NCPA's Western Classical Season

[vivek_r]

On Monday, we had Plamena Mangova, a Bulgarian pianist, play a recital as part of the season opener.

Perhaps the lack of recognition meant that the concert hall at Experimental was half empty. However, the music making indeed filled the hall with great sound and music - it would have been a delight for audio fans because her articulation and clarity was so good, it alllowed for the individual threads that make the whole to be heard very clearly, and notes rang without any smudging.

If one were to nitpick, it would be that in audio terms again, the performance was just cool of neutral! That last bit of melody could have been eked out. But that is what I would say of Rubenstein playing Chopin also (yeah sacrilege, I know).

Programme included Brahms Piano Sonata No. 3 (with its many shades of Beethoven admiration thrown in), Chopin Etude in C sharp, Ballade No.1, Liszt Petrarch Sonnet 104, Schubert/Liszt "Der Atlas" and ended with Ginastera (which delightfully has moved from the encores to the main programme and she let that rip). Encore was Chopin.

In all, a very promising beginning to the season, and looking forward to a favourite of JLS and mine, Bushkov on Wednesday .

 

[pindranil]

On Monday, we had Plamena Mangova, a Bulgarian pianist, play a recital as part of the season opener.

Perhaps the lack of recognition meant that the concert hall at Experimental was half empty. However, the music making indeed filled the hall with great sound and music - it would have been a delight for audio fans because her articulation and clarity was so good, it alllowed for the individual threads that make the whole to be heard very clearly, and notes rang without any smudging.

If one were to nitpick, it would be that in audio terms again, the performance was just cool of neutral! That last bit of melody could have been eked out. But that is what I would say of Rubenstein playing Chopin also (yeah sacrilege, I know).

Programme included Brahms Piano Sonata No. 3 (with its many shades of Beethoven admiration thrown in), Chopin Etude in C sharp, Ballade No.1, Liszt Petrarch Sonnet 104, Schubert/Liszt "Der Atlas" and ended with Ginastera (which delightfully has moved from the encores to the main programme and she let that rip). Encore was Chopin.

In all, a very promising beginning to the season, and looking forward to a favourite of JLS and mine, Bushkov on Wednesday .

Thank you for the lovely review…sounds like it was a splendid evening. And I agree fully the unique sound world of Ginastera deserves to be mainstream…probably carefully programmed. As for Rubinstein being cool in Chopin, sacrilege indeed…English critics especially in the Gramophone referred to his Chopin as aristocratic (not a particularly revealing label to be sure). I love his pre-war Chopin especially the Mazurkas, his later playing a tad stiff IMHO.

 

[vivek_r]

House! Fire!!

That is how one can describe the stupendous performance by pianist Mangova conducted by Bushkov at the SOI concert yesterday. The articulate playing by the pianist offset the relatively schmaltzy (bad word I know! Lush? Melodic? Beautiful indeed) orchestration of Tchaikovsky Concerto 1. She got 2 encores (Chopin and Schubert). The orchestra also played very well indeed - the winds somehow stick to one's head.

The Concert started with a Weber overture from Der Freischutz - just the kind of melodic piece (for a masala story - marksman, maiden, magic bullets!). Again the winds!

Post interval was Brahms Symphony No. 3. So Brahms works divide people, and I am on the wrong side of the divide for this piece. Had melodic moments, and I luxuriated on the sound more than the music. Interesting that Brahms followed Tchaikovsky - Tchaikovsky apparently referred to him as a "giftless bastard" (internet source, I wasnt there!).

Talking about sound - my seat was in row S (back!), and I really liked the hall sound, which seemed far better compared to the last season. The horns and trombones were particularly nice, even if the soundstage was narrow. For Brahms, I moved next to my friend TSB who had a vacant seat (row O or P? There is a dividing section in between) and there was so much more immediacy and broadening of the soundstage - with loss of air to an extent and sense of depth! Which did I like? Both! Maybe marginally back one (sour grapes?). This can really stir up the "whose system sounds good" debate.

Missed JLS!

 

[vivek_r]

If you see a programme like this, you know it is going to be heavy and demanding.

Programme:
Schubert: Sonata in C minor, D.958
Liszt: Transcendental Etudes, Nos. 9-12, S. 139
Rachmaninoff: Prelude in D major, Op. 23 No. 4
Rachmaninoff: Moments Musicaux No. 2
Rachmaninoff: Etude-tableau Op. 33 No.3 in C minor
Rachmaninoff: Etude-tableau Op. 39 No. 5 in E-flat minor

And so it was, both for the listener as well the player yesterday. We had Alim Beisembayev on the piano, who besides an excellent concert,
appeared and engaging personality, talking the audience through the connection between Beethoven and Schubert, the role that C-minor played with Beethoven. I wish the musicians would do that more.

The playing itself was excellent, and how different it was from Mangova. This pianist was a lot more about delicacy and getting the melody out and how different the sound itself was - same piano, same hall, me in the same seat, but there was something more rounded, softer and perhaps, if I may say so, a little more blurred (not in a negative way) about the sound. That suited the music very well. If Mangova was Liszt, this pianist was Chopin! But he did play a terrific Liszt with 2 Scarlatti encores. On softer passages, was excellent with dynamic shadings.

Nitpick - on slower passages, to me, the pianist seemed a little ponderous.

This concert needed full attention, and alas, the mind wandered now and then - fortunately for the audience, the pianist's didnt.

 

[vivek_r]

On Sunday, we had John Axelrod conduct the SOI, with Beisembayev on the piano.



Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique”



Started with the long Leonore Overture (from the Opera fully called “Leonore, or the triumph of marital love” no kidding), one where Beethoven apparently struggled with. Beethoven composed four versions of the overture, and the near symphony like No. 3 is often performed. Starting with its slow and ominous beginning with the winds, and then bursting into strings section , followed by a melody with the flute, an offstage trumpet and voila, the final deliverance. (the strings sounded sweeter and less congested - and I was sitting in the same S row only 10 seats to the left! Voodoo)



Then came Rachmaninoff’s concertante (like a concerto, but in one movement) for piano “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”. A gorgeous piece with Rachmaninoff’s amazing orchestration (strings, a sudden melody on a violin, mournful bassoons) and great melodies. A piece with many variations, I am putting in a youtube piece of the most famous variation and you can hear the near cinematic orchestration of Rachmaninoff. Fun fact – Rachmaninoff, a great pianist himself, was a nervous performer. So breaking tradition, he had crème de menthe to calm himself, and the concert went brilliantly (no message for young kids there).

The last piece was Tchaikovsky’s Symphony 6 (called Pathetique and there are many theories about this symphony including that it was a symphonic suicide note!) – it starts with a low bassoon melody, which is bad for a beginning at the NCPA given that people need to still finish the important conversations during the intermission, remembering to cough etc. After an emotionally wrought first movement, comes the second dance like movement, an exciting third movement with its deceptive coda finale (much of the audience were fooled into clapping) and the final quiet movement, an unusual ending (usually symphonies end with a hurrah, like in the third movement, and this actually ends on a minor note). The conductor’s interpretation was less sentimental than I am used to hearing, but it was great nonetheless.



Unfortunately I wont be able to go to the final concert which includes Dvorak’s 7thSymphony, and so this Season ends for me.

 

[manek]

On Sunday, we had John Axelrod conduct the SOI, with Beisembayev on the piano.



Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique”



Started with the long Leonore Overture (from the Opera fully called “Leonore, or the triumph of marital love” no kidding), one where Beethoven apparently struggled with. Beethoven composed four versions of the overture, and the near symphony like No. 3 is often performed. Starting with its slow and ominous beginning with the winds, and then bursting into strings section , followed by a melody with the flute, an offstage trumpet and voila, the final deliverance. (the strings sounded sweeter and less congested - and I was sitting in the same S row only 10 seats to the left! Voodoo)



Then came Rachmaninoff’s concertante (like a concerto, but in one movement) for piano “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”. A gorgeous piece with Rachmaninoff’s amazing orchestration (strings, a sudden melody on a violin, mournful bassoons) and great melodies. A piece with many variations, I am putting in a youtube piece of the most famous variation and you can hear the near cinematic orchestration of Rachmaninoff. Fun fact – Rachmaninoff, a great pianist himself, was a nervous performer. So breaking tradition, he had crème de menthe to calm himself, and the concert went brilliantly (no message for young kids there).

The last piece was Tchaikovsky’s Symphony 6 (called Pathetique and there are many theories about this symphony including that it was a symphonic suicide note!) – it starts with a low bassoon melody, which is bad for a beginning at the NCPA given that people need to still finish the important conversations during the intermission, remembering to cough etc. After an emotionally wrought first movement, comes the second dance like movement, an exciting third movement with its deceptive coda finale (much of the audience were fooled into clapping) and the final quiet movement, an unusual ending (usually symphonies end with a hurrah, like in the third movement, and this actually ends on a minor note). The conductor’s interpretation was less sentimental than I am used to hearing, but it was great nonetheless.



Unfortunately I wont be able to go to the final concert which includes Dvorak’s 7thSymphony, and so this Season ends for me.

Is there ever going to be a scope here of longer seasons and a few more concerts each season ? I am getting very envious reading about Yuja Wang staying for two weeks in Tel Aviv with a concert every day with the Israel Philharmonic and then going on tour with them immediately for an equal number of concerts in EU and Americas ! What the fluff……now thats what I call a season !

 

[vivek_r]

It has been a while since I have written here. And it was a fabulous concert yesterday that prompted this.

Going back to the Ocotber 2023 series, I did not go for many but the ones that I went for were really good.

Marat Bisangaliev playing Khachaturian's Violin Concerto was sublime, with many great Armenian-folk inspired melodies and dances. The same day featured Tchaikovsky's 6th conducted by Richard Farnes, which was also great (including fooling much of the audience to clap after the 3rd movement).

Another superb concert was with Alpesh Chauhan conducting Strauss Rosenkavalier Suite, Schumann Cello Concerto with Steven Isserlis (beautifully played, but I was too far back to get the impact with the cello sounding muted) and one of my favourites Petrushka by Stravinsky. I believe it is Alpesh Chauhan's second outing to India, and did nothing to diminish my enthusiasm for this conductor.

The Spring season opened with Gergerly Madaras and Barry Douglas (piano). I must say it was quite an underwhelming start with Mendelssohn's Nocturne from Midsummer Night's Dream and Brahms Piano Concerto where somehow I felt that the orchestra and pianist didnt come together well (to be fair, not my favourite pieces anyway). Just before the intermission Douglas played an encore of Brahms Intermezzo which was a delight and the second half was very nicely played with Mendelssohn's Italian symphony - brimming with melodies. For a piece that is so well known and again not in my regular play list, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Then the next day came Barry Douglas' solo. Started off with Schubert's impromptus and no. 1 was played at a faster pace than I am used to listening, and got some time to get used to (a little slower would give it better breathing space - quibbling?). By the time it came to Impromptu No. 3, I was hooked onto his style and loved it. Followed up by the melodic Tchaikovsky (selection from Six Pieces, Two Pieces and Eighteen Pieces) and post intermission, Schubert Piano Sonata in A Minor. The last is a tough piece of music, with all bleakness in the first movement and some ferocious playing in the third. Then came an encore of a melody that seemed Indian and another of Prokofiev's Dance from from Romeo and Juliet - a piece that I have always loved and played exquisitely. I would have paid money just to listen to that one piece! This is not the Barry Douglas playing but gives you an idea.

Cant wait to go listen to the Organ symphony on the 11th!

Sergej Prokovjev - Dance of the Knights, Romeo and Juliet, Piano and Music Score

Sergej Prokovjev - Dance of the Knights, Romeo and Juliet, Piano and Mus...​

 

[vivek_r]

Sunday last we had Martyn Brabbins conducting the SOI. Started off with Overture from Berlioz’s Trojans which is a tragic but dramatic piece to start. I enjoyed it more than the easier to get “Royal Hunt and Storm” which had its obvious images (and all those horns).

It was followed by Sasha Cooke singing Berlioz’s Les nuits d’ete. And what a voice. While she sang beautifully above love and some seriously melodramatic loss and finally an ironic everlasting redemption, the orchestra colours were a bit lost. While unfamiliar to me, and so easily can get distracted (“was I to get multigrain or brown bread for dinner?”), the powerful singing brought me back to the music.

Which brings me to my impression of the concert referencing a recent Musical Fidelity A1 review - not for those who want details but for those who want wholeness of the music. While I thought individual threads did not pop out, the concert was musical and fun

And so it was post intermission with Saint Saens Symphony 3, which features amazing instrumentation including an Organ. A beautiful, listenable piece in which the organ goes deeeeep, it rounded off an enjoyable evening of music - more for the heart than the brain!

 

[manek]

Sunday last we had Martyn Brabbins conducting the SOI. Started off with Overture from Berlioz’s Trojans which is a tragic but dramatic piece to start. I enjoyed it more than the easier to get “Royal Hunt and Storm” which had its obvious images (and all those horns).

It was followed by Sasha Cooke singing Berlioz’s Les nuits d’ete. And what a voice. While she sang beautifully above love and some seriously melodramatic loss and finally an ironic everlasting redemption, the orchestra colours were a bit lost. While unfamiliar to me, and so easily can get distracted (“was I to get multigrain or brown bread for dinner?”), the powerful singing brought me back to the music.

Which brings me to my impression of the concert referencing a recent Musical Fidelity A1 review - not for those who want details but for those who want wholeness of the music. While I thought individual threads did not pop out, the concert was musical and fun

And so it was post intermission with Saint Saens Symphony 3, which features amazing instrumentation including an Organ. A beautiful, listenable piece in which the organ goes deeeeep, it rounded off an enjoyable evening of music - more for the heart than the brain!

True…Sasha Cooke has a wonderful voice.

Loved the Saint Saens organ symphony too. The NCPA got the sound quality absolutely right for the organ. Wonder what organ, amps and speakers were used ???

Very memorable evening.

Manek

 

[manek]

True…Sasha Cooke has a wonderful voice.

Loved the Saint Saens organ symphony too. The NCPA got the sound quality absolutely right for the organ. Wonder what organ, amps and speakers were used ???

Very memorable evening.

Manek

Its Meyer Sound as per google and the Meyer Sound website.
That leaves the puzzle of the electronic organ to be solved.

 

[vivek_r]

There alway comes this one concert or in particular, one portion of the concert, that completely blows you away. You hear a piece you have heard so many times, but yet are transfixed by the beauty, the new sounds that escaped you in all the recordings (audiophilia apart).

This was for me, the Elgar Cello Concerto which closed this season which featured a young Bryan Cheng on cello conducted by Brabbins. One of my all time favourites (how it was slammed when it was first performed), the music was played with great sensitivity by Cheng and Brabbins showing all the textures. Cello/flute and Cello/trombone, how they stood out in various parts. How well the SOI played.

There was also a very entertaining Flying Dutchman to start the programme (Wagner that is easy to get to, virtually a mini tone poem with all its turbulence and melodies evoking the seas), and a Beethoven 6th to finish, which more than played itself with all its moods and imagery.

But the Elgar will stay with me for a long time. Bravo Cheng. He played two encores - first a mordern piece and then the gorgeous Catalan "Song of the Birds" made famous by Pau Casals (a friend of mine is married to a Catalan woman who berated me for Pablo).

The recidivist coughers were in full attendance, but the clappers were strangely silent. Perhaps a very civilised crowd which even listens attentively when the flight crew announces safety instructions? Not a mobile went off, nor was there clappping between movements.

 

[pindranil]

There alway comes this one concert or in particular, one portion of the concert, that completely blows you away. You hear a piece you have heard so many times, but yet are transfixed by the beauty, the new sounds that escaped you in all the recordings (audiophilia apart).

This was for me, the Elgar Cello Concerto which closed this season which featured a young Bryan Cheng on cello conducted by Brabbins. One of my all time favourites (how it was slammed when it was first performed), the music was played with great sensitivity by Cheng and Brabbins showing all the textures. Cello/flute and Cello/trombone, how they stood out in various parts. How well the SOI played.

There was also a very entertaining Flying Dutchman to start the programme (Wagner that is easy to get to, virtually a mini tone poem with all its turbulence and melodies evoking the seas), and a Beethoven 6th to finish, which more than played itself with all its moods and imagery.

But the Elgar will stay with me for a long time. Bravo Cheng. He played two encores - first a mordern piece and then the gorgeous Catalan "Song of the Birds" made famous by Pau Casals (a friend of mine is married to a Catalan woman who berated me for Pablo).

The recidivist coughers were in full attendance, but the clappers were strangely silent. Perhaps a very civilised crowd which even listens attentively when the flight crew announces safety instructions? Not a mobile went off, nor was there clappping between movements.

Great review…thank you very much. The Elgar is a personal favourite as well…just listened to the Sol Gabetta version on Sony yesterday…wish the orchestra had programmed something more daring than the Pastorale to finish off the evening. Perhaps a Vaughan Williams symphony…the 4th perhaps…