transfixed!

In his "Des Fischers Liebesgluck", the piano introduces the strophic barcarolle in a minor key and plays the same theme as an interlude  between each stanza, a theme that once heard can never be forgotten. Mr. Padmore colored it beautifully and negotiated the upward leaps effectively. Strophic songs can become boring but not this one!

In Schubert's setting of Heine's "Die Stadt", the composer conveys both breeze and moisture by some kind of compositional legerdemain and the two artists ensured that we felt both. This was tonal painting at its apex!

The program ended with a setting of Seidl's cheerfully charming "Die Taubenpost".

The first half of the concert belonged to Jonathan Biss alone as he performed Schubert's Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 959 which was published posthumously. Mr. Biss' fingers literally flew over the keys in virtuosic splendor. It's always impressive when a superstar of the piano can also perform equally well as a collaborative pianist.

(c) meche kroop