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Bachanalia
Bachanalia Chamber Musicians
(Bachanalia Website)
Merkin Concert Hall
(Merkin Website)
Kim Smith, Public Relations
Nikolas J. Lund
May 8, 2007
Program:
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Concerto No. 1, in A minor for Violin and Orchestra, BWV 1041
I. (Allegro)
II. Andante
III. Allegro assai
PEI-WEN LIAO, Violin
Raphael Fusco (USA) (b. 1984)
Concertone for Harpsichord and Double String Orchestra World Premier
I. Maestoso – Fuga
II. Andante
III. Molto allegro e ben ritmato
RAPHAEL FUSCO, Harpsichord
Brenno Blauth (Brazil)
Concertino for Oboe and Strings
I. Animato
II. Andante
III. Vivo
VLADIMIR LANDE, Oboe
George Gershwin (USA) (1898-1937)
Lullaby arranged for String Orchestra
Osvaldo Golijov (Argentina) (b. 1960)
Last Round and Death of the Angel for Double String Orchestra
I. Movido, urgente
II. Lentissimo
Aaron Copland (USA) (1900-1990)
Hoe Down from “Rodeo” String Orchestra
I arrived at Merkin tonight excited to hear the Ron Carter Nonet concert I had been looking forward to for many week. So excited actually that I did not realize that I had missed this concert by an entire day, and still didn’t until I happened to glance at my already-torn ticket stub and made slow sense of my error. I’ve no idea how I managed to lose a day, but the gentleman at the desk was obliging of my request for a ticket despite my failing to appear on the press list. The error was honest, but I decided without hesitation to take in the evening’s concert anyway, having always had a fundamental faith in the fine and always diverse programming at Merkin Concert Hall.
And I was not disappointed. As usual the program fit the bill of “eclectic” and I was happy to spend the evening here taking in the music of Bachanalia, a group which does not identify its specific ensemble format anywhere that I have found, but is evidently a double sting orchestra based out of New York City.
The first piece on the long “Music of the Americas” program was the A minor violin concerto by Bach (music of the Americas?), played by 13 year-old Taiwanese violinist Pei-wen Liao. She was apparently here as the winner of a competition of which the grand prize was the opportunity to play as a soloist in tonight’s first program. Her playing was actually terrific and had more to convey than one would expect of such a youngster. Her ability to play all the way through Bach’s long and sustained notes in the piece was quite extraordinary and yielded some uncannily creepy moments. And given the nature of the music, the creepiness was quite correctly placed. Her intonation and tone were exceptional, and yet she managed (or intimated) a solo line which did not strictly adhere to the conservative tempo and phrasing set by the other musicians—to a most pleasing musical effect.
I did sense in her playing the efforts of one executing a piece which has been played in practice many, many times, and would only say here that I hope her ongoing musical education does not limit her too much by way of pure technical achievement and that she has the space to develop the emotional engagement with her instrument which is already in evidence.
After the Bach, it was explained that the “Music of the Americas” program was actually
drawing from “Americas” of either hemisphere, thus rendering at least partially sensible the program which followed henceforth from the Bach. The A minor concerto, I imagine, was played for the composer from whom the group takes its name? In the end, the program seemed to have little to offer by way of potential connections between the pieces played.
The second piece was a new work from American composer Raphael Fusco, who seemed quite hulking indeed over the slight frame of the harpsichord. His piece had the clever idea of a microphone running from the harpsichord to an amplifier below, which certainly created a unique sound between the soloist and the strings he seemed to be conducting from the bench. I found this “new sound” most welcome and engaging, but was a bit put off by what I perceived to be insufficient speakers. If any helpful criticism might be offered here, it would be for Mr. Fusco to use a bigger amplifier.
Afterwards we heard the lovely oboe Concertina from Brazilian composer Brenno Blauth played by Vladimir Landa. The music apparently had attracted the attention of the soloist some years earlier during a radio broadcast and was so compelling at the time as to lead him on a long a difficult search for the music itself, which proved to be rather difficult to locate as it had never been published. Nevertheless, it was unearthed in the end and played for us tonight. It proved to be quite pretty and memorable, and it was a good feeling to know that the work had been lifted from an otherwise oblivion.
In the second half, we heard Gershwin’s Lullaby and were seduced by the reveries of the still quite-young composer, who wrote the piece at the age of twenty. Some years before the works for which he became so celebrated, of course, yet well on the way to the idiom for which he was so beloved.
The Golijov was an exciting piece to hear, and though unfamiliar to me, validated much of the attention that this composer has been receiving in recent years. I hope to find a recording of this music and look forward to hearing more of these works. The playing in this piece (as through all the concert, really) was carefully studied and cautious, placing the emphasis on a consistency of tone and phrase. The tempi were always carefully selected, leaning towards the slightly slower, and were adhered to with highly evident discipline.
And discipline did not waver in the final work, Copland’s eternally rousing Hoe Down . The work is already well-ingrained in the American aural consciousness, and is perhaps all the more strongly cemented there, as the program notes pointed out, “thanks to a TV advertising campaign from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.”
I know the commercials of course and really don’t know why I had never made the connection before between those shots of steaming steak and the programmatics of Copland’s ballet, but the full reference finally came together for me tonight and I was all the more impressed. As much by the musicians as the cattlemen.
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