A Winter of a Performance...

The Atlanta Opera presented a specially staged performance of Schubert's monumental song cycle "Winterreise, " re-titled as "Winter Journey."  The baritone was David Adam Moore, accompanied by pianist Early Buys.  The performance was held at the relatively small Conant Performing Arts Center on the campus of Oglethorpe University. The scenery and projection design were by GLIMMR, a New York-based group, one of the principals of which did a short pre-recital talk about the staging.  

The small stage contained a construction that looked a bit like an iceberg, with a white screen.  There were few right angles to the set, and it contained a few levels.  It was perfect for this beautiful music by Schubert.  "Winterreise" is about the apprehension, sadness, and pain felt by the singer at he contemplates lost love or the potential to lose love.  This is generally thought to be a metaphor for Schubert losing one' greatest love- life.  The composer was dying of syphilis and he certainly knew his time was at hand.  

David Adam Moore provided a stunning performance.  He has a great voice and his understanding of using the stage in interaction with his body was remarkable.  He seemed so comfortable with being on stage that he was able to lay down, lean against the wall, walk around, and sit down- all while singing the beautiful lyrics.  He is able to pull this off, in part,  because he is a tall athletically toned man. Having to watch short plump baritone do what Moore did would simply not work, or worse, be laughable.  He was also dressed in a white hoodie, white athletic shoes and white skinny jeans.  

The visuals provided by GLMMR (of which Moore is a part) perfectly captured the winter cold that is at the core of this music.  Locations in New York, including Central Park, were suitably snowy and cold-looking.  A clip that particularly pleased the audience was background for the song titled "The Post." The song is about being disappointed that the postman didn't bring a letter from the singer's lover.  The video clip involved someone's hands smashing an iPhone, including attacking it with a hammer.  That resonated!  The final song is titled "The Hurdy-Gurdy Man."  It was videoed in the Utah desert, where the surface looked like snow because of overexposure. The hurdy-gurdy man of the lyrics was a metaphor for death.

AMC congratulates the Atlanta opera for this kind of outreach concert.  The house was filled and that is a very good thing.  

This was a touching, thrilling, and beautiful performance with an assured singer against a backdrop of inspired video.  It was a pleasure to experience, even given the sadness of the music.  

Maybe next time.....

The Georgia Chamber Players (GCP) is made up of three principals from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Coucheron, Harris and Rex).  Competent musicians all.  The program, titled "Viennese Masterpieces," presented two staples of the chamber music repertory.  It was a congenial performance but it was not without its issues.  There were major intonation problems in both pieces, particularly from Ms. Yang and Mr. Rex.  Ms. Yang also had some noticeable bowing problems that created some mild screeching.  Mr. Coucheron, arguably the superstar of the ASO, has a very strong and aggressive playing style.   He tends to dominate, which can be more than a minor problem in a chamber ensemble.  His conception of the music and his performance style seem to make his part the centerpiece of the music, whether or not it should be.  This is exacerbated by the sometime reticent playing of Messrs Rex and Harris.  I noticed a similar difference in style and interpretation when Coucheron and Rex played the Brahms Double Concerto last year at the ASO.  The former was bold and brash, while the latter was rather mild. 

Only when Mr. Fleming joined the chamber group was there someone who could counterbalance the first violin part.  He, like Coucheron, uses a great deal of bow, producing a broad and rich sound.

The GCP are a significant part of the classical music scene in Atlanta, especially with the apparent demise of the Music on the Hill Series.  Possibly their next concert will be more focused and rehearsed.

Thanks to all of the benefactors, patrons, musicians, and volunteers that help make this concert possible. 

Here is a video of this concert provided by www.atlantamusiccritic.com.  http://youtu.be/zOv48IFzyL8

Two wretches......

The “Music on the Hill” series closed out its year with a program that included Schubert’s Piano Trio in B flat major and Arensky’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor.  The performers were violinists Helen Kim, cellist Charae Krueger, and pianist Robert Henry.  All three are from Kennesaw State University. 

As with other performances in this series, the performers were technically skilled and they played beautifully together.  Henry is top-notch; he plays with subtle nuance and manages to shake the wobbly piano with his firm touch.  Both Kim and Krueger have a beautiful tone.  Kim tends toward a limited vibrato, but nevertheless has a warm sound that is enhanced in Northside Baptist’s great acoustics.   One of the advantages of a trio is that all of the instruments have their sound boards facing the listener.  This makes for a big sound that demonstrates how powerful three musical performers can be.

Schubert was a master of beautiful melodies.  The first movement is full of ideas and creativity.  It is a whirlwind of material.  The second movement showcases the cello to great effect.  The third movement Scherzo has a lovely waltz-like quality.  The final movement is a fast-paced high energy closing.  This music was well served by the performers. 

Arensky is a late romantic composer who was trained by Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky.  Yet, the former suggested that Arensky had a paucity of original style and would not be remembered.  To some degree that is true.   Aside from this trio, he is most well known for his Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky for string orchestra.  As soon as the trio began there was little doubt that this was Russian music- it has broad melody and intense emotion.  From time to time, folk-like melodies were apparent.  This is wonderfully intense music that is heart-felt and, at times, sad.  It was played with appropriate passion and élan. 

It is hypothesized that Schubert died of typhus made worse by syphilis, and Arensky died of tuberculosis exacerbated by his alcoholism.  Their suffering probably added to the greatness of these two works. 

Schubert was eloquent about his suffering:

  In a word, I feel myself the most unhappy and wretched creature in the world.  Imagine a man whose health will never be right again, and who in sheer despair over this ever makes things worse and worse, instead of better; imagine a man, I say, whose most brilliant hopes have perished, to whom the happiness of love and friendship have nothing to offer but pain, at best, whose enthusiasm (at least of the stimulating kind) for all things beautiful threatens to disappear, and I ask you, is he not a miserable, unhappy being?

This was a very satisfying way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  The fall will bring a return of this rewarding chamber series.

For more information or to make a donation, send an e-mail to MOTHatNorthsideDrive@gmail.com.  Check out the website at www.musiconthehill.info. 

Don't forget this weekend.....

Plan to attend the "Music on the Hill"  series at the Northside Baptist Church featuring Violinist Helen Kim, cellist Charae Krueger and pianist Robert Henry performing Schubert's "Piano Trio in B Flat Major" and Arensky's "Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor." This is a great series in a great venue.  

An acoustical nightmare

The Georgian Chamber Players presented a concert titled “Aus Wien” on January 28, 2012 at the Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.  The program included:

Schubert:  Quartettsatz in C Minor, D. 7-3

Beethoven:  Grosse Fuge in B-Flat Major, Op. 133

Brahms: Quintet in F Minor for Piano and String Quarter, Op. 34

The Brahms piece featured Julie Coucheron on the piano.

This concert was a miss, not even a near miss.  The acoustics in the Trinity auditorium are flat, causing the sound to be thin and lacking in bass.  This is echo but little reverberation.  This concert was a study in how bad acoustics can torpedo a performance. 

The Beethoven was performed disappointingly.  There were moments with major intonation problems and poor violin bowing, leading to an occasional screech.  This was a disappointment given that this group includes the Principals of the violin, cello, and viola sections of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. As much as Christopher Rex is a great cellist, his tone always seems mild and is often lost in overall soundscape.

Last year I heard David and Julie Coucheron play at Spivey Hall.  They were magnificent, and Spivey’s acoustics do a great job of supporting a great performance.  Unfortunately, this time the Brahms quintet was a less than ideal.  It’s not that the playing was bad, but the sound was blurred and harsh.  This is certainly not the players fault, but nevertheless the performance suffered as a result. 

Alas, not every concert can be great and failures can be the result of many things.  As much as anything, the poor acoustics of the venue let down the Georgian Chamber Players.