January 22, 2014

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Gets Creative With Tan Dun Concerto

A floral supplies store would seem an odd place to shop for musical instruments, but in preparation for New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s (NJSO) recent North American premiere of Tan Dun’s Earth Concerto, members of the ensemble’s percussion section found themselves looking at planters of varying sizes and materials to serve as drums. Audience members at NJSO’s concert last Friday night at Richardson Auditorium peered with great interest at the three sets of multiple planters, not necessarily realizing that the three percussionists were creating amazing music on items available at the neighborhood gardening emporium.

NJSO Music Director Jacques Lacombe programmed Friday night’s concert of the Tan Dun concerto and Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde as part of the orchestra’s Winter Festival theme of the relationship between music and the elements of nature. Both the Tan Dun and Mahler works were “songs to earth” concerning man and nature. In a type of “chicken and egg” cycle, Chinese composer Tan Dun drew his inspiration for Earth Concerto from Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, while Mahler found inspiration for this work in Hans Bethge’s poetic translation of Tang dynasty poetry.

NJSO programmed Earth Concerto as a closing bookend to Tan Dun’s Water Concerto, performed in the Winter Festival of 2011. The complete title of the work is Earth Concerto for Stone and Ceramic Percussion With Orchestra, and the three-movement work is scored for 99 ceramic and stone instruments with large orchestra. The concerto had its premiere in 2009, and what made NJSO’s North American premiere unique was its use of local instruments. The terra cotta, ceramic, and metal planters played by David Cossin, James Neglia, and James Musto provided scales, bell-like tones, and a somewhat rustic effect which Mr. Cossin noted “brings people back to a quieter and less distracting time.”

Understandably, most of the focus during the performance of Earth Concerto was on the three percussionists, as well as guest artist Zhang Meng, who played three traditional Chinese instruments — ceramic horn, xun, and flute. The most melodic of these instruments was the xun, a globular ocarina-type instrument providing a rich and mellow sound, especially when accompanied by harp. Adding to the percussive effects of the piece was the ceramic horn, which Mr. Zhang blew into, not unlike the indigenous Australian didgeridoo. The ceramic flute, used primarily in the third movement, contrasted with the ostinato played by the three percussionists and a slightly tipsy string sound to match the movement’s title: The Drunkard in Spring.

Tan Dun’s concerto was a work of innovation, as was Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde in its time. Composed in 1907-08, the six-movement work straddled the genres of orchestrated song cycle and symphony, while musically addressing Mahler’s obsession with mortality. Beginning with the trademark Mahlerian horn calls, Mr. Lacombe and the NJSO kicked off the piece majestically. Mahler changes musical moods on a dime, and throughout the work the players had no trouble navigating the composer’s very complex and evolutionary imagination.

American tenor Russell Thomas, who presented the first, third, fifth and final movements, sang with bright and sometimes fierce sound which was necessary to be heard over the thick orchestration. A nice Viennese flow from both singer and instrumentalists marked the reflective third movement, and like its companion third movement of the Tan Dun concerto, the fifth movement of the Mahler was sufficiently tipsy.

Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Bishop displayed exactly the rich vocal tone and sensitivity to the text required for Mahler’s pensive approach to Bethge’s poetry. Both of these vocal soloists were necessarily operatic, and Ms. Bishop was in no hurry to rush the text, providing a bit of sauciness in the fourth movement. In the closing movement, in which both soloists sang, Ms. Bishop floated text describing the peaceful earth as Robert Ingliss’ oboe solo combined with undulating violas to depict a brook that “sings loudly through the darkness.”

The mid-19th century was a heyday for horns, and the horn section of the NJSO showed clarity and unified sound throughout. Mahler exploited almost every instrument of the orchestra in his larger-than-life musical concepts, and NJSO’s wind players in particular demonstrated both grace and strength. A pair of clarinets “wandered” through eternal love and English hornist Andrew Adelson provided supple melodic lines periodically throughout the movements. Mahler’s unique orchestration of piccolo solos, played by Kathleen Nester, added to the playfulness of the Drunk in Springtime fifth movement, and Bart Feller’s sensitive flute playing added to the pathos of the final farewell. Mahler’s underlying optimism was conveyed by the celeste, played by Elizabeth Difelice, as the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra brought the substantial yet poignant work to a close.

 

February 20, 2013

Richardson Chamber Players Warm Cold Winter Sunday With 20th Century Music

The Richardson Chamber Players has always been an ensemble exploring the outer edges of chamber repertoire. Now more than 15-years-old, the Players has become a presenter of music audiences may not hear anywhere else. Sunday afternoon’s concert at Richardson Auditorium focused on two decades of European and South American music, presenting works rarely heard in general, much less in Princeton.

Sunday’s concert featured a comparatively large number of instrumentalists and singers, both professionals and students. The cover of the concert program referred to “this exaltation, this splendor, this bliss,” but Richardson Chamber Players co-founder and conductor Michael Pratt labeled the four pieces on the program as “fun.” Bassoonist Robert Wagner, principal bassoonist with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra; and Jayn Rosenfeld, principal flutist with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra started off the “fun” with selections from the Bachianas Brasileiras Suite No. 6 of Heitor Villa-Lobos. In the opening Aria, Ms. Rosenfeld took her time on the long melodic line, with Mr. Wagner complementing the flute line with a subtle but steady bassoon. Reflecting the work’s Bach influence, Mr. Wagner’s bassoon playing was as solid as any Baroque continuo, closing the movement with Ms. Rosenfeld in a tapered unison.

Music of Villa-Lobos also closed the afternoon’s program, but in between were two works linked by their roots in 1920s and 1930s Europe. Kurt Weill and Paul Hindemith were composing in a similar political climate, yet these two works were very different. Weill is most known for his music for the stage, and his sets of vocal songs are just as interesting. Soprano Martha Elliott sang the seven-movement Frauentanz, a setting of poems from the Middle Ages. Ms. Elliott always maintained a saucy approach to the teasing and romantic texts, singing with innocence yet a smile of knowing something secret behind the words.

Ms. Elliott was accompanied by solo flute, viola, clarinet, horn, and bassoon, in varying combinations and music effects. Hornist Chris Komer and Mr. Wagner provided a chipper accompaniment to the first song, while clarinetist Jeffrey Hodes (a recent Princeton graduate and veteran of the University Orchestra) played a smooth dancing obbligato to the second song. Especially nice to hear was Danielle Farina’s elegant viola playing, especially against the wind ostinato in the third movement. Ms. Farina also accompanied Ms. Elliott in an expressive interpretation of a haunting text in the fourth song. Throughout this set, Weill’s unique orchestration and combination of instruments created a unique musical palette and made Ms. Elliott’s conveying of the text that much more accessible.

Princeton University faculty member Barbara Rearick offered a very different text interpretation and vocal approach in Paul Hindemith’s Die junge Magd, a set of six songs. Composed for mezzo-soprano to the poetry of Georg Trakl, this cycle is dark, with a six-instrument accompaniment of string quartet, flute, and clarinet. Ms. Rearick sang with a rich and plaintive character, emphasizing a musical lavishness which came from the playing of the string quartet: violinists Ruotao Mao and Dean Wang, violinist Ms. Farina and cellist Alberto Parrini. The instrumental ensemble created two characters, between the strings and the winds, with icy word-painting when appropriate. In the fourth song in particular, the strings played a “hammering” pizzicato while the winds and voice depicted the character and mood. Ms. Rosenfeld’s solo flute matched Ms. Rearick’s voice perfectly in the particularly disturbing text of the fifth song.

Ms. Elliott returned to the stage to close the concert with selections from another suite from Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras, singing the familiar vocalise introduction at a nice pace. Ms. Elliott’s difficult vocal humming was especially impressive in the closing of the cantilena Aria. The very quick-moving Dança was presented with rapid text from Ms. Elliott and effortless cello playing from Mr. Parrini leading an ensemble of seven other celli.

Sunday afternoon’s performance was a big undertaking for the Richardson Chamber Players, but by augmenting the ensemble with excellent instrumentalists from the campus, the ensemble proved more than up to the task, and a very appreciative audience came away with appreciation for some new repertoire.

March 28, 2012

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Showcases Legend André Watts and Three Young Musicians

Musical ensembles in Princeton have presented a number of fine soloists over the years, and when a superstar passes through, it is immediately noticeable. Pianist André Watts has been a legendary performer long enough to be familiar to an entire generation of concert-goers. The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) brought Mr. Watts to Princeton this past weekend in a Brahms concerto performance that thrilled both players and audience.

Music Director Jacques Lacombe preceded the American legend with a taste of the next generation of talent by starting Friday night’s concert in Richardson Auditorium with three young students in the orchestra’s education and community engagement program. The three musicians played a lively flute trio, showing poise and musicianship. It was also fitting that the NJSO followed this educational outreach sampler with Edward T. Cone’s Music for Strings, given Mr. Cone’s commitment to students over his life.

Music for Strings proved to be a block of concentrated string sound, with players uniform in their intensity and meter changes. Mr. Cone clearly liked lower strings, with the dense sound of the celli and double basses contrasted by a lyrical violin solo by concertmaster Eric Wyrick. Mr. Lacombe maintained solid control over the changing textures, bringing the piece to nothingness at the end.

André Watts joined the orchestra for Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, a towering late 19th-century work combining keyboard virtuosity with a luxuriant orchestral palette. Mr. Watts was seated almost directly behind the conductor, but it was clear from the outset that both conductor and soloist had the piece well in hand and needed only occasionally to check in with each other. The first movement’s opening paired principal hornist Lucinda-Lewis with Mr. Watts in a perfectly timed duet. What set Mr. Watts well above other excellent soloists was the exact timing and rhythmic symbiosis between the soloist and orchestra. Mr. Watts’s precise dialogues with the ensemble no doubt come from familiarity, at times seeming to play just for himself, yet keeping solid communication with the orchestra. He took complete charge of tempo changes, with skips in the left hand and phrasing that always seemed to be going somewhere. Mr. Watts in particular exhibited fierce contrary motion between hands and forceful double trills to close the first movement.

The concerto was primarily about the orchestra and pianist, with a few wind solos interspersed, including from flutist Bart Feller and oboist James Roe. The third movement featured an extended duet between piano soloist and solo cello, gracefully played by principal cellist Jonathan Spitz. This movement gave the pianist a bit of a break, as the music moved languorously among several solo instruments. Mr. Watts returned to constant piano motion in the closing movement, accompanied by well-nuanced phrasing from the orchestra.

Equally as towering as the Brahms Concerto was Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, known as the Rhenish Symphony because of the influence on the composer of Europe’s Rhine River. Through the four movements of the symphony, Mr. Lacombe kept the tempi moving along at an exuberant clip, giving the impression of the Rhine rolling along. Clearly very familiar with the work, Mr. Lacombe allowed the first movement to state its point from the beginning while building dynamic swells and elegantly tapering wind phrases. The second scherzo movement maintained a rather heavy lilt with a bit of teasing in some of the internal cadential passages. Mr. Roe demonstrated delicate playing in oboe solos in the first movement, and an augmented brass section blended well with clarinets and bassoons in the fourth movement.

The nearly full house at Richardson no doubt thought it was a truly special evening to hear a soloist of this caliber, as Mr. Lacombe and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra continue to make their mark around the state.