?
The program was contrived around the idea of time and it presented the third Haydn symphony (his 101st) of the year, the beginning of a complete cycle at the OSM. Conductor Kent Nagano is the ideal person to lead this kind of precise, about-to-be romantic music.
Photograph by: Graham Hughes , Gazette File Photo
I understood it would be an unusual concert when I passed a desolate looking man holding a ?ticket wanted? sign. He was right. I hope he made it.
The program was contrived around the idea of time and it presented the third Haydn symphony (his 101st) of the year, the beginning of a complete cycle at the OSM. Conductor Kent Nagano is the ideal person to lead this kind of precise, about-to-be romantic music, but he also provided the evening?s only drag ? a 20-minute lecture on how to interpret it that ended with ?this piece is for you to discover for yourselves.?
We were trying. Such well-intentioned attempts to inform also reinforce the notion that you do not just enjoy classical music. Guitar chords have a fascinating history, but for some reason, rock shows rarely feature lecturers.
Nevertheless, the rest was home runs. Percussionist Serge Desgagn?s and guest Hugues Tremblay introduced the theme of time, not by talking about it, but by facing off aggressively in Steve Reich?s Clapping Music. This minimalist work of 1972 has four palms clap a short pattern eight times, augment it by one note, play it eight times again, and repeat. The Maison?s wonderful acoustics let us appreciate the subtle sounds of different hands while the incremental repetitions created a surprising variety of rhythms.
Ligeti?s Po?me symphonique of 1962 followed the OSM?s masterful dispatching of the Haydn. It is a conceptual piece, less playful than the Reich, that lets a hundred metronomes loose onstage. Patterns emerge from chance overlaps and resonances, but the gradual attrition of the ?players? lets solos emerge when single metronomes separate from the group. It sounds like dried peas pouring out of sacks or rain or the world?s biggest geiger counter.
When the last metronome showed unusual tenacity, a bored audience member took Nagano?s lead and engaged the maestro in conversation. What if there?s a battery in there? Panic filled the room until a well-known critic nearby loudly proclaimed him ?an imbecile.?
The comedy over, Pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet joined the orchestra for Bart?k?s Piano Concerto No. 3. He is wonderfully controlled ? even his flourishes seem balanced and careful, like a marionette?s ? and he was the perfect companion for Nagano?s OSM. Written in New York, the work bursts with Gershwin-like energy and syncopated effects. The only shame was not hearing more from Bavouzet.
The evening ended with a shot of gooey Pepto-Bismol to help us digest ? but if Smetana?s saccharine Moldau is what it takes to serve the good stuff, that?s fine by me. Bravo to all.
lev@yesyesyes.ca
Twitter:@yeslev
? Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
?
?
?
?
?
?
Coptic Christian saturday night live julio cesar chavez jr Topless Kate university of texas UT Austin Lizzie Velasquez
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.