What classical concert did you attend?

[bart]

Budapest Festival Orchestra
Mahler 5 seen through



As he has proved several times in Bruges in the past, Iván Fischer is a brilliant Mahler interpreter. His recent recordings of Mahler symphonies, with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, were acclaimed all over the world. It is hardly surprising then that Mahler plays a prominent role in the Iván Fischer Domain. This time the maestro has chosen Mahler’s famous Symphony no. 5. In the first part of this exceptional concert, we get to know the fascinating – and perfect-Dutch-speaking – pedagogue Iván Fischer. Using numerous musical examples, he guides us through Mahler’s equally complex and compelling score. After the interval the musicians then perform the entire symphony, which was immortalised by Luchino Visconti’s classic film Death in Venice.

Budapest Festival Orchestra: orchestra
Iván Fischer: conductor
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Symphony no. 5

Once more we were lucky enough to attend a concert in the fantastic concert hall of this marvelous building.
Like with all great orchestras, all seats taken, with us in the third row, in the middle, so some 12 feet away from the conductor.

BEFORE THE PAUSE

Iván Fischer comes on stage, and starts talking in fluent Dutch (he lives in Amsterdam).
You can immediately see he's a really nice man, very amiable.
He's not tall, but he fills the hall with his personality.

Here's a pic taken with the iPhone (from the waist, I didn't want to disturb the people)



He explains that Mahler was quite a difficult man to live with.
First of all, he was quite unsociable.
He had a special cottage in his garden to write his music, where he went every morning in the season that he didn't conduct.
In order not to have to encounter the maid when she comes with his breakfast, an alternative path between the house and the cottage is made: it leads around the garden so that the poor woman can slip away unnoticed through the back door.
He also had nervous tics, like kicking his leg forward, so you had to take care when you were standing in front of him.
When he walked, he made 2 fast steps, then suddenly he slowed down a step, really awkward.

But the genius of Mahler was that he developed a new style.
His symphonies didn't follow a certain theme. He made like a collage of impressions, memories, songs he had heard, sounds (clocks, bells,...).
To illustrate this, Fischer let us hear a pieces of music.



They came out of a piano roll. Mahler had indeed played the first movement of this symphony on a pianola. A unique document!
Fischer plays the tape and then asks us if we recognize the tune. He then sings an old Yiddish song, with a most tender voice.
Indeed, it rings a bell for most of us. Well, this lovely song comes just after the majestic opening notes played by the trumpet.
And so is the whole symphony: things occur to him, and he writes them down.
It is like in psychoanalysis, tells Fischer: you start a therapy session: you allow feelings, emotions to come into your mind, and continue to make connections.
It all flows.
You can notice that especially in the breathtakingly beautiful and very popular and well known fourth movement, the Adagietto: it has no beginning and ending, it just flows.
A steady stream of emotions.
Fischer explains that this emotional approach is the reason why Mahler became so popular the last 4-5 decades.
People are easily touched, because his language is universal.

Well, we loved this explanation and it really helped us to understand better the symphony, which came after the break.

[bart]

The orchestra comes on stage.
A large orchestra, the stage is completely full.
All ages are represented.
What I notice immediately: lots of smiling faces.
You can see that these people have fun in their profession.
The first movement starts.
The trumpet comes. Majestic indeed.
But then also sadness.
Very intense emotions.
From the quietest to the loudest.
This symphony has more dynamics than I can remember from other pieces of music.
Thundering basses, 6 of them, in the back, and they get quite some notes to play here.
I look around and see people moved, quite some are in tears.
The second movement has the same force, and the same amount of diversity.
My God, this must be difficult to conduct!
You can hear 5-6 or more different tunes, played by various sections of the orchestra, but it all comes together, it is perfectly interwoven.
Iván Fischer controls it faultlessly. Control is there surely, but he does it in fantastic way: he dances, marches, jumps as the consecutive themes present themselves. The musicians follow him closely, and you can notice smiles on their faces. I can even see some violin players that are also moved. My God, they seem to have as much fun as we do!!
The third movement has a lot of horn solos, and a horn player comes and takes place next to Fischer.
I have to say: the clearest, most pure sounding horn player I've ever heard on stage. And my wife said he was some looker
Then comes the Adagietto.
Oh my goodness.
I have always loved this piece, but to experience it live, a couple of meters away from the strings that produce these heavenly tones...
This is one of those things that will remain deeply grooved in my musical heart!
Then the Rondo-Finale takes the symphony to a glorious end, not before wandering yet again through various landscapes of sensual and titillating sequences, and lots of passion.

Fischer said it: when Mahler was asked to tell about himself he always answered: "Listen to my symphonies, it is all there, that's who I am!".
I can feel he's right!

A truly wonderful experience.
I'm very grateful.
Good music usually feeds my soul. Mahler, Fischer, and his wonderful orchestra did this thousandfold.

[audiot servant]

Great experience, great story and beautifully told, just loved reading every moment of it, thankyou Bart for one of the best posts I've read on since starting here- and also long live the Mahler mania, it seems a shared thing for many here and once it is in you it never leaves.

Graham

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

[bart]

Originally Posted by audiot servant

Great experience, great story and beautifully told, just loved reading every moment of it, thankyou Bart for one of the best posts I've read on since starting here- and also long live the Mahler mania, it seems a shared thing for many here and once it is in you it never leaves.

Graham

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

Graham, thank you very much.
Wow, you can put it in one sentence. I needed a whole page...

[bart]

I do not post all the concerts we attend, but the ones I do post are really special...


tokyo string quartet
haydn & bartók




For more than forty years the Tokyo String Quartet have been one of the world’s best chamber music ensembles. Reviewing a recent concert, the New York Times journalist wrote ‘this was exemplary chamber music: a passionate, richly toned discussion among intelligent, charismatic equals.’ For their concert in Bruges, the renowned foursome are pairing the Rider Quartet, by Joseph Haydn, the father of the quartet genre, with the last two string quartets of Béla Bartók. This Hungarian composer’s six quartets are the most important contribution to the genre since Beethoven. Harmonic and rhythmic experimentation goes hand in hand here with sophisticated formal logic, influences from Hungarian folk music and extreme expressivity.

Tokyo String Quartet:
Martin Beaver : violin
Kikuei Ikeda : violin
Kazuhide Isomura : viola
Clive Greensmith : cello

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
String quartet in g, opus 74 nr. 3 'Der Reiter'

Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
String quartet No 5, BB110
String quartet No 6, BB119

This was our last chance to see this quartet, because after 43 years, they will stop next year!
Origins: Toho School of Music in Tokyo, with professor Hideo Saito.
Then they studied in the US, with Robert Mann, Raphael Hillyer and Claus Mann.
In '69 they officially started at the Juilliard School of Music (New York) and soon they won prize after prize.
They recorded over 40 albums for the big labels, like DG and Harmonia Mundi (for that label they are currently recording the Beethoven quartets on SACD).

They started with the "inventor" of the string quartets, Haydn.
Very lovely, and you could enjoy the subtle and perfect cohesion and interplay of these fine musicians. I was especially charmed by the viola player, Kazuhide Isomura.



He is one of the 4 founders of the quartet and still going strong!

Then came Bartók.
We had listened to the explanation before the concert, and I could repeat it, but you can read that extensively elsewhere.
What I want to share here is the intensity of the works.
Very complex and not always easy to listen to, but so interesting.
Especially the 6th.
Written in '39, at the beginning of the 2nd world war, and you can feel the dark atmosphere.
When he had finished the first 3 movements, Bartók had the intention to add a fast, dancing finale.
But then he received the sad news of the death of his mother, one of the only constant and reliable factors in his life.
As a result of that, he ended the quartet with a 'Molto tranquillo' in which the music gets quieter and quieter, as if the life force gradually flows out of it.
It thoroughly grabbed our soul.
It remained silent for at least 15 seconds after the last note...

The long ovation led to an encore: the Finale of Opus 30, again Haydn.
A lively and optimistic end of a memorable concert.

The Tokyo String Quartet will be missed!

[welby]

My wife and I ventured to the Phoenix Symphony for Carmina Burana last month. Additionally, they performed a piece they had commissioned called Procession of Duos. Apparently when the board for the symphony hired Marjan Mozetich to compose for them, he initially offered to do a piece inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, but they turned it down, instead asking for a piece that would highlight the various instruments. It's a lovely piece, but I can't help wondering what the Poe piece would have sounded like.

[figgie]

I havent been to a classical concert in a while

back in Miami, Saw Pepe Romero perform a solo Guitar concert. Great performance. Paco De Lucia (not really classical but close enough).

[Antonmb]

Attended a performance of our local orchestra (Bellingham, WA), the Whatcom Symphony performing Stokowski's orchestration of Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue BWV 582, and cellist John Friesen performing Hadyn's Cello Concerto in C Major. The concert finished up with some Britten and Respighi. This is not the BSO, but they're talented and enthusiastic and put on a very enjoyable performance in a nice small theater with good acoustics. Also they're auditioning for a new conductor so we've had several different young not-so-well-known guest conductors this year, and it's been fun seeing the different styles. Tonight was Jonathan Andrew Govias. Contained and undramatic persona but very nice performance from the orchestra under him.

[Toccata]

Pianist Nicholas Hodges in Berkeley 1/27/13--he was astounding! Here's his program:

DEBUSSY
Etudes Book I

CARTER
Two Thoughts About the Piano (2007)

Intermission

BUSONI
Study after Mozart

BIRTWISTLE
Gigue Machine (West Coast Premiere)

DEBUSSY
Etudes Book II

No encores.

[bart]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

Attended a performance of our local orchestra (Bellingham, WA), the Whatcom Symphony performing Stokowski's orchestration of Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue BWV 582, and cellist John Friesen performing Hadyn's Cello Concerto in C Major. The concert finished up with some Britten and Respighi. This is not the BSO, but they're talented and enthusiastic and put on a very enjoyable performance in a nice small theater with good acoustics. Also they're auditioning for a new conductor so we've had several different young not-so-well-known guest conductors this year, and it's been fun seeing the different styles. Tonight was Jonathan Andrew Govias. Contained and undramatic persona but very nice performance from the orchestra under him.

Tony, thank you for sharing.
Seems to have been a lovely program.