Filed under: Reviews | Tags: Andrew Cooperstock, Colorado Wind Ensemble, Copland, Ernst Toch, Hindemith, Holst, Matthew J. Roeder, Mozart, Stravinsky
How many of you have ever attended a concert by the Colorado Wind Ensemble? I must say, that I attended a performance Saturday, April 9, at the Littleton United Methodist Church, and I hate to admit it, but that was the first performance I had ever attended. I really do make an effort to attend the performances of all the different musical organizations in Denver, but sad to say, the Colorado Wind Ensemble somehow slipped my attention. But I can tell you, no more. The concert that I attended Saturday was quite excellent. And it should be, because over seventy-five percent of the musicians in this organization have degrees in music. Compared to the community orchestras in the Denver Metro area, that is a very high percentage. It shows.
Dr. Matthew Roeder, who is Associate Director of Bands at the University of Colorado at Boulder, opened the program with Aaron Copland’s Fanfare to the Common Man. This must be one of Copland’s most well-known works, which was commissioned by Eugene Goossens, the conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. It was one of several fanfares written by American composers during World War II which would hopefully stir the feelings of patriotism in the American public. While some of the composers designed their fanfare to pay tribute to the soldiers on the battlefield, Copland’s fanfare was dedicated to those who worked in the factories and shipyards during the war. As popular as this piece is, it certainly is a good program opener. It is scored for brass ensemble, timpani and bass drum. It gives ample opportunity for the Colorado Wind Ensemble brass and percussion to demonstrate their skills. I was particularly well struck by the trumpets: their attacks were always very precise, they were absolutely together, and they were always in tune.
The next work on the program was the Serenade in C minor, K. 388, by Mozart. Unlike Mozart’s other serenades, this one is quite serious in tone, but we have no idea of the circumstances surrounding its composition. In other words, we don’t know who commissioned it or for what occasion it was written. It is in four movements, and like his other works of 1781 and 1782, the serenade goes a little beyond what we would normally expect from Mozart, since traditionally a Serenade was for light, if not relaxed, entertainment. And certainly, an argument can be made that all three of the serenades that he wrote in 1781 and 1782, he took a little more seriously. It has a very stormy opening, and the third movement is a very polished example of Mozart’s ability to compose counterpoint. But still, it is Mozart, and it is not heavy as though it were composed by Bach (which is not say that Bach’s counterpoint is unenjoyable). There does seem to be some evidence that Mozart understood that it was a little unusual in its scope, because later in life he arranged it for string quartet, which carries the catalog number K. 406. The Colorado Wind Ensemble got off to a very good start in this work with a very precise and very clean attack. Dr. Roeder, in this work, seemed to give several cues simply by looking at section or instrumentalist rather than pointing to them with his hands, for example. But throughout the concert, Dr. Roeder used very concise movements, and kept a very strict beat.
The second movement of this work was very charming and was considerably lighter in tone. Like the first movement, it is also in Sonata form and the CWE gave it a very elegant and refined quality. I did notice, however, there were some strange little burbles from the French horns occasionally. The third movement, which is the traditional minuet, had the same amount of grace, and as I mentioned above, it displays a perfect example of Mozart’s ability to write counterpoint. I mention this because many audience members, upon hearing Mozart, miss his ability to write counterpoint simply because they are of the conceit that only Bach wrote counterpoint. But it was in this movement that I began to miss a little more dynamic contrast from the entire ensemble. In the theme and variations, which form the fourth movement, I must say that I missed dynamic contrast a great deal, and it was also in this movement, that the horns seemed to be a little out of tune with the rest of the brass section. But once again, one cannot help but be charmed by this work, which is simply not done live often enough.
Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) became one of the 20th century’s most important composition teachers. He was also a theorist, a violist, and a conductor, and many still regard him as one of the most important German composers of his generation. In 1946, he composed a work which he entitled Symphony Serena, and like much of his works after World War II, it contains a great deal of chromatic counterpoint. This particular work was commissioned by Antal Dorati, who was then conducting the Dallas Symphony. In this work, Hindemith writes a march which uses the themes from a Beethoven march which was originally written in 1809 for the Archduke Anton. Beethoven rewrote the work and altered the title, and it eventually became known as the York March. Hindemith paraphrased Beethoven’s themes in the second movement of his Symphony Serena and set this against woodwinds which are constantly changing harmonies. Beethoven’s theme is then stated in the tuba and horns.
On a personal note, I must say that I was very glad to see this on the program. I have been quite appreciative of Hindemith ever since my undergraduate days at Indiana University, because back in the 1950s, the music school can be compared to one of the last great Russian conservatories. I certainly do not mean that in a derogatory sense, but they seldom had anything to do with music written after Debussy, or so it seems to me at the time. Then, a member of the piano faculty, Walter Robert, performed Hindemith’s Second Piano Sonata on a faculty recital. The result was overwhelming. Everyone fell in love with the piece, and all of the students wanted to learn. Probably without knowing it, Walter Robert established a trend! But ever since, I have been an admirer of Hindemith’s music, even though it seems quite tame these days.
The Colorado Wind Ensemble performed this work extremely well. There was lots of sparkle, and they emphasized all the twists and turns of phrase and harmony which lend a sense of humor to the piece. Every single member of the CWA seemed to be enjoying themselves. Roeder is very good at maintaining a clear and transparent sound, and in many of Hindemith’s compositions including this one, that kind of sound is necessary.
Ernst Toch (1887–1964) is, in some ways, similar, but yet very different, from other composers. The similarity arises from the fact that he was actively discouraged by his family from becoming a musician. He was different, and in some respects unique, in the fact that he was largely self-taught. He did, however, become a piano virtuoso, and became known as a “modernist composer” particularly after his chamber opera, the Princess and the Pea. He had numerous successes as a film composer, and was nominated several times for an Academy Award. However, true fame seemed to continually elude him, and he sometimes said that he “… never discovered enough fame to learn the luxury of detesting it.”
The Colorado Wind Ensemble performed his Spiel für Blasorchester which was completed in 1926, and dedicated to the conductor, Hermann Scherchen. This really is a marvelous piece in three movements, Overture, Idyll, and Buffo. Not only is this a marvelous piece, but the CWE gave a marvelous performance of this work, particularly the last movement. Toch’s compositions often reflected a great deal of humor, and quite frankly, the last movement reminded me very much of a British comedy. It had twists and turns, and its harmony and abrupt changes in phrasing are to the point where one never knew what was coming next. The character of this piece was perfectly portrayed by the CWE, and they were downright rowdy. It was full of energy and drive and absolutely terrific.
After the intermission, Dr. Andrew Cooperstock joined the Colorado Wind Ensemble for the performance of Stravinsky’s well-known Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments. Stravinsky originally wrote this for himself to perform. It was written in the years 1923 – 24 and performed at Sergei Koussevitzky’s Paris concerts, and it exemplifies Stravinsky’s neoclassical style. It is also reminiscent of the Baroque style and its gestures, particularly the Largo introduction to the first movement, which is suddenly interrupted by the allegro section and the entrance of the piano. This is a markedly difficult movement with changing meters in almost every bar.
Andrew Cooperstock is a fine pianist who has many honors, performed all over the world, and truly needs no introduction, certainly to Colorado audiences, and audiences beyond. But it was in the first movement that some troubles ensued. Cooperstock was keeping an absolutely rock steady beat. There can be no doubt about that, but I was under the distinct impression that Maestro Roeder was having some problems keeping the CWE with Cooperstock. They were almost always a nano second behind the soloist in the first movement. There is absolutely no question that Andrew Cooperstock is a totally reliable pianist, and I would gently suggest that perhaps Maestro Roeder was not demanding enough in rehearsals to make sure that the CWE followed his beat. I also wondered, and I say this gently as well, how much experience Maestro Roeder has had in conducting a soloist. It occasionally seemed that he was struggling so much with the CWE, that he had precious little time to engage in communication with Cooperstock. Am I being pedantic and unfair? This is a prodigiously difficult piece of music, and it was clear that the conductor and pianist were working very hard. Things went much better in the second and third movements. The second movement is extremely lyrical, and Stravinsky includes two cadenzas. At the end of the last movement, the theme from the Largo introduction to the first movement is heard again, but is suddenly interrupted by a very fast finale. The communication between Roeder and Cooperstock improved markedly in the second and third movements, and so did the coordination between piano and the CWE.
The Colorado Wind Ensemble closed the program with the First Suite in E flat by Gustav Holst. Holst (1874 – 1934), was an English composer who is best known for his orchestral work, The Planets. He was a trombonist who was discouraged by the lack of repertoire for bands, and his experience as a band musician gave him an advantage over other composers who also wrote for bands. His Suite Nr. 1 is truly considered the first meaningful step for wind ensemble (which has always included brass instruments) music. The suite has three movements; Chaconne, Intermezzo, and March. The opening Chaconne was extremely well done. The theme appears in the lower brass and gives a very dignified character to the first movement. There was some truly fine clarinet work in the second movement, and the theme is interwoven around a variation of the English folk tune, “I Love my Love.” The final March, which is still based on the opening Chaconne theme which is eight measures long, is a genuine parade-style march which reminds one of John Philip Sousa. There was some really fine clarinet and trombone work in the Holst, but with so many skilled performers it is not a surprise but it is certainly a pleasure. The second movement displayed how truly excellent the trumpet players of the Colorado Wind Ensemble are. I do wish that there had been more dynamic contrast in this work, as well as every work on the program. I have said of many groups, that it is sometimes necessary to put someone in the hall to check for balance.
This was the first performance of the Colorado Wind Ensemble that I have heard. I assure you, that in spite of my remarks concerning this performance that I came away wondering why this organization is not better known. They play so well that they can certainly promote its wind ensemble repertoire. There are members of this ensemble who are absolutely stellar members of some of the community orchestras in the Denver Metro area, and when they are combined as members of the Colorado Wind Ensemble, this organization truly excels. They’re playing is intensely musical, and there is no question that they take great pride in being true musicians.
Filed under: Commentary | Tags: David Mullikin, George Gershwin, Luis Jorge González, Maurice Ravel, Walter Bricht, William Hill
In the last 10 days, I have heard two excellent performances that have stuck in my mind, not only because the performances were excellent, but because the composers, Maurice Ravel, and George Gershwin, have a very interesting, true story. The performance of Ravel’s huge Trio in A minor, by the Mendelssohn Trio, and Gershwin’s Three Preludes, played by Aldo Ragone, are the performances that have left me thinking about Ravel and Gershwin.
When I was in undergraduate school at what is now the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, I studied with Walter Bricht. He was a remarkable piano teacher, and had taught some of the piano faculty who were members of the faculty with him. He was also a composer of some renown, but he was extremely well known in Europe and the United States as a vocal coach. I will quote now, a little of his biography which is on the website entitled, Walter Bricht.
“Walter Bricht, noted composer, pianist and teacher was born in Vienna, Austria on September 9, 1904. Bricht was exposed to mutiple musical influences from his youth. His father, Balduin Bricht, was a music critic for the Volkszeitung, a newspaper in Vienna. His mother, Agnes Pylleman Bricht was a famous concert singer and pianist, and became his first teacher. His remarkable talent was recognized early on. Still nearly a toddler, he informed his parents “the door squeaks in E flat.” Bricht received his first piano lesson at age four, and began composing piano pieces and songs by age twelve. He was educated at the Vienna Academy for Music, graduating in 1928 with degrees in composition, conducting and piano, and was a student of famed composer Franz Schmidt.
“Upon the completion of his education at the Vienna Academy, Bricht taught at the Vienna Conservatory from 1931 to 1938. From 1934 to 1938, he also taught voice, piano, and composition at the Horak-Schulen in Vienna. As a composer, he was prolific during this period, writing the majority of his works, and hearing many of them publicly performed. In 1938, Bricht was forced to leave Austria, because the Nazi regime had discovered that he had Jewish-born grandparents. He was offered an “honorary Aryan-ship” by Hitler, providing he would swear allegiance to the Nazi party, but instead chose to emigrate to the United States. All of his important papers and letters of recommendation were confiscated at the border, and he arrived in the U.S. not speaking a word of English.
“Upon his arrival in the U.S., Bricht settled in New York, earning a living by serving as church organist, accompanying and coaching. In 1939, Bricht joined the faculty of the Mason College of Music in Charleston, West Virginia, becoming chairman of the music department the following year. He met his future wife, Donna Kuhn after hiring her as a professor of violin. Bricht returned to New York in 1944, teaching and coaching there until 1963.
“In 1963 Bricht was invited to become a professor at the Indiana University School of Music. He was hired as a professor of piano; however, by 1967, he was teaching applied voice and song literature exclusively.”
Because his mother was so well-known, as was his father, in musical circles all over Europe they made friends with important musicians and composers. One of those friends was Maurice Ravel, and as Mr. Bricht explained to me at a lesson one day, the friendship was quite a solid one. When Ravel completed his Concerto for the Left Hand Alone, he invited Bricht down to Paris from Vienna to play through the Concerto on two pianos. You may recall that this concerto was written for the concert pianist, Paul Wittgenstein, who had lost his right arm in World War I (several other composers, including Bricht, responded to Wittgenstein’s request for works for the left-hand). At any rate, when Bricht arrived at Ravel’s home, George Gershwin was there. This is of critical importance because so many scholars say that Gershwin and Ravel never studied with each other, or together, or however you wish to phrase it. They certainly knew each other, they met several times in New York, and had been photographed together. Bricht told me that when he entered the house, there were scores all over the dining room table, all over the floor, all over the couch, and of course all over the piano. He said it was absolutely impossible to tell who was studying with whom, but that there was a very definite exchange of some kind going on. When I asked him why he had not written an article or a book about all of his experiences with such well-known musicians, he replied that he was just a pianist and not a musicologist, and that probably no one would ever pay any attention to him. He was so incredibly humble about moving around in such rarefied circles. But because of everyone that his family knew, I’m sure this must have seemed like an everyday experience for him.
That is certainly one of the benefits of attending such a music school: the students get to meet many well-known composers, conductors, and soloists, either because they teach there, or because their friends visit them there. That has a tremendous impact on students because they can direct important questions concerning music and music history to the people who lived it. For example, I have three good friends who are excellent composers, William Hill, Luis Jorge Gonzalez, and David Mullikin.
Perhaps someday, one of my students will ask me about them.
Filed under: Reviews | Tags: Aldo Ragone, Bach, Bauer, Busoni, Gershwin, Myra Hess, Scriabin, Tureck, Villa-Lobos
Aldo Ragone, concert pianist from Italy, returned to the KPOF Hall on Sunday afternoon to perform a second concert, this one, a benefit for the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra. He performed last Friday night, April 1, with the Denver Phil performing the Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto. Aside from distinguishing himself with eight first prizes in international and national competitions, Ragone has performed throughout Europe and his native Italy. He has a Doctorate in Piano Performance from the University of Maryland at College Park, as well as an Artist Diploma in Piano Performance from the University of Denver. There is no question that two of his most important teachers have been Aldo Ciccolini and Professor Emeritus Theodore Lichtmann at the University of Denver.
As I list some of his accomplishments above, it is easy to get the impression that Dr. Aldo Ragone is somehow still a student. He most certainly is not. In fact, he was not a “student” when he was awarded the artist diploma at the University of Denver. He is an accomplished concert pianist who is known in all the major cities in Europe.
Dr. Ragone opened this program with two transcriptions of J. S. Bach. The first transcription, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (Jesu, bleibet meine Freude) is based on a chorale by Johann Schop, which was harmonized and orchestrated by Bach and used in his Cantata 147. It was transcribed by a student of Franz Liszt, Ferrucio Busoni, which was common practice for pianists at the turn of the century. These works could be symphonic themes, opera overtures, or incidental music to plays. Perhaps one of the most well-known is Rachmaninoff’s transcription of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. The practice eventually died out, but for a time was still popular with Vladimir Horowitz and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Busoni, and English concert pianist, Harold Bauer (1873 [the same month and year as Rachmaninoff] to 1951), were quite skilled at their transcriptions.
Ragone’s performance of Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring was absolutely stunning. One does not always hear such an absolutely serene and flowing legato. To accomplish this, one has to have a concept of “overlap” where one finger holds a note down, and the next finger plays the next note, but as it sounds the first finger is released. That way, there is no blurring or over-pedaling effect, but simply a very smooth connection of the notes. It takes a lot of practice, and Ragone made it seem totally effortless. He gave this work a great sense of dignity, and truly, an underlying sense of joy, which reminded me very much of the recordings of Dame Myra Hess and Rosalyn Tureck. Too many pianists these days play many of the Bach transcriptions in a super articulate style. Thankfully, not so Dr. Ragone, who seems to have kept in mind that the original work was orchestrated and sung by the choir.
The second transcription on the program, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Now Comes Heaven’s Savior), was done by Harold Bauer, an English concert pianist. It is based on the well-known chorale melody by Martin Luther and again, used by Bach in his Church Cantata BWV 61. As I watched Ragone play, it was easy to see how concentrated he was on producing not only a warm and sensuous legato (yes, Bach can indeed be sensuous), but an emphasis on the counterpoint without banging out the opening of each imitation. It was very nice to hear, indeed.
Next on the program, Dr. Ragone performed the Scriabin Sonata Nr. 3, Op. 23. As far as I am aware, Ragone is the only pianist (perhaps, Horowitz?) who has concentrated and learned all 10 of the Scriabin sonatas and all of the 24 Preludes, Opus 11. Scriabin is notorious for writing some of the most complex and difficult works for piano, and Dr. Ragone’s dedication to Scriabin led to his invitation to the Russian Embassy in Washington DC by the composer’s grand niece, Raisa Scriabin. He performed there in 2006 for the Scriabin Memorial Day sponsored by the Embassy.
Alexander Scriabin was not just another composer. He was a virtuoso pianist, a visionary, and a mystic (emphasized) who devoted his entire life in writing not only piano pieces, but orchestral pieces as well, that he truly believed would open the doors into the spiritual life beyond our world. He was constantly experimenting with harmonic structures and searching for new sonorities. He also became involved with theosophy as an intellectual framework for his feelings about his quest for God, and tried to include this intellectual framework in his compositions. He also experimented with the color of sounds, and in some compositions indicated the lighting in the concert hall for each specific work. In addition, he was interested in having some compositions accompanied by perfumes which were to be, somehow (there was no technology for this at the time), injected into the concert hall. The third sonata that Aldo Ragone performed on Sunday was written in 1897, and is thus, relatively early and shows only the vague signs of his harmonies to come. But it is clear that he has left behind the Chopin-Liszt influence of his earlier works.
I am quite sincere when I say that it is inevitable that Dr. Ragone will leave his mark on the world performing Scriabin. His performance of this composer is built around a very lush approach to the keyboard wherein his wrists are very relaxed, and he plays each chord absolutely on the ends of his fingers in order to control the tone. Scriabin marks the opening movement not Allegro as is common, but Drammatico, which makes sense really, regarding the sweeping thematic material. And that is precisely the way in which Ragone performed this first movement. He performed all of the harmonic complexities (imagine Mahler magnified by 10, and for the piano, not an orchestra) with amazing clarity. This alone reflects his thorough study of this composer, because it is quite often not easy to follow Scriabin’s harmonic intent and its convoluted movement. But he has found such a unique approach to this composer, and is so adept at producing the melodic lines which are buried in the harmony, that one comes away from performance thinking, “So that’s what Scriabin meant.” The second movement is marked Allegretto, and opens with a baseline in the left-hand which promises typical harmonic complexity, but instead, gives way to a very tender simplicity. In the third movement, which is connected by a bridge to the fourth movement using material from the first, Scriabin has written one of his most sublime melodies in any of his sonatas. And here, Ragone truly excelled because of his astounding ability to produce one of the warmest sounds that I have heard. The aforementioned bridge builds in excitement without pause to the fourth movement which is marked Presto. Its themes recall the previous three movements, and here again, Ragone dazzled me with his ability to delineate these so carefully that their origin in the other movements was quite plain. I cannot emphasize how much concentration and mental effort he puts in to performing Scriabin. And, as I stated above, this is where his thorough study of Scriabin shines. The performance of this last movement was both turgid and passionate. In short, perfect Scriabin.
It is becoming more unusual at live concerts these days to hear Bach performed on the piano rather than the harpsichord. Of course, the Preludes and Fugues, the Partitas, the English Suites and French Suites, are still performed on the piano, but there has been such a resurgence of “authentic” performances, that many performers eschew the piano. I am totally convinced that if Bach had lived after the piano was invented, he would have been overjoyed that he did not have to write or perform on harpsichord. The piano has many advantages in regard to dynamics, phrasing, pedal, and sustaining ability.
Dr. Ragone chose to perform Bach’s well-known Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor. This is a fairly large work which begins with the Fantasy, meaning that there is no particular form that is followed, but there is a great deal of flowing arpeggios and scale passages that outline chromatic progression of chords. Ragone took a very quick tempo in the Fantasy, but because of his superior ability, every single note could be heard. The contrasting recitative sections were quite lush and warm (recitative is a term that comes from opera, where the soloist is restricted to the rhythm of the prose text, rather than a rhythm strictly composed by the composer). There follows a very large three voice fugue, which Ragone began very softly. Understand that since this piece was written for harpsichord, and this applies to his Preludes and Fugues and Partitas, Bach did not indicate any dynamics because the harpsichord simply could not play but one dynamic level. As a matter of fact, his Italian Concerto is the first keyboard work aside from organ works, where he indicates dynamic levels. In starting out softly, and I certainly think Bach would have approved, Ragone allowed the fugue to build in tension and excitement. Again, Dr. Ragone proved that he is a very well-rounded musician, because his performance of Bach was just as superb as his performance of the Scriabin. There are several pianists today who seemed comfortable with only one or two composers, and clearly, Ragone is not one of those. His finger independence was something to behold. As this fugue progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult to adequately bring out each voice of the fugue, but Ragone seem to have no difficulty with this at all. Even in the thickest texture, one could always hear the fugue subject and even the “false” entries. He never had to hammer them out in an unmusical and accented manner – they simply appeared. It was excellent Bach.
Following the Bach, Aldo Ragone performed the Three Preludes by America’s George Gershwin. These pieces were completed in 1926, the First Prelude and the Third Prelude are hard-driving with strong rhythmic accents. The middle, or Second Prelude, is a blues having a mournful theme that is unmistakably Gershwin. Ragone excelled in the performance of these pieces, and quite literally painted visual images of the Gershwin’s world – early American jazz and blues. He took Gershwin’s tempos in the outside Preludes, but the middle Prelude was considerably slower. And here I point out that the Gershwin recordings may have been influenced by the recording engineer, because back in the 20s and 30s recording engineers constantly controlled the tempo of the pieces that were performed on their records, so that complete selections did not have to be interrupted when one turned to the record over to the other side. Do any of you remember that? After Ragone finished these three works, I was once again impressed by the warmth of his tone and the drama of it.
Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887 to 1959) was a Brazilian composer who was highly nationalistic in everything that he wrote. His Bachianas Brasileiras series were born when he stated that he had seen great similarities in the melodic style of Johann Sebastian Bach and Brazilian national melody. He therefore set out to compose a series of works that had Brazilian rhythms and melodic quotes from Bach. Dr. Ragone performed, as the final work on this concert, the Bachianas Brasileiras Nr. 4. Villa-Lobos composed this piece for either piano or orchestra, and the piano version was premiered in 1939. In the United States, the music of Villa-Lobos has had some difficulty in finding a place on concert programs, and I am not sure why. His music is very difficult, but it is music that certainly suits Aldo Ragone’s temperament and rhythmic ability. As a performer, he seems often to favor very complex rhythms that would create problems for pianists that did not have his natural rhythmic flair. As I sat listening to his performance, I was once again reminded of the concert he gave at the Lamont School of Music when he performed a work by the Turkish composer Fazil Say, which was based on a Violin Caprice by Paganini. The Villa-Lobos is quite similar with its hard-driving rhythms and very quick tempos. When Ragone plays the piano, he does not make any unnecessary theatrical movements, but he does sit in a posture which allows his forearms and hands to be totally relaxed – a necessary trait to play quick tempos with many repeated notes. It also results in astonishingly fast passage work, which is beautifully shaped and has a remarkable flow. The last movement of the Villa-Lobos has a difficult samba rhythm which caused Ragone no difficulties whatsoever. He simply played it with great excitement and verve.
This was a wonderful performance, and I hope that we in the United States will be able to hear Aldo Ragone more often than just once a year. In a way, he is an old-fashioned pianist, because he considers the music to be first and his remarkable facility second.
Filed under: Reviews | Tags: Aaron Wille, Adam Flatt, Aldo Ragone, Brooke Hengst, Catherine Ricca, Cheryl Gooden, David Wallace, Jeanine Branting, Kim Brody, Loren Meaux, Manny Araujo, Mussorgsky, Rachmaninoff, Shaun Burley, Shostakovich
Friday night, April 1, the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra presented its sixth concert of the season with a program which featured all Russian composers. Maestro Adam Flatt opened the program with an opera overture by Modest Mussorgsky, followed by the Shostakovich Symphony Nr. 6, and ending with Aldo Ragone performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto Nr. 2 in C minor. This is a very ambitious program, but the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra has demonstrated a newfound energy and purpose this entire season, so I was not surprised that the performance Friday night was a resounding success.
Maestro Flatt is to be commended for his interesting programming that has sustained this season. The opening overture, Khovanshchina (literally The Khovansky Affair), is from Mussorgsky’s Opera which was left unfinished at the time of his death, March 28, 1881. The story of the opera and its title takes its name from two princes with the last name of Khovansky, Ivan and Andrei, who rise up against Peter the Great. Mussorgsky, himself, was born into nobility because his family owned a great deal of land in Karevo, Russia. His music education was in many ways incomplete, as he did not set out to be a composer at all. His mother had given him piano lessons, but his family had prepared him for a military career, sending him to a military academy. In cadet school he joined a choir and discovered Russian church music. After he graduated and had joined the Russian Imperial Guard, he began to associate with several composers and eventually met Balakirev, Cui, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Borodin, joining them to become known as the “Mighty Five.” His compositions are known for their rich, if not surprising, harmonies, and his bleak depictions of Russian nationalism, and of life itself. His family called him to help run their large estate which was beginning to lose money. He was then obliged to seek employment as a civil servant, and sank into alcoholism, which of course, affected his ability to finish compositions and to take care of his estate which was rapidly depleted. He died in poverty and from extreme alcoholism at the age of 42, leaving many unfinished compositions. However the works that were completed, among them Pictures at an Exhibition, the tone poem, Night on Bald Mountain, not to be confused with another symphonic poem entitled, St. John’s Night on Bare Mountain, will give him a lasting place in music history.
At Friday night’s performance, the low strings, particularly the violas and cellos, got off to a very rocky start. It appeared that some of them were not watching Maestro Adam Flatt, as they did not enter together, nor were they in tune. However, after about five measures, they seemed to recover and assumed their musical place in the performance of this very lovely overture. In fact, its serenity and quietness, which depicts early morning in Moscow, draws one into its allure, and makes the work seem far too short. There was some wonderful oboe playing on the part of Kim Brody, who is principal oboist. Maestro Flatt seems never to have any problem allowing (note that I did not use the word “make”) the orchestra to feel the same rich emotions and love for the music that he feels.
We here in Denver have been fortunate this concert season to hear more than one Shostakovich Symphony, as the Lamont Symphony Orchestra performed his Symphony Nr. 7 in February. In the article that I wrote for that performance, I discussed a little of Shostakovich’s trials and tribulations under the Stalinist regime, so I will not go into that here. For those of you who are curious, please see my February article, “The Lamont Symphony Orchestra: a Remembrance of 9/11.” Suffice it to say, that when this Symphony was composed in 1939, government censorship was strong, and composers were encouraged to write works that somehow displayed anti-German propaganda. Shostakovich was fearful that if he did not bend to that, that he would meet his end in a labor camp.
The orchestra began the gloomy first movement very differently from the way they began the Mussorgsky. The strings entered at the same time and were in tune, which led me to wonder if they had such an excellent opening in this symphony, why couldn’t they perform the opening of the Mussorgsky? Throughout this Symphony the orchestra sounded absolutely wonderful. And once again, the woodwind section was exceptional. Kim Brody, principal oboe, Loren Meaux, English horn, Cheryl Gooden, principal flute, Catherine Ricca, flute, Aaron Wille, piccolo, Shaun Burley clarinet, Brooke Hengst, clarinet: all were truly exceptional. The low strings in this Symphony have the main theme in the opening, and it is beefy sounding, and very dark. The English horn introduces the second theme group, and begins to lead the orchestra toward a much sunnier resolution, even though the main theme reappears. The second movement of this symphony is very bright indeed, almost playful and in the same character, say, of a Prokofiev Symphony. There are some remarkable rhythms in the second movement, which seem to lead to some unimagined conclusion. This is the kind of thing that Maestro Flatt presents in a very exciting way. No matter what he is conducting, it is always full of vitality and energy, and there is no question that this rhythmic drive is shared, sometimes in very subtle ways, by different instruments “inside” the orchestra. He consistently pays attention to these inner voices which are so important because of their dynamic contributions to the phrasing. And, it is often that Shostakovich lets these inner voices grow until they become an integral part of the main theme. This is the kind of musical perception that all good conductors must have, and the DPO is unbelievably fortunate to have a conductor of Adam Flatt’s caliber.
The last movement, which is entitled Presto, has a vitality which grows from the second movement, and the rhythms become even more accentuated. It is exuberant even though the middle section is a little more subdued, and this second theme group seems to be quite anxious to begin building toward the end. In many ways, as Maestro Flatt pointed out in brief comments before the symphony began, Shostakovich often seemed to impart his own thoughts about his works into them, but even though they may be “visible” to us, the audience, he still leaves room for us to have our own thoughts. The ending of this work is one of the most exciting that Shostakovich has written, and the Denver Phil certainly felt that excitement. The audience gave the orchestra and Maestro Flatt a standing ovation which was truly well deserved. It is my hope that they were also applauding David Wallace and Jeanine Branting on French horn as well as Manny Araujo on trumpet.
After the intermission, pianist Aldo Ragone joined with the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra and Adam Flatt to perform the Rachmaninoff’s famous Piano Concerto, Nr. 2 in C minor. A few days ago, I wrote a short preview of this performance, and I will quote from that here:
“Aldo Ragone received an Artist Diploma from DU in the fall of 2008. He has also taught at Regis University in Denver. I have heard Ragone play several times, and in one of my previous reviews, I said that we here in Denver were very fortunate to have a true concert pianist of his stature living in Denver. He is a remarkable pianist who has performed throughout Europe and much of the eastern half of the United States. He has a very solid reputation in his home country of Italy and throughout Europe, and he, once again, comes from Italy to give this particular performance.
“The last time Aldo Ragone performed in Denver, he amazed his audience by performing the set of variations based on Paganini’s 24th Caprice for violin. It was written by the Turkish composer and pianist, Fazil Say. This is a prodigious work that only very accomplished pianists attempt, but then, that is exactly the kind of pianist that Aldo Ragone is. Aldo Ragone is a superior musician and pianist who brings a great deal of artistic ability and musicianship to everything he performs.”
What needs to be stressed here, is the great truth to the cliché, “The further away someone comes to accomplish a certain task, the greater the expert they are.” A corollary to this might well be, “If you personally know an expert (in any field) then because of that familiarity, he can’t be such a great expert.” Let me make it clear that the cliché and its corollary don’t make sense. Those of us in Denver who are familiar with the musical scene have known of Aldo Ragone for five or six years. As I have said before, we are very fortunate to know him, and to have him perform in the city of Denver. He is the kind of pianist that one should never take for granted. He is excellent and superior in every way that you can imagine. I have heard Andre Watts, who teaches at my beloved alma mater, perform the Rachmaninoff Second three times, and the third time, it sounded as though he was simply bored. He has played it many, many times, much the same way that Cliburn played the Tchaikovsky B flat many times, and it always left me with the feeling, “Won’t he ever play anything new?” In addition, there have been any number of new recordings of this famous concerto recently released, which have attracted a great deal of attention because of their blinding speed, technical facility, exceptional recording quality, or any number of appealing characteristics. But Aldo Ragone’s performance, to my way of thinking and personal experience with this concerto, was exceptional in every way. It was certainly better than Andre Watts’ last performance, which I heard, and it certainly was more profound than some of the recordings by all the young lions of the art. Why was it exceptional? Because he (and Maestro Adam Flatt) adhered to the tempos that Rachmaninoff indicated and used, and because it was abundantly clear that he genuinely cares about the music. It truly seemed to me that he and Flatt were saying, “Here is a piece that everyone in the world knows. Because it is so popular, it has been played by people who have not done so terribly well with it because they just wanted to do it. Here is how we think Rachmaninoff wanted you, the audience, to hear it.”
It was amazing to see how well Ragone and Flatt worked together. Flatt always allowed room in the beat for Ragone to take all of the subtle nuances and agogics that the performance of Rachmaninoff requires. There was no question that Flatt was able to impart this skill to the orchestra. Ragone and Flatt were in constant communication and in constant partnership. Aldo Ragone displayed his usual mind numbing technique, and his artistic ability to bring out the important rhythmic jabs which are so characteristic of Rachmaninoff, let alone his ability to bring out all of the inner voices that this work requires. Yes, he got a standing ovation, but it is my sincere hope that the audience dares to compare him and his performance with other concert artists of the day. I use the word “dare” because he is so well-known to Denver audiences, and therefore, according to the old cliché, “How could he be that good?” If those in the audience who heard this performance compare him with other concert artists of the day, the result will be very simple: They will either find him a match or find him superior.
I can also assure you with every confidence that the same applies to Adam Flatt. How fortunate the DPO is to have him!
A further note: Dr. Aldo Ragone is performing a solo recital at the KPOF Hall on Sunday, April 3, at 2:00 PM. Bach, Scriabine, Gershwin, and Villa-Lobos. You have to hear it.
