Saturday, May 14, 2005
Academie fur Alte Musik
Thursday's Library of Congress concert by the Academie fur Alte Musik, Berlin, pointed up this fine period-instrument orchestra's stylistic omnivorousness. It embraced a lean tone and rhythmic thrust typical of German early music ensembles, a recognizably French brand of regal swagger, the smooth finish of the best English bands, and the punchy, rustic colors of Italian period players.
Stylistic emphases shifted playfully, sometimes within a single piece. The ensemble's wittily elephantine approach to the Minuet in a suite from Handel's opera "Almira" was a startling departure from the spare elegance of the surrounding movements. So was the aggressively staccato treatment of the introduction to Vivaldi's D-Minor Concerto for Two Oboes, RV 535, which gave way to a breezily energetic treatment of the rest of the work.
The distinctive personalities of the players were also allowed to emerge in differing approaches to the music, as in the lively solo interchanges in J.S. Bach's D-Minor Concerto for Two Violins, BWV 1043, between the extroverted Georg Kallweit (who also led the Academie in the concerto) and the alluringly nuanced Midori Seiler. And the athletic reading of the piece that Kallweit led showed a rather different side of Bach than the more molded, mercurial performance of his Orchestral Suite No. 1, led by violinist Stephan Mai.
Throughout the evening, the orchestra's level of virtuosity, ensemble and interpretive cohesion made the 17 musicians seem to breathe and think as one.
-- Joe Banno
Emerson String QuartetIt was a rare moment at the Music Center at Strathmore on Thursday night. After standing ovations at the concert's end brought calls for an encore, the Emerson String Quartet complied with a surreally tranquil version of the chorale ending to Bach's "Art of the Fugue." The group's account had the impact of a benediction -- not a sound was heard for five hushed seconds afterward in a concert hall filled to the brim.
The Emerson was the first string quartet to play in this new venue. Chamber music ensembles face acoustical problems in capacious concert halls. From my seat about a dozen rows from the stage, the opening Mendelssohn -- his Quartet, Op. 12 -- radiated the shimmering exuberance and dulcet grace this youthful piece needs. But the total effect sounded muted, as if played in another room.
The musicians gave a moving account of Joan Tower's "Incandescent," dedicated to this quartet. The players brought to life all the tension Tower has described as her goal: "What I try to do in my music, particularly in this piece, is to create a heat from within." As the work unfolded, the Emerson gradually collected melodic strands, rhythms and textures, building them up to a white heat that exploded with blinding luminescence at the end.
"Incandescent" did not suffer from sonic problems, but, to some extent, Beethoven's Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131, did. The cello and viola noticeably outweighed the violins, even though this group stands while playing (with the cello on a podium). Nevertheless, the performance was an inviting one, with strains of resignation and ethereal bliss unlike the more unsettling, angst-ridden interpretations of some other ensembles.
The Washington Performing Arts Society sponsored the event.
-- Cecelia Porter
Wolfgang PanhoferWolfgang Panhofer's concert Thursday night at the Embassy of Austria was brave, bold and brazen. Brave to go onstage and play an entire recital with just cello, unaccompanied. Bold to present a program of unfamiliar 20th- and 21st-century Austrian composers (plus one lovely Bach suite). And brazen to offer a conceptual encore by an American.
Without doubt, the most outstanding piece on the program was Thomas Daniel Schlee's "3 Signs," written in 2002. Panhofer's skillful interpretation accurately depicted a dramatic scene in which the listener could truly hear a conversation. Schlee capitalized on the vocal quality of the cello, using contrasting octaves, sliding pitches and the delicate dancing of the bow across the strings.
Panhofer demonstrated an impeccable sense of timing in the forward-looking Sonata by Egon Wellesz, from 1920. The composer compensated for the lack of accompanying instruments by enriching the solo cello texture with ingenious double-stops, pizzicatos and other devices, all confidently executed.
Though Panhofer poured expression and impressive technique into the work, the piece itself was not coherent.
Bach's Suite No. 2 was smooth and lyrical in Panhofer's hands. With his well-rounded tone, the consonant sounds and sweet chords were a welcome contrast to the dissonance that permeated the rest of the program.
Panhofer's unusual encore choice, John Cage's "4'33"," merits mention. The piece, which consists of four minutes and 33 seconds of silence, demands an explanation that the audience did not receive, so Cage's intent for listeners to notice the ambient sound around them was lost. Watching the silent performer, audience members tittered uncomfortably, the oddity leaving some fascinated and others baffled.
-- Gail Wein
Wolfgang PanhoferWolfgang Panhofer's concert Thursday night at the Embassy of Austria was brave, bold and brazen. Brave to go onstage and play an entire recital with just cello, unaccompanied. Bold to present a program of unfamiliar 20th- and 21st-century Austrian composers (plus one lovely Bach suite). And brazen to offer a conceptual encore by an American.
Without doubt, the most outstanding piece on the program was Thomas Daniel Schlee's "3 Signs," written in 2002. Panhofer's skillful interpretation accurately depicted a dramatic scene in which the listener could truly hear a conversation. Schlee capitalized on the vocal quality of the cello, using contrasting octaves, sliding pitches and the delicate dancing of the bow across the strings.
Panhofer demonstrated an impeccable sense of timing in the forward-looking Sonata by Egon Wellesz, from 1920. The composer compensated for the lack of accompanying instruments by enriching the solo cello texture with ingenious double-stops, pizzicatos and other devices, all confidently executed.
Though Panhofer poured expression and impressive technique into the work, the piece itself was not coherent.
Bach's Suite No. 2 was smooth and lyrical in Panhofer's hands. With his well-rounded tone, the consonant sounds and sweet chords were a welcome contrast to the dissonance that permeated the rest of the program.
Panhofer's unusual encore choice, John Cage's "4'33"," merits mention. The piece, which consists of four minutes and 33 seconds of silence, demands an explanation that the audience did not receive, so Cage's intent for listeners to notice the ambient sound around them was lost. Watching the silent performer, audience members tittered uncomfortably, the oddity leaving some fascinated and others baffled.
-- Gail Wein