A CSO Review
We are fortunate to live in a city with a vibrant arts community and a wonderful and rich tradition of a symphony orchestra. As a musician I feel that it is important to support other musicians and I hold season tickets to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. I am always amazed at the number of musicians in Cincinnati that do not attend these concerts on a regular basis. Music is my passion and I can't imagine not being supportive. If there was a master calendar of every single musical event taking place in Cincinnati on any given night it would be massive. One should take time to sample the musical treats. March 25 was a particularly interesting concert downtown at Music Hall.
The program consisted of a new work written by Stewart Goodyear titled Count Up, Bach's Keyboard Concerto Number 1 in D Minor, and Olivier Messiaen's Turangalila-symphonie. It was an interesting mix of music and I was anxious to see how the conductor would show a connection between the works. As I program music I sometimes focus on musical progressions (so that the program has a pleasant harmonic progression and the program almost becomes a composition itself), works that might be different dance styles or forms, or there is an obvious themes such as "War Horses" or "Heavy Metal". It appears that with this program Stewart Goodyear was the connective entity. He composed the opening fanfare, performed as soloist on the Bach and performed the piano part on the Messiaen. The styles of the three selections were vastly different. I was surprised at how comfortable the feeling of going from Bach to Messiaen turned out to be.
The fanfare by Goodyear was extremely high energy and very percussive. As with most fanfares it was quite brief. About three minutes worth of listening. There wasn't much that grabbed my attention except the excitement of the percussion. Three minutes is very short when trying to form an opinion. I think it would be helpful to hear it again and with a score to see what the piece actually looks and feels like. It was hard to tell if the composer was pleased with the performance. Not every piece ever written can be a "winner" but I did want to know what his thoughts were after hearing the piece in performance.
Since I am not a hardcore fan of Bach I was somewhat unfamiliar with the Keyboard Concerto. I have heard parts of it in music history courses and probably numerous times walking through the halls of practice rooms during my student days. As a concerto the emphasis would naturally be to listen to the solo instrument but I found that to be difficult. The way the piece is put together the piano often becomes part of the tapestry of sound. The orchestral part was just as important as the soloist and it was really fun to watch the players enjoy themselves. Gabe Pegis, principal second violin was constantly smiling and the expression on many faces in the orchestra was one of having a good time. Sir Roger Norrington has taught that vibrato in musical instruments is a fairly new concept and that in Bach's days vibrato would not have been used. When Norrington has conducted in Cincinnati the sound becomes very pure and tone quality and intonation become very clear without vibrato. Although not omitted the strings used only a light touch of vibrato throughout the work which gave the sound a lightness and clarity that is similar to having a wonderful sorbet between courses at a five-star restaurant. Jarvi put down the baton in the second and third movements which kept the visual aspect very light and relaxed. One role of the conductor is to be the music and without the baton it was easier to convey a more intimate experience.
The CSO was showcasing it's brand new nine-foot grand piano with this concert. The piano is not my primary instrument so I cannot speak to the specific nuances a trained pianist would hear but I must say that in the Bach there were times where the piano had a rich, burnt umber quality in the sound. It was very rich and warm. I have heard some concert grands that have a very bright, sharp steely silver sound which is harsh to my ear. I look forward to hearing the new instrument again to make a comparison of soloists and tone quality.
The final work of the concert was massive. The piece is pronounced tour-an-gah-lee-la for those who don't know the work. Roughly, Turangalila is composed of two Sanskrit words. Lila means love and Turanga is rhythm or movement. I purposefully chose not to read any of the program notes provided by the CSO that evening. Often times with a piece of this magnitude the emphasis of the program notes approaches the piece from either a purely academic viewpoint or comes across as psychoanalysis. I wanted to hear the piece for myself. During graduate school this piece was often excerpted in 20th Century Music classes and I knew I would recognize some of the thematic material but I wanted to hear the entire piece without prejudice. The work is over 70 minutes in length, depending on the conductor, and isn't performed often.
Looking at the stage is impressive with the thickness of percussion equipment and the sheer size of the orchestra. I do not want to give a blow by blow of the performance but rather my impressions from being an active listener. Perhaps later I will give some background information on Messiaen but it is easy to find if you wish to know more about him.
The total work felt like a musical orgy. Almost too much at times for the senses to grasp onto. You could imagine the music being a part of a space-age movie or even a Bugs Bunny cartoon at times while at other times it came across as the 'acid-rock' of it's moment in history. Constantly you heard a love melody alternating with angular lines. At times you felt you were walking down a street past open doors to different clubs, bars, or restaurants and you were hearing music coming from each establishment blurring into the next.
Nothing was small in this work. Sounds moved from huge Hollywood movie scores to full, resonant echos in the Grand Canyon. I am blessed(?) with the sensory experience of having an aura of color that is associated with music. I some times refer to the effect as my own personal Northern Lights. The blues and purples were very intense as were the reds which intensified the magnitude of the music. The level of playing was extremely high for this performance. Randy Bowman, principal flute and Richie Hawley, principal clarinet were as one. The timbres of their instruments blending together seamlessly. You simply couldn't tell when one instrument stopped and the other began. Eventually as the love theme appeared you could almost hear words. The momentum of the music was powerful. Sounds washed over the listener relentlessly and was exhausting. Just when I thought I would be completely pulled into the core of the sound it was over. There was a complete rush of a release from sound that I felt breathless for a moment.
Much attention was given to Stewart Goodyear on piano and Cynthia Millar on the ondes Martenot (explanation following) but it was a true ensemble work. The piano and ondes Martenot were simply two more instruments on stage.
The Ondes Martenot is an electronic instrument that was first presented in 1928. It uses a keyboard and produces only one note at a time. If more than one note is played the lower note sounds. The right hand plays the keyboard of which each key is capable of a slight lateral movement which can be used as a vibrato. Wide glissando sweeps and other effects are possible. The left hand controls a set of filters which change the harmonic spectrum (and thus the timbre) and also controls dynamics and volume. It is sometimes compared to the earliest synthesizer. The speakers stand separate from the keyboard. It is a haunting sound that some may associate with early Sci-Fi movies.
If you are unfamiliar with the music of Messiaen you might find that listening in small doses would be a good way to start. When you feel ready to experience this particular piece make sure you have little or no distractions and are able to just sit and let the music wash over you and just let your senses be your guide.