Music in the Middle West

I have been visiting a friend in the Chicago area and have had the opportunity to hear two orchestral concerts with choir, one featuring a regional symphony orchestra and one by of the world's finest ensembles.

The first was on Friday evening, April 10, when the Mahler Second Symphony was performed by the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kirk Muspratt. The concert was held at Bethel Church in Crown Point, Indiana. The soloists were Alison Wahl, soprano,
and Margaret Stolz, mezzo-soprano. The chorus was prepared by Nancy Menk.

 

Since my friend sings in the Symphony Chorus, I was able to attend both the dress rehearsal and the performance. The church auditorium is not set up as a traditional church with an apse, a nave, and a crossing, or as a concert hall, but has an enormous, wide stage stretched across the front of the room, making it necessary to spread out the forces in order to fit everyone on stage. On either side of the main area, platforms were built that projected out from the stage on which were placed the percussion at stage right and the bass fiddles at stage left. This gave undue prominence to these sections of the orchestra visually and acoustially. The chorus was stretched across the entire width of the back of the stage behind the orchestra, making it difficult for the different sections to hear each other. The chorus was also amplified for some reason, as were the soloists. Somehow, they held it together and sang well.

For a dress rehearsal there was a lot of starting and stopping. In my experience, a dress rehearsal is just that: you pretty much go through the program making small, final adjustments. Apparently not that much rehearsal time is affordable for the orchestra budget so a lot of last minute 'fixing' is needed.The room is incredibly live and the overall effect was of too much sound. Especially in the case of the sopranos and first violins it was shrill and hard on the ears. By the performance this balance was tempered a bit by having a full house, making it less painful but acceptable.

Mr. Muspratt tends to spend a great deal more time dealing with the orchestra than he does cueing the chorus. Nevertheless, they managed just fine without a lot of help from him.

The two solo singers have lovely voices but are a bit lacking in the kind of vocal power to be heard over such a large orchestra and chorus. They both resorted to numerous breaths within a phrase, breaking up the long lines of the music. Having heard Lorraine sing the mezzo role many times, it takes her kind of vocal and emotional projection to make oneself be heard amid all the other sound that is going on. I would love to hear Eileen Farrell in the soprano role, but, unfortunately, neither of these fine singers is still with us.

The work, like many of Mahler’s orchestral pieces is overly long. The intermission came between the second and third movements. It makes for a long sit. Mahler does much better when setting songs, where the limitations of the text force him to cut back on the length of the work.

Mr. Muspratt had brass players in the rear of the auditorium and backstage at various times, which worked very effectively. The piece ranges from bucolic moments with Landler type movement, to enormous climaxes of ear-splitting force, especially in this overly bright room. This problem resolved itself better with a full house than it had been at the dress rehearsal with only a few people in the seats. Still, because of the positioning of the percussion in the front row, as it were, when they took off in a big moment, I was tempted to put my fingers in my ears. The cymbal player had a lot of work to do and inadvertently became one of the soloists.

In the rehearsal, the sound of both the violins and the sopranos was very shrill when playing and singing in the upper register. This, too, was modified in the performance with more people in the hall. I would like to hear the work done by the same forces in a better acoustical situation.

Overall this is a great work and was done well considering the space in which it was performed.



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What a difference a couple of days makes. Tonight (April 16th) David and I heard the Chicago Symphony perform Bach’s Mass in B Minor. The comparison with last Friday’s Mahler 2^nd with the Northern Indiana symphony was interesting and revealing. While the Indiana Symphony plays well, the Chicago Symphony is extraordinary.  I guess that that is to be expected when comparing a regional orchestra with one of national stature, but the juxtaposition of these two orchestras within a space of several days surely separates the sheep from the goats.

As to the conductors, while Mr. Muspratt is an able director Ricardo Muti is a genius. He conducted this massive work with a minimum of motion and a maximum of emotion, expressed in small, often invisible gestures. At times, when a small orchestral group was accompanying a soloist. He merely stood quietly, barely moving his body, and just allowed the musicians to play. It was fabulous. Mr. Muspratt tends to use Leonard Bernstein-like gestures, which may look dramatic but don't always do much for the music.

The Symphony chorus sang wonderfully well; brilliantly when needed and poignantly in moments like the 'Et incarnatus est'. I would have liked more sound from the sopranos and altos, but it may be the fact that I was seated on the opposite side of the hall from them. But to my ears, some more female voices would have balanced the robust sound of the men. The altos, as is often the case, were often not heard. I guess that goes with being an alto. Otherwise, the acoustics of the hall seemed fine.

The soloists were Eleonora Buratto, soprano, Anna Malavasi, mezzo-soprano, Saimir Pirgu, tenor, and Adam Plachatka, bass-baritone.  The men sang far better that the women. Both of the women sang with an upholstered sound that seemed totally manufactured. They both took excessive liberties with their breathing that were really annoying. For instance, in the 'Agnus Dei', Ms. Malavasi took four breaths in the opening phrase. These were not the voices I would choose for this work. Actually the two women singers from the Mahler have much more beautiful and natural sounding voices. I would like to hear them in this situation.

Mr. Plachatka just doesn't have the low notes for the first bass aria, 'Quoniam tu solus sanctus'. There is a breathy sound in that part of his voice which comes from trying to push the sound down rather than letting it find chest resonance freely. He was much better in 'Et in spiritum sanctum Dominum' which lies in a higher range.

Mr. Pirgu is an extraordinary tenor with a beautiful sound, a free technique and a very musical approach to his arias. His use of voix mixe in the 'Benedictus' was amazing.

This is simply one of the very greatest works in the musical repertoire and it was performed at the highest possible level. My hat is off to Mr. Muti. He is a great conductor.

I was thrilled to be there for this marvelous performance.

 

Yevgeny in Concert

What do you get if you take a couple of pieces of very old wood, some cat gut, and some horsehair and put them together with a genius?

If you are lucky, as we were this afternoon, you hear Yevgeny Kutik play a brilliant violin and piano concert with Tim Bozarth in South Windsor, CT.

I have been hearing Yevgeny perform ever since he was the first Ferris Burtis Music Foundation scholarship winner about nine years ago. With every hearing his playing becomes more masterful, passionate, and beautiful. Today's program took my breath away and at times brought me to tears.

Timothy Bozarth is an exquisite pianist and a marvelous collaborator. He plays with an ease and a passion that is seldom seen these days.

The program opened with Mendelssohn's Sonata in F Major for violin and piano, a masterful work if there ever was one. Yevgeny and Timothy played this for all it was worth: a musical and technical tour de force, gaining the first standing ovation of the afternoon.

This was followed by Ernst Bloch's Baal Shem for violin and piano (Three pictures of Chassidic life, 1923). As I told Yevgeny after the concert, I heard incredible sounds from his instrument I had never heard him produce before. He simply gets better and better by the minute.

Beau Soir, the song of Claude Debussy in an arrangement by Jascha Heifetz, followed. I have often likened Yevgeny's sound to that of Heifetz, whom I heard often in my youth. It's that gorgeous.

Then came Sonata # 1 for Violin and Piano by Alfred Schnittke, an amazing piece of contemporary composition embodying the angst Russian composers had to go through in the post-Stalinist era.

The concert ended with the mind-boggling and finger blistering Polonaise de Concert #1 in D Major, Op. 4 by Henryk Wieniawski. And another standing ovation!

I have a musically avuncular feeling toward Yevgeny and Tim having watched them grow into major artists over the years, and feeling proud that the Burtis Ferris Music Foundation has had a small part in helping their education and careers. As I told them afterwards this afternoon, 'You guys wipe me out!!'

They will perform on the Ferris Burtis Music Foundation Benefit Concert on June 9th, at 4:00 p.m. at the Sandisfield Arts Center along with Julian Muller, 'cellist, Katie Weiser, Soprano, and Gabriella Makuc, pianist, all of whom are being assisted by the Foundation. For more information see:
http://ferrisburtisfoundation.blogspot.com

Holy Smoke!

In my continuing tour of the cultural life of Chicago, last night my friend David took me to see The Book of Mormon. It is outrageous, hysterically funny, bawdy, noisy, sexy, and absolutely captivating! I don't remember when I have seen a musical I enjoyed this much.

I doubt very much if it is being funded by the Romney family.

The insane book, which follows the trail of several young Church of Latter Day Saints elders who are sent to Uganda, is non-stop hilarity. No tern is left un-stoned. The large and very talented cast is headed by Nic Rouleau and Ben Platt. They are irresistible.

There are several huge dance numbers and the closing numbers of both Act I and Act II are show-stoppers.

I took ear-plugs, just in case the audio engineers decided to crank up the sound to painful levels, but they didn't. It was loud but within sensible auditory acceptance.

We enjoyed every minute of the show. As a voice teacher, I do need to mention that the singing, while exciting, uses the kind of vocal technique that will probably limit the lifetime of these young voices.

But, by all means, go see it!

Durufle

 

 

 

Durufle

 

 I am visiting a friend in Chicago, and last night, after a splendid dinner at Osteria Via Stato (State Street), we attended a very good concert at St. James' Cathedral. The choir, under the direction of Bruce J. Barber II, with Jonathan Ryan at the organ, sang a concert of music by Maurice Durufle.

(I apologize for my lack of accent marks, but that keyboard is back in Sandisfield)

The program opened with Notre Pere, Opus 14, #4, followed by the Fugue sur le Carillon de la Cathedrale de Soissons (organ solo), Opus 12, then the Quatre Motets sur des Themes Gregoriens, Opus 10, an organ Scherzo, Opus 2, ending with the Requiem Mass, Opus 9.

The program was beautifully sung by the Cathedral Choir of about 30 voices. Their overall sound was sweet and accurate. Their pitch was commendable. Mr. Barber conducts with elan and clear gestures. Mr. Ryan plays musically and with a splendid technique. At times the organ over-shadowed the choir, especially in forte sections of the choral works.

Evan Bravos was the excellent baritone soloist and Alexandra Tanico was the mezzo.

The room itself is worth a visit with or without music. The walls are covered with stenciled Christian symbols, in the way some old French cathedrals had entire walls painted, displaying biblical scenes.

I think that the balance problem was caused by the fact that the very large organ (Electro-Pneumatic) had chambers placed in various parts of the room. Essentially, the choir sang in the north crossing and the bulk of the organ is placed in the south crossing. Without someone listening in the center of the nave, it must be very difficult to achieve a balance.

The music of Durufle reflects that of some of his predecessors; Louis Vierne, for example. It is mild-mannered, with occasional bursts of joy. It is not too far removed from Gabriel Faure.  It was a very pleasant evening. We were happy to be there.

 

A Rainy Afternoon with Phyllis

Today I had the great pleasure to spend an otherwise rainy and unpleasant afternoon chatting with my dear friend, Phyllis Curtin. Phyllis is looking radiant these days after a spell of poor health.


Sitting in front of a blazing fire, our topic, as usual, was mostly singers and singing and teaching people how to sing


We talked about choral conductors who expect forty year old women to produce a vocal sound similar to that of a six year old boy, with what the late Anna Russell called, 'A good cutting edge!'

Then we talked about the current epidemic of wobbles that is rampant among many operatic sopranos. This brought us to a discussion of the late Maria Callas, whose wobble is legendary. Phyllis told of the time when she was singing in London that she and her husband went to hear Callas sing in a concert. Gene said, 'You know how it will be', but Phyllis had never heard Callas live and they went. She said that when she saw her pushing down on the chest with shrugged shoulders, she thought, 'No wonder this woman is having trouble singing.'

Then I spoke about my dear friend, the late, great dramatic soprano, Lucilla Udovich. John and I met Lucille in 1982 in Rome. Her brilliant career in Europe was halted by continuing problems with her back, forcing her to leave the operatic stage.

We visited her in her apartment in Rome. John persuaded Lucille to sing for us and we were blown away with the voice, the artistry, the artist. I said, 'Lucille, you must perform! She answered, 'How can I? I can't stand for that length of time'. And I said, 'Then sit and sing!'

And that's what we did. We persuaded her to perform a number of concerts with her seated on a throne-like chair. I would be seated at the piano. The curtains would be closed. Then they would open- and there we were. And she sang! It was a beautiful experience for me. Her singing in a video on RAI of Turandot with Franco Correlli, has been hailed as one of the great Turandots of the century.

Lucille died in Rome in the early 2000's, and when John and I were in Rome after her death, we wanted to take her sister, Annie, to dinner. Annie had been a loyal companion to Lucille throughout her career and in her time of incapacitation.

We met at Scolio di Frisio, a restaurant where both John and I and Lucille and Anne had dined many times. Anne and Lucille used to live in an apartment right across the street from the restaurant. Sometimes when dining there, the owner would entice Lucilla to sing an aria or two, replacing the standard 'O Sole O Mio' tenor, who was the usual dinner music.

We sat with Anne in a private booth and laughed and cried, talking over Lucille's life and death. We ordered everything on the menu. It was wonderful.

After several hours, I finally thought it was time to ask for 'Il conto, per piacere'. The waiter went away to add it up and when he returned, he whispered something in Annie's ear.

'They won't take any money', she said.

Then the owner came to the table and we all hugged and wept a little more over Lucille and I thought, 'This is a first in my lifetime.' They were so fond of Lucilla and Annie that this was a tribute to their friendship. It still takes my breath away.

I'm proud to be an Italian. We think with our hearts!

Orff we go!

I first heard Carl Orff's Carmina Burana in the 1950's when a combination of the New York City Opera and the New York City Ballet did a choreographed version in the City Center on 55th Street.

That may be the best way to do it.

I played the two-piano and percussion version a number of times years ago.

I really don't like the piece all that well. There are a couple of orgiastic climaxes that raise the roof, but Mr. Orff falls in love with a melodic and rhythmic theme and beats it to death.

Having said this, tonight the Smith College Glee Club and the Virginia Glee Club did a commendable job with the work. There is as lot of mumbling and quite a bit of screaming, so the work is taxing on young voices.
    

The three soloists, Karen Smith Emerson, soprano, Rockland Osgood, tenor, and Sumner Thompson, baritone, were all fine in their 'off the wall', and sometimes, 'off the ceiling' solos. Ms. Smith Emerson, after singing everything in the mezzo-soprano range, has to suddenly produce a D above high C on the word Dulcissime. I am happy to report that Ms. Emerson, who happens to be a student of mine, did this to great effect.

Probably the most ungrateful role is that of the tenor, who must sing everything at the very top of the tenor range. Mr. Osgood did most of this in falsetto, which, frankly, is the only way to bring this off without strangling.

Mr. Thompson, the baritone, did a remarkable job with an equally 'out of range' role, by blending falsetto here and there and then descending into a wonderful low voice with ease.  

The three conductors (yes, three) each did his section very well. Of course, with three men leading this large group, you get three different interpretations. They were Joseph Baldwin, Frank Albinder, and Jonathan Hirsh. They were all excellent. Mr. Hirsh was especially effective in the final section.

Not having heard or performed this work in many years, I am puzzled at how my view of the piece has changed. I would rather have had these forces and talents and energies put into a greater work, say Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, which I think holds up better with time.