A Little Too Much Russian

Last Saturday's Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra concert was rather intense, in many ways. It was a lot to take in, and has been rather difficult for me to try to write about. This concert really had the good, bad, and the ugly in it, and for a few days, I've been unsure where to start.

This was another all-Russian program, and I'd certainly support such a program if it weren't so ridiculously packed full of difficult music for your average ears to take in.

It began with a piece that should be forgotten and never played again: Mussorgsky's Dawn on the Moscow River. Littered with intonation issues that began at measure one, it wasn't a stellar performance, nor was it really a stellar piece. Kinda boring, actually.

Next on the Russian menu was Stravinsky's Violin Concerto, which in some ways is very taxing on the ear. If you are used to the good ol' usual concertos, you are probably used to having a melody to hum, or a tune that catches in your ear and doesn't leave for a few days--not so with the Stravinsky. From his neo-classical period, it's a piece that tries your ear. I'm not saying it isn't enjoyable--it is in its own way. Yet my ear kept reaching out for something to grab on to, to enjoy, digest and remember, only to no avail. Cerovsek is a monster player, to say the least, but this piece did not show him off the best, unfortunately.

The concert ended with a monster of a work, Shostakovich's Symphony no. 11, "The Year 1905". This piece was my biggest issue with programming. The audience has just had their ears stretched, so to speak, with the Stravinsky. Then they got hammered, almost literally, by a gigantic, intense, long, expansive, emotional, trying mammoth of a symphony--that commemorated the massacre of peasants who marched on the winter palace of Czar Nicholas II. If you are unfamiliar with the work, go take an hour and a half of your time (a little bit less than that, actually) and listen to it. If you aren't wiped out by the end of it, you probably weren't listening. This is a work that tries the listener (and musician) to their fullest. The best way for anyone to understand what I'm saying is simply to listen to the work. I could go on about how the quiet, slow and solemn first movement, and how traumatic the second movement is, with its musical depiction of Bloody Sunday. It was terrifying at times, to say the least, yet nothing other than a listening of the work would truly convey the depths of this work. Words seem pretty flimsy, and ineffective.

Musically speaking, the orchestra did incredibly well with this work, aside from some pretty awful flubs, to say the least. The "machine gun fire" of the second movement nearly disintegrated the orchestra; I was waiting with bated breath to see if they'd all stay together. Then afterward, the violas had a massive blunder--as in they didn't come in when they were supposed to. I'm sure some people would want to blame it on the conductor, (Hannu Lintu, a rather all-over-the-place kind of conductor, who was interestingly vague yet intense about being vague). But come on! Counting is something you learn to do when you first start playing your instrument--it shouldn't be an issue when you're a pro, and especially when it's the second performance of the weekend!

There were other flubs, but ones that are easily forgiven and forgotten, especially when there were numerous positives to the concert. The bass section was absolutely air-tight, and they gave the cellos a run for their money. I'd go as far as to say they completely owned the cello section. The orchestra as a whole did extremely well, especially emotionally. This is a taxing piece, and they pulled it off remarkably well.

Next time this piece is played though, two things need to change. First: the orchestra needs a new hall. This work simply gets too loud for the Hilbert Circle Theater to handle.

Second: it must not be programmed with ANYTHING ELSE. This work is long enough, and trying enough, to get an evening or two all by itself.

So, all in all, a terribly odd evening. An opener that was easily forgotten, a soloist who played a piece that did not entirely capitalize on his talent, and a symphony as huge as the universe with amazing pro's and con's that tested everyone's mind, emotions, and ears. By the end I was utterly exhausted. Heck, I'm even exhausted writing about this, and have been tired for a few days, thinking about what to write.

If you, dear reader, were there, please share your thoughts. I'd like to know how other ears handled such an intense evening! Or if you are a die-hard Shosty 11 fan---what do you think about it having a concert to itself? Does such a piece warrant that?

Chime in readers!

Learning to Love Mahler

Richard S. Ginell of the Los Angeles Times writes about Mahler. Well worth it!

Never Enough Hough

After the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's concert this past weekend, I hung around to chat very briefly with pianist Stephen Hough, who played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concert no. 1. As I was shaking his hand, I said to him, "Thank you so much--it's performances like yours that are why I enjoy classical music so much." So, needless to say--it was an incredible performance.

When I hear virtuosos, like Hough, I don't want to be thinking mainly about their virtuosity, or how I'm wowed by their fast hands or anything like that. In fact, I often want to forget about the soloist entirely, and become enamored with the composer/composition. When it happens, that, to me, is the mark of an incredible musician. Hough is just that kind.

Hough took us through a Tchaikovsky that was exciting yet never overly bombastic. He played incredibly loud at times, yet he never banged on the keys. At times he sounded delightfully playful, yet was never irreverent. He had an intriguing disciplined passion about his playing that captivated the audience like I'd never seen, or been a part of before. Never before have I seen an audience anywhere leap to their feet as quickly as I did on Saturday at the Hilbert Circle Theater--it literally shocked me, which I think is hard to do. I was of course, a part of that, and was delighted when he came out for an encore. He played his own arrangement of Tchaikovsky's None but the Lonely Heart, which had an exquisite melancholy beauty about it. I left the concert kicking myself for not going on Friday--if I had done that, then I could have gone on Saturday to hear Hough again. Oh well...

The entire concert was enjoyable--it wasn't just limited to the concerto. Conductor James Gaffigan led the orchestra in a fun, yet well controlled and managed reading of Rossini's Overture to Semiramide. Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 came afterwards, unfortunately I was having a hard time enjoying it. I kept thinking to myself how difficult the bass part is, and I unfortunately couldn't get past that. I went over the part in my mind several times, and how I remembered at one point in time working on it intensely, thinking the more I practiced it, the worse it got. I don't think I'm quite scarred for life, but unfortunately that memory is still rather fresh.

I can tell you however, that the orchestra sounded very good that evening. Of course there were
flubs, but I can't really remember who made them, and when, so that's a good thing. I do recall being thoroughly impressed with the horns (I often am--other than the bass section, they are clearly the best section of the ISO) and the piccolo player, who was simply smashing in the Rossini. Gaffigan, who is all of 30 or 31, did a very good job with the orchestra--they sounded clean, cohesive, and mature. Much like Hough, I look forward to Gaffigan returning to the ISO again.

He's Everywhere!

Guess who made the Indianapolis Business Journal's "Forty Under 40" list? And whose house got a spread in the Indianapolis Star? And made Indianapolis Monthly's "Best Tressed" list?

Not me.

But, the brother did. Check out the awesome links:

Indianapolis Business Journal

Indianapolis Star

Indianapolis Monthly

Also:

El Tercer Brazo

Silver Square

And as always..

www.danielincandela.com

Double Bass Doubled

What are you doing on Tuesday, March 16th at 7:30pm? Having guests over for dinner? Cancel them. Your in-laws are visiting? Strategically come down with a nasty virus, like ebola or something. Your kid has a recital/game/play? Pawn them off to a neighbor.

You have new plans, and they are much better than whatever else you had planned.

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra double bassists Brian Smith and Bennett Crantford are giving a recital together--and it's free! Eugenio Urrutia will be joining them, on the piano.

I've long maintained--and I know you might think I'm biased because I'm a double bassist myself, but I swear I'm telling the truth--that one of the ISO's best section is the basses. They are a solid group of musicians, so if we use a little logic, it probably means that Smith and Crantford, being members of that section, are really good musicians. Get the picture?

The program will include a sonata by Hungarian composer Vilmos Montag, Schumann Fantasy Pieces Op. 73, Dave Anderson's Sonata No. 2 (which premiered at the International Society of Bassists Convention last year), and a duo Vinicio Meza, entitled Three Latin American Miniatures.

The recital is at Northminster Presbyterian Church, at 1600 Kessler Boulevard East Drive, in Indianapolis. You can read more about these two musicians here, and visit the Facebook event page for it here.

If you need help coming up with other excuses to get you out of your lame book club or rugrat babysitting job that night, simply email me. I'd be glad to help you out.

See you there!